Gastronomic Congresses as Engines of Innovation: Highlights from March
This March, the Chefs Community for Innovation focused on gastronomic congresses, essential gatherings that help drive progress in the culinary world. These events offer valuable spaces for exchanging ideas, revisiting traditions, and exploring new directions. From Madrid to Milan, recent congresses highlighted some of the latest trends and developments shaping contemporary cuisine. Here’s a closer look.
Madrid Fusión 2025: Celebrating a Revolution, Shaping the Future
Ferran Adrià returned to Madrid Fusión with a reflective look at how creativity is cultivated in gastronomy. His presentations, from systematizing innovation to minimalist cuisine, were grounded in elBulli’s legacy but focused on future-facing tools and methodologies. He also contributed to panels on restaurant management and culinary heritage, cementing his role as both historian and innovator.
David Chamorro brought light into the kitchen—literally. His groundbreaking presentation showcased how different light wavelengths can influence flavor, texture, and nutritional content. From red-light-enhanced tomatoes to UV-treated mushrooms rich in vitamin D, his research opened new paths for non-invasive culinary manipulation.
Disfrutar delivered a densely packed session on the technical applications of enzymes and fermentation in haute cuisine. Their work with pectinase and starches allowed them to create fruit honeys, pasta without flour, and ethereal gelled textures. Their innovative spirit came across not only in flavor but in the refinement of texture as a central component of their creative process.
Ángel León pushed marine gastronomy forward with new methods of curing fish from within, live marinades, and the introduction of a salt marsh ecosystem into the restaurant experience. His dishes used marine plants, fermented sea vegetables, and even encapsulated ocean aromas to evoke the maritime environment. He also introduced a commercially viable marine charcuterie, blending tradition with ecological insight.
Diego Guerrero explored the architecture of flavor through science and memory. By analyzing the biochemical makeup of ingredients, Guerrero and his team transformed kitchen byproducts into fermented staples like scallop miso and chestnut soyus. His dishes emphasized depth, reuse, and layered complexity, showing how science can deepen emotional resonance in food.
Identità Milano 2025: Reimagining Tradition Through Innovation
Alberto Gipponi, chef of Dina in Gussago, redefined pasta through structural and philosophical inquiry. His «Cannellone d’Aria,» awarded Dish of the Year, was created by binding fettuccine with chilled egg yolk cream and pairing it with truffle ice cream—a striking harmony of technique and sensory trickery. Collaborating with Professor Davide Cassi, he developed «Pasta Rock,» manipulating flour structures for texture precision. Gipponi’s vitrified pasta, finished in lemon water, challenged the idea of «al dente» with a crunch that resonated like memory.
Davide Guidara of I Tenerumi shared his vegetable-forward approach with methodical, expressive clarity. Rather than using plants to mimic other foods, Guidara celebrated their intrinsic properties through fermentation, maceration, and aging. His zucchini aged in beeswax and Penicillium-fermented carrots revealed vegetables as complex and sensual, equal to any protein when treated with care and imagination.
Basque Culinary Center hosted a roundtable to present the Chefs Community for Innovation and reflect on how collaboration drives culinary progress. John Regefalk shared how the Community connects chefs across cultures through dialogue, mentorship, and shared projects—creating a space where innovation is collective, not solitary. The session also introduced GOe, BCC’s new hub for cross-sector exchange in gastronomy, science, and technology.
As the panel debated whether imitation could play a role in innovation, Massimo Bottura spontaneously stepped onto the stage from the audience. In a moment that captured the spirit of the discussion, he reframed imitation not as theft, but as a natural and essential step in any creative process. His intervention added depth to a conversation centered on openness, shared learning, and the power of a connected chef community.
Final Thought: Innovation Beyond the Plate
This month’s spotlight on congresses reveals one thing clearly: innovation is not just about what appears on the plate. It’s about how ideas are formed, tested, shared, and understood. It’s about ecosystems of exchange—between chefs and scientists, traditions and technologies, past lessons and future visions.
From flavor to philosophy, these events continue to shape the trajectory of gastronomy as a cultural, technical, and creative force.
Photo by @Brambilla-Serrani
