This afternoon, the chef from l’Hospitalet, Carme Ruscalleda, and Rafael Ansón presented at the Forum the book “141 Masterpieces of Universal Cooking”

The book “141 Masterpieces of Universal Cooking” was presented this morning at the Press Conference hall at the Convention Center. This book which brings together 141 recipes by International, Spanish, and Catalan Gastronomy Academies was co-edited by Forum Barcelona 2004 and the Nobel publishing house.
The president of the Spanish Academy, Rafael Ansón, explained that the title of the book can be applied  to any other artistic activity, and that the book deals with “small anonymous contributions to universal cooking that humans invented to eat better, some are 2,000 years old, and each reader can interpret the recipes as they wish.”
For the cook from Sant Pol de Mar, Carme Ruscalleda, the book is “an indispensable guide of origin” given that it is good for people to remember where each of the proposals come from. Ferran Adrià stressed “the huge difficulty that it would have supposed for academies to select 141 recipes from all the gastronomies of the world,” and added that the book “leads us to see that we can’t feel like we are at the center of the world, because we should learn from all cultures.” The renowned chef, just like the rest of the participants, thanked the Forum’s special sensitivity for cooking,” and relieves that “it is important for the Forum to be the culinary capital of the world.”



The gastronomy academies, the Nobel publishing house and the Forum therefore decided to join forces to offer a culinary guide that proposes as many recipes as days of the Forum (141). The recipe book brings together a selection of original dishes from different countries around the world at a very affordable price (18 euros) and in a very practical and contemporary format, allowing for people to comfortably consult it. The book is divided into sections according to types of dishes (soups and vegetables, rice, pasta, fish, meat, and lastly, desserts). Each recipe shows the country the dish is from and a brief commentary about the origin of the dish and other curiosities. The end glossary allows readers to understand concepts that may not be very familiar to them. The book is printed in Catalan and in Spanish, in separate editions, and is printed on 100% recycled and unbleached paper.

The editor of the Nobel publishing house, Camilo López and the Forum spokesman, Oleguer Sarsanedas also participated in the press conference.