La Viña de Henao (Bilbao) awards the best Russian salad at Gastronomika
María Bedia and Alex Cerrato, from the Bilbao restaurant La Viña de Henao, have won first place this Tuesday in the VI Spanish Russian Salad Championship in a very close and anticipated competition in which a dozen dishes from Madrid, Barcelona, Asturias, Cantabria, Murcia, Andalusia, Catalonia and the Basque Country participated.
The title of best potato salad in Spain promises to "change their lives," as it did in previous years with Castru Gaiteru, Tragatá, ChinChin Puerto, Candado Golf, and Tapas 24. The problem is that their restaurant, a small eatery with barely half a dozen tables in the center of Bilbao, will have a hard time accommodating the hordes of potato salad lovers that this award usually unleashes, one of the most popular of all those being given out these days at San Sebastián Gastronomika Euskadi Basque Country.
“The base is potato, carrot, and hard-boiled egg, cut into fairly large chunks, because we like to have a good bite of the ingredients,” explains María. She adds bonito tuna in oil from the Ortiz cannery in Ondarroa, some sliced piparras peppers, olives, and two touches that make it special: pickled onion and a pea flower. “I don’t like peas, but I wanted to include them,” because they’re part of the recipe that inspired it, which is none other than that of Alex’s grandmother, born in Jaén but settled in Bizkaia when she was very young.
The mayonnaise, a key ingredient in any potato salad, is store-bought, and María readily admits she uses Hellmann's. However, she tweaks it with a splash of milk and extra virgin olive oil until she achieves the desired texture and flavor. She prepares very small quantities each day, "at most three kilos if we're really busy," because they want the ingredients to always be fresh and the mixture to never go in the refrigerator. A guarantee of quality.
Their potato salad triumphed over others that opted for more sophisticated presentations and risky ingredients - some were shaped like nigiri, covered with a sheet of raw tuna or wrapped in a spinach leaf - precisely because of its simplicity.
“This is not a contest of creativity, but of virtuosity,” the jury reminded everyone, made up of some of the most authoritative voices in gastronomic journalism - Benjamín Lana, Jose Carlos Capel, Carlos Maribona, Ignacio Medina or Julia Pérez Lozano - and chefs of the prestige of Martín Berasategui and Leonor Espinosa.
Historic table renovated
“We opened just a few months ago and this is so exciting, it’s a huge boost,” María said, holding the award and visibly nervous. It was at the end of last year that Bedia and Cerrato took over a historic Bilbao restaurant, La Viña de Henao, with the enthusiasm of first-time entrepreneurs, but also aware of the weight of a legacy that dates back to the 1940s.
Both are around thirty years old, but have accumulated almost two decades of experience in a profession that they try to practice with humility, prudence and rigor.
Their menu is short, "because we can't do more," they admit. It's just the two of them on staff, in a business model reminiscent of old-fashioned family eateries, built on the hard work of a couple with a long history in the hospitality industry.
María shines for her talent for stews and the finesse of her sauces, in dishes that draw from the tradition of Basque cuisine, without sacrificing a more contemporary approach that refreshes dishes and aids digestion. "There are two ways to stand out: do what no one else does, or do what everyone else does better than anyone else." This award demonstrates that they have clearly opted for the latter.
They only have half a dozen tables and it's hard to find a spot, as in these first few months they've already built a loyal clientele, mostly local foodies. From today onwards, it will be virtually impossible.
