Diana Díaz Garrido has become “Oil Chef”, on winning the “Jaén, Paraíso Interior” International Cooking Award in which she competed with seven other chefs.

“Jaén, Paraíso Interior” International Cooking Award jury has ruled that the winner of its 19th competition is Diana Díaz Garrido, from the El Invernadero restaurant with the recipe: Pickled Extra Virgin Olive Oil soup with pepper, egg yolk and botanicals. The competition, popularly called “Oil Chef”, was held once again at Gastronomika after having begun at Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía, the forerunner of San Sebastian Gastronomika.

So, a competition came back home which, finally, has been won by Diana Díaz Garrido. She beat seven other finalists. These were: Antonio Rubio Moreno, from el Mesón Campero (Linares, Jaén); José Miguel Martínez Pilar, from Tapas bar Cap Vermell (Canyamel, Mallorca); Álvaro Ávila Prieto, from la Alvaroteca (Málaga); Jaime Rivera Pardo, from El Poblet* run by Quique Dacosta (Valencia); Juan Carlos García Garrido, from Vandelvira (Baeza, Jaén); Ricardo Raposo Gonçalves da Luz, from Aladin Grill (Faro, Portugal), and Pablo Donadío Falcón, from Trivio* run by Jesús Segura (Cuenca).

To make the recipe, the contestants had to use the following “Jaén Selección 2022” oils: Balcón del Guadalquivir; Dominus Cosecha Temprