How do you prepare a distinctive dish including only locally-sourced produce?
It’s a challenge most chefs would find difficult to achieve. But that's exactly what Spaniard Ruben Lopez is doing, to promote local producers in his hometown of Orange.
Lopez is the founder of the Eat Spanish movement, a not-for-profit enterprise that operates with grants to promote Spanish cuisine worldwide.
Through the movement, he’s brought the 'Zero-Kilometre Gastronomy' initiative to Orange, which aims to promote the town’s food producers beyond the regions, at a time when state borders remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Over recent years, Orange has become a centre for tourism for its world-class food and wine scene.
The town's geographic location, which sits more than 250km west of Sydney, and around 900 metres above sea level, makes it a favourable location for producers due to its cool climate.
Lopez says the eco-gastronomic concept promotes local production and sustainability and goes hand in hand with artistic presentation and unforgettable taste.
"It's about finding top-quality products,” he tells SBS Spanish.
“[With COVID] there is a need to help each other and to help farmers who cannot take their products to other states. It's a way of promoting the quality of their product.”
Lopez moved from Sydney to Orange with his wife Kelly and his daughter Isa in search of a better quality of life.
Salmon toast served by the Spanish chef. Source: SBS Spanish
He says the town reminds him of La Mancha, the region in Spain where his grandparents live, and where the fictional character, Don Quixote, started his adventures.
However, it was the town’s apple growing industry which ultimately attracted him.
"The frozen apples that are often found in supermarkets have a kind of white ring. That means that they were frozen from the previous season," he says.
At the Bills Beans East Orange cafe, Lopez prepares special toast dishes that have become popular in the town.
He says the eggs used in the dish are the star product, due to their freshness.
Every morning, a local egg producer who runs a small family business in Orange delivers them to the cafe where he works.
Fresh produce in Orange. Source: SBS Spanish
Lopez explains that he breaks the eggs on a plate to inspect their texture.
He says the best eggs are those with a dense texture, which are different from supermarket eggs — with thin, watery, egg whites that disperse on a dish when broken.
"Remember, the bigger and thicker the egg white, the fresher the egg is."
His inspiration comes from the passion he feels for Orange and the surrounding region, that has become home.
He enjoys showcasing local flavours and offers customers a feel for the area's distinctly different four seasons.
Lopez says this allows visitors to appreciate the love that farmers have in producing top-quality vegetables and fruits, as well as their meat products.
“Orange has distinctive products because it is located in an elevated area with a cold climate,” he says.
Products like garlic, saffron and apples are quite authentic.
The cafe where Lopez works resembles a honeycomb because of the swarm of customers around it. His signature toast dishes sound basic, but they are far from ordinary.
Before designing his dishes, Lopez looks for local producers, to ensure the menu is authentic and locally-sourced.
His wants his toast dishes to contribute to the community through environmental sustainability, so they feature nine products from five local producers.
Then he looks, talks and listens to the products. He studies their characteristics and their potential and tries to challenge himself, creating a mix of flavours and textures.
He also applies the concept of 'no waste' to his cooking.
"It's the way I was taught by my family. At home, I especially like to use and reuse as much as I can to save money. But mostly, I like to use all those bits that sometimes people tend to put in the bin. Chard, spinach stalks, etc.. All that. I've never understood why it's disposed of. In fact, those are the bits with most nutrients and vitamins," Lopez says.
SBS Spanish paid for its own consumption of food.
