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Established 1961 13 Lifestyle Features Thursday, April 29, 2021 rom the fourth generation of one of returned to San Sebastian in 1995 and scious of it,” she said. While restaurant coloured a vibrant fuchsia by using beet- Spain’s most celebrated culinary since then has been working alongside kitchens are usually male dominated, 70 root extract. Ffamilies, Elena Arzak has won plau- him, being named the top female chef in percent of Arzak’s staff are women. “I am dits for taking traditional Basque cuisine in the World’s Best 50 Restaurants list of only interested in talent, gender does not ‘Tireless’ a new direction. After years working at 2012. Five years ago, she took over the matter,” she said. After taking charge of Her talent has been hailed by big her family’s 19th-century eatery on the kitchen at Arzak as part of a “slow” transi- the eatery, she changed the menu to names in gastronomy. French chef Pierre northern Spanish coast, her constantly tion, although her 79-year-old father still include dishes with fewer ingredients. Gagnaire, her supervisor when she evolving, research-based approach to helps out. “People eat faster, more vegetables, worked at his Paris restaurant, said he cooking and experimentation with flavors The preference for local ingredients healthier,” said Arzak, who admits she’s appreciates “her reserve and modesty”. won her international recognition as the has not changed at the restaurant, which currently “devouring” vegan cooking mag- “Delicate and joyful, she symbolises the world’s top female chef. Now, nearly a experts regularly rank among the world’s azines. “People want more of an ‘experi- Basque Country so much,” he told AFP. decade on, this energetic 51-year-old is best. “I love parsley, anchovies, squid, ence’,” she reflects. Although the focus is Spanish chef Carme Ruscadella, whose still experimenting with unexpected com- garlic, tuna,” she says, listing ingredients on using local produce, Arzak has long Sant Pau restaurant in the northeastern binations and new textures using mainly which features heavily in Basque cuisine been open to other cultures and has nev- Catalonia region that also had three stars local ingredients at “Arzak”, the family Chef Elena Arzak alongside other flavors like hake or txan- er shied away from new techniques, using before closing in 2018, described her as restaurant in San Sebastian which is gurro, flaked spider crab meat. “My cui- photos to explain some of her more inno- “a woman who doesn’t tire”. renowned for its fine dining. she has not printed anything edible as the sine is an identity cuisine, Basque, very vative dishes. And close friend and top French chef “It is research for the good of cuisine,” results haven’t been good enough. “The rooted in the sea.” And while training at One, called “Baby squid tattoo”, fea- Helene Darroze calls her a “pioneer”. says Arzak, who is the only woman run- art of cooking must make people happy. top European restaurants such as tures a small squid with a squid tartare in Arzak, who has two teenagers, said the ning a restaurant that holds three Michelin We can use all the technology in the London’s Gavroche and Louis XV in ink served on a plate decorated with an restaurant’s three stars don’t weigh on her. stars in Spain. Inside her flavor lab above world, but it must bring something to the Monaco, her “fondness” for seafood and elegant sketch of an octopus drawn in “If you don’t have pressure, you acciden- the restaurant, a 3D printer and a cen- dish,” she says. her Basque heritage meant she was often parsley juice. Another is mackerel in shio tally relax,” she admitted. Although the trifuge sit next to shelves piled to the ceil- Arzak’s great-grandparents founded assigned to prepare fish dishes. koji, a fermented Japanese marinade, restaurant has been closed since ing with thousands of clear boxes of fla- the restaurant in 1897 in what was then a served with pureed tomato and fish colla- December because of the region’s ongo- vors, textures and other culinary secrets. village but has now been engulfed by San Art on a plate gen, “a natural gelatin”. And a dessert ing nighttime curfew to curb virus cases, All are carefully labeled with QR codes Sebastian. Dubbed the father of modern Arzak, who studied cooking in called “Enigma” features white-chocolate Arzak says she’s gearing up to reopen. that contain detailed information about the Basque cuisine in the 1970s, her father Switzerland, said being the daughter of a filled churros shaped into letters perched “We need to encourage people because contents. For now, she is using the printer Juan Mari won a third Michelin star for the culinary giant has not been an issue. “It on two balls of fruit fibre-a texture we’ve all had a really difficult time.”