Montagud Editores Aponiente

Welcome to the exciting history of Ángel León. A work that covers absolutely all the work of the restaurant that looks out to sea, cooks the sea and thinks in terms of salt. A beautiful journey through texts in which Ángel León pours himself out professionally and emotionally; essays on products, species, techniques...; and all of this leading to more than 1000 pages and 150 creations of the most special and unique restaurant that exists in the world panorama of gastronomy. Volume 1. Past, present and future of a marine dream come true Volume 2. The states of the sea. Inspirations and transformations Volume 3. The marsh, the surroundings of Aponiente Volume 4. Caressing tradition Volume 5. Cooking the sea with the soul Volume 6. Salt in a sweet key Aponiente is the restaurant led by chef Ángel León, who is known worldwide for his commitment to the preservation and management of the Ocean through his research into new ingredients which reduces the fishing pressure and promote sustainable fishing practices. Ángel León employs marine species that were historically discarded from the sea, even unknown to the human being. This revolutionary and avant-garde chef has discovered new ingredients from the huge sea pantry, such as marine phytoplankton, and grown for the first time in history plants such as the Zostera marina. That’s why he has been awarded with Three Michelin Stars and the inaugural Sustainability Award Michelin Green Star (first-ever green-Michelin-starred restaurant), in recognition of his unwavering commitment to sustainable gastronomic practices. His deep respect for the sea and its enormous capacity for innovation have led him to develop several projects related to bringing back to life products that have been undervalued by reinventing and recycling them. Every day, Aponiente Tripulación immerse themselves in their dream, in the waters of the Bay of Cádiz in the south of Spain, Andalusia (close to Africa, just separated by a 14km-wide strait). The application of the ecologic theory in his kitchen, the investigation, the gastronomic creativity and maximisation of the product, together with the work for environmental awareness are the hallmarks of Aponiente’s cuisine. Gastronomic examples of this are: Creativity and pure use of each product are the hallmarks of Aponiente's cuisine. Some examples of this are the mackerel sobrasada, the sea bass mortadella, the sea ham (red tuna belly), the spotted sea bass sausage, the sea snails skewer & its tripe, the moray eel skin turned into crispy pork skin, the hake collagen prepared as noodles, the tuna tail's osso buco or the tuna tart tarte tatine. Other samples of Aponiente’s team work are the applied research that Ángel León developed since 2009 with Fitoplancton Marine, S.L. to obtain the authorisation from the EU for human consumption of foods and ingredients obtained from marine microalgae, becoming the first novel food created by a Spanish person (2014); the use of discarded fish; the development of the marine sausage elaborated with fish protein; the elaboration of marine honey, or the domestication of the Zostera marina for its growth in estuaries and the extraction of the marine cereal, pioneer in the world. Aponiente focuses all its efforts into obtaining new development that will allow to continue creating marine dishes to re-define the concept of gastronomy as a transforming power for today’s society, and tackle important challenges such as the preservation of nature through cooking, collaborating with international NGOs. Consequently, Aponiente holds a strong international presence, also organizing a global chefs encounter named Despesques, based on sustainability and the reflection on the role of food in the future. Aponiente continues to demonstrate the vital connection between gastronomy and nature. And he challenges us to think about our ignorance on the infinite and mysterious sea, enhancing discarded species and promoting the preservation and management of the coastal marshes, estuaries and wetlands as sources of marine life. As part of his compromise with the diffusion of this message and raising awareness toward a more engaged and sustainable cuisine, as well as the research and investigation and development of Aponiente’s projects, chef Ángel León repeatedly holds talks and participates in the most prestigious national and international congresses, as in many Academic institutions as Harvard University, the King Abdulah University, or The Culinary Institute of America.