Saborea, Puerto Rico’s culinary mash up of the year, celebrated its seventh edition this weekend. At the event, there was no shortage of amazing chefs, delicious food, endless drinks, and action in the demo kitchen. All proceeds from the event went to benefiting the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association (PRTHA) Education Fund for tourism industry employees and other programs that assist in the development of the island’s tourism workforce.
We arrived at El Escambrón shortly after 1:00 p.m. After crossing the gates, we received our welcome bag which included samples from a few of the events sponsors, a copy of the program for the demo kitchen chef lineup, as well as, the glass to be used for drinks. The weather was a gorgeous and sunny 86 °F with a constant light breeze ideal for all those in attendance to enjoy the event without melting from the heat. The view, as always, was to die for.
Our first stop was the “Puerto Rico Da Gusto” tent, sponsored by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, which featured a myriad of agricultural and artisanal local products. We were very glad to see the Puerto Rican artisanal hot sauce manufacturers 7 Deadly Zings there. We are big fans of their products, particularly their Red with Anger hot sauce, but on this occasion, got to try their new flavor Fierce Bitch. It is packed with flavor and definitely lives up to its name with its spice level. It quickly became our new favorite.
Our next stop was the “Tasting Pavillion” tent, which showcased some of Puerto Rico’s best restaurants, as well as, a variety of wines, beers, and distilled spirits. Even though there were a lot of people in the tent, we had enough room to navigate through the large crowd and sample a bit of everything.
Some of our favorite dishes included the refreshing Conch, Octopus and Shrimp salad from Tanamá Restaurant located at the Ponce Hilton,
The Ropa Vieja and Croquette pairing prepared by Lola Eclectic Cuisine,
and the scrumptious Tuna Crudo with Pineapple and Avocado from La Casa at Royal Isabela.
We then headed to the GE Monogram Kitchen Demo area to say hi to our friends and fellow bloggers Nelson from Buen Diente, Glory from RiquísimoPR, and Gustavo and Paulina from Spoon Food Tours. If you have not checked out their amazing blogs, make sure you do ASAP! Chef Roberto Treviño, Chef Giovanna Huyke, Chef Tino and Paulina Salach hosted the culinary demonstrations and kept the crowd entertained with their lively commentary and questions for the guest chefs. The demo’s were a great opportunity to see the chefs in action and learn new recipes. Also, during the event, MasterCard announced the grand prize winner of the MasterCard Student Food Challenge. The challenge is an initiative developed by MasterCard to provide an opportunity for gastronomy and culinary arts students to measure their talents and compete for a scholarship valued at $1,000. Thus, seeking promote the talent of future chefs on the Island. This year, Chef Victor Bonano from the Universidad del Este won first place in the competition with a score of 104, while Luis J. Rosado from the Escuela Hotelera de San Juan came in second with a score of 95 points and received a $500 pre-paid MasterCard. As a bonus, Chef Victor Bonano was surprised with the priceless experience of accompanying one Saborea’s guest chefs during their culinary demonstration.
Overall, we had a blast at Saborea and can’t wait to see what they come up with next year. The event is always held on April, so if you did not have a chance to make it this year, don’t miss out next year.
