Rural cooks elect Luis Alberto Lera as their mayor in Terrae 2024

Terrae, the International Rural Cuisine Conference, closed its second edition with the proclamation of chef Luis Alberto Lera (Restaurante Lera*, Castroverde de Campos, Zamora) as Mayor of Rural Cooks. The election of a representative to lead the group of rural chefs was one of the objectives set for this second edition of Terrae, a congress that has shown that gastronomy plays a fundamental role in the survival and development of rural areas. This objective was more than achieved, as Lera was supported by his peers and took office with an absolute majority in an election in which all of the more than forty chefs attending the congress were eligible to vote.

Luis Alberto Lera is one of the most outstanding representatives of the country's rural cuisine movement, a fierce defender of tradition and closeness to the product, and his cuisine is based on the hunting culture of his area, Castroverde de Campos, a town in Zamora with barely 250 inhabitants, where his restaurant has revolutionised Castilian-Leonese gastronomy.

The brand-new mayor of rural chefs has taken up his post for the first time and has promised that "I will do everything I can to bring about the change that the rural world needs". Lera, who thanked "the affection of his colleagues", reiterated that all of them "are in an environment in which we must differentiate ourselves and it is imperative to fight for the advantages that they offer us". The position is not merely decorative; in fact, the mayor - and the councillors he will elect to support him in this term - are already scheduled to be received at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, where they will be able to present their concerns and their vision of the current rural world.

The election of Luis Alberto Lera as Mayor of Rural Cuisine was accompanied by the presentation of the Gran Canaria Declaration, a document that takes up the spirit of the Zafra Manifesto and updates it five years later. In this document, the chefs who took part in the Canary Islands edition have expressed their desire to contribute to the survival of the rural environment and to support the work and image of local suppliers.

Lessons beyond the kitchen

The last day of Terra was an emotional one, with the Terrae Award being presented to chef Gastón Acurio as an example of a life dedicated to popular cuisine and its producers. Acurio accepted the award "not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of all those who have contributed to the promotion of Peruvian cuisine over the last 20 years".

The man who has been the driving force behind the promotion of Peruvian cuisine and its worldwide recognition has spent the last few days in Gran Canaria with the rural chefs gathered at this event, encouraging them to continue their work.

Gastón Acurio received the award from the Director of Industry and Commerce of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Juan Manuel Gabella, who stressed that "congresses like this unite all of us who want to promote local products and never forget the roots of where we come from and the efforts of our parents and grandparents".

Gabella also took the opportunity to announce that Gran Canaria is ready to host the next edition of Terrae.

With the producers

At the beginning of the third day of Terrae, the congress participants had the opportunity to get to know the reality of local producers through two visits of a distinctly Canarian nature. The first was at the Finca La Gloria plantation, at the foot of Montaña de Guía, where the famous Canary banana is grown.

And the morning continued at the Arehucas rum factory (Arucas), with a visit not only to the factory but also to the sugar cane fields where the sugar cane grows, the essential raw material for this drink that has become the identity of Gran Canaria.