Bold, provocative, with a touch of irreverence, and human. Very human. Right from the front cover, the 22nd issue of Apicius does away with all restraint to shed light on the visceral side of gastronomy. 17 emerging talents and acclaimed professionals are featured in an issue whose 224 pages exude blood, sweat, tears and passion.Jordi Roca, David Muñoz, Ángel León, Édgar Núñez, Jordi Cruz, José Avillez. Virgilio Martínez & Pía León, Diego, Rafael and Mario Sandoval, Miguel Ángel de la Cruz, Grant Achatz, Sergi Arola, Jesús Escalera & Fer Covarrubia and Teresa Gutiérrez connect past and promising future, demonstrating the ascendancy of their talent. The solidity of these careers that marked a turning point in cutting-edge cuisine are brought together in Apicius 22 with the young men and women who are both defying and refusing to accept the concept of promise. Here are professionals who, each in their own time, have set the standards in contemporary cuisine, and whose names will be on everybody’s lips in the years to come. And it is the transmission of these values that is the legacy of this publication by Montagud Editores.
Apicius 22 places special emphasis on the transmission of passions between members of the same family and between couples united by gastronomy. Shared lives and dreams that run parallel to the consolidation of cuisine as a cultural engine for progress. Since its very first issue in 2003, Apicius has constantly been “contemporary cooking’s faithful witness”, as originally predicted by Ferran Adrià. “Apicius was always a step ahead in spotting what was happening with gastronomy; regarding the rise and importance of cutting-edge chefs, who, through their work, were able to elevate a previously disparaged profession, reach levels of outright genius, shake up thinking minds”, affirms Jãvi Antoja de la Rosa, the journal’s editor-in-chief. “It is an obligation to write with the best penmanship, with an exquisite instrument. And it must be about two concepts: courage and creativity. That is what contemporary cuisine is about. It is like lowering your hand at the centre of the universe and feeling how your spiritual side rises up beyond your material being. And seeing the danger from close up,” reveals Antoja in his editorial in Apicius 22. An issue written with “an eye on the world of gastronomy” and “with great care for penmanship”.