— AFP to create unique, very visual geometrical establishment in 1989 which it has man- could have been a handicap that every- between mousse and jelly-one almond- shapes that are used in plating up, but aged to keep ever since. She herself one compared me to him. But I was con- cherry flavour, the other orange, but ritain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will co-chair a Bfundraising concert urging more vaccinations that will air May 8, which the Bidens will also partici- pate in, event organizers announced Tuesday. Along with US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris will also appear at “Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World” where performers will include This picture shows music student Wang Zhaoxue showing the ‘blind box’ toys she collected, Two women looking at a bag at a shop selling ‘blind box’ toys in Beijing. Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, J during an interview at her home in Beijing. Balvin and HER. Put on by Global Citizen, an international advocacy organization, the campaign is push- ing businesses to “donate dollars for doses,” and for G7 governments to share excess vaccines. It also urges pharmaceutical companies “including Moderna to make vaccines available at not-for- profit prices.” The concert will be iny unicorns and cartoon girls in and decorating the desks of white-collar Her favorites are modeled after a pre-taped on May 2 in Los Angeles, clown costumes line the shelves of workers and livestreams of box-opening cherubic, doe-eyed character called and will stream on YouTube along Wang Zhaoxue’s study in Beijing- influencers across the country. The blind Molly, produced by Beijing-based mys- T with American television networks tokens of China’s mania for “blind boxes” box market was worth 7.4 billion yuan tery toymaker Pop Mart, which made its that has made fortunes for toymakers and ($1.14 billion) in 2019, according to mar- $670 million debut on the Hong Kong even caught the attention of those in pow- ket research firm Qianzhan Intelligence, stock exchange last year. The competi- er. The 18-year-old music student is one which added that could soar to 30 billion tion is so intense that the most sought- of the legions of young Chinese hooked yuan by 2024. Similar to the collectability after toys, such as the archaeology- of baseball cards, most fist-sized pack- themed blind boxes sold by Henan ages hold toys, from fairies to miniature province’s official museum, sell out King Kongs, but buyers can often be land- almost immediately after their online ed with one they already have. But once release. But the craze has not escaped in a while, a rare or even “hidden” item- criticism, with state media earlier this one that does not appear in advertise- year comparing the trend to gambling ments for the range-will emerge from the and warning that the products bred box, the holy grail of the collecting craze. Music student Wang Zhaoxue showing a pic- addiction. In a commentary in January, Wang said she has in the past queued ture of a “blind box” toy on her mobile phone Xinhua called for more regulation of the overnight for new releases at toy conven- next to one from her collection. sector and said the boxes should not be tions and proudly shows off autographed sold “blindly” to consumers, accusing limited-edition figurines in her family’s On the vibrant second-hand market, some brands of “persuading consumers Beijing apartment. Her older family mem- rare figures can fetch dozens of times to keep buying and even hyping up a In this ﬁle photo Britain’s Prince Harry, bers are also fervent toy collectors-her the original price of an unopened box, speculative second-hand market”. Duke of Sussex (left), and Meghan, mother displays by the front door a group which usually costs $10-$20. Liu Xiaoli, a “One of the reasons behind the suc- Duchess of Sussex leave after attending Vaan, the storekeeper of a toy store, showing of baby-faced figures riding cats. “It was nickname, has been collecting blind box cess of blind boxes is that they divide the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion a “blind box” toy. something quite novel, which got my toys since 2018. The advertising profes- their products into different categories of House in London. — AFP attention,” said Wang, who has now sional, in her thirties, pulls thousands of rarity,” Steffi Noel, a consumer analyst at amassed hundreds of the toys. The ele- Shanghai-based Daxue Consulting, told followers to a Bilibili video channel where ABC and CBS on May 8 at 8pm ET. on snaffling up the toys-from pop art- ment of mystery is a big part of the fun, AFP.

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