Pablo Llull gastronomy prize goes to Joan Olives

THE Majorcan food fair, the Mostra de Cuina, closed last Friday, after being visited by thousands of people eager to try authentic Majorcan cuisine. But the actual closing dinner was not held until this week, and the place chosen was the Son Termens restaurant. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Pablo Llull gastronomy prize, named after a popular local journalist, who was also an expert on fine food. The prize went to Joan Olivés, a cinema owner, who is also a highly respected cook in amateur and semi-professional circles, and a founder-member of the Academy of Gastronomy and Wine of Majorca, for whom he regularly cooks meals. The prize was presented by notary Raimundo Clar and Toni Gil, the chairman of the Majorcan Restaurateurs association.
It was quite an evening, as 36 people were presented with the commemorative dish and diploma of the food fair.
As to the menu, it featured grouper with pisto and shrimps, aubergines stuffed with partridge and chocolate mousse with berries.
The Food Fair is one of the most popular events on the calendar, although the premises, the fair precinct in the Polígono de Llevante, do not make for elegant dining. It is a showcase for local restaurants, hostelry schools, bodegas, charcuterie firms, breweries and other firms specialising in local produce, and people keep going back for more as the restaurants (five or six at a time) are changed every two days. From its humble beginnings in the Borne, which eventually proved to be too small and cramped, it now attracts more than 70'000 visitors.