The winner of the world paella championship is a... Mexican restaurant
The Burguettos restaurant in Apizaco-Tlaxcala, Mexico, has won first prize at the 65th International Paella Valenciana Competition in Sueca, the oldest of its kind in Spain.
The winners expressed their "excitement and gratitude" upon learning of the jury's decision. This year's jury consisted of Tomás Angulo Salas, from the Sabor Amar Paellas restaurant in Ecuador, winner of the 64th edition of the competition; Yuki Kawaguchi, director of the 11th International Qualifying Semifinal of the competition in Japan; Mohamed Houd Chaibani, representative of the Sueca and Playas Hospitality Guild; Jesús Barrachina Arnal, commercial director of La Alquería Kukala; Jorge Rodríguez Esteve, founder and general manager of the Esatur Group; Pedro Pacheco Jorge, official distributor of Valencia PDO Rice in the Canary Islands; and José Carlos Capel Rivas, gastronomic critic, founder and president of Madrid Fusión.
All paellas, with the same ingredients
As was the case for the first time in the previous edition, the winners of the first prize have also been awarded the silver medallion designed exclusively for those who achieve the title of 'best paella in the world'. The medallion has been kept safe throughout the year by its previous winner, Tomás Angulo, who traveled to Sueca to present it to his successors.
The 65th International Valencian Paella Competition in Sueca, part of the L'Exquisit Mediterrani gastro-tourism brand, and with the collaboration of the Provincial Tourism Board, València Turisme, has once again been a resounding success in terms of attendance, public and media presence, with the Paseo de la Estación packed during the cooking of the participating paellas, all under the same conditions and with the same ingredients, following the official recipe of the competition.
As in the previous edition, for a better development of the event the 40 paellas have been delivered in different shifts so that they could be tasted by the members of the jury freshly cooked.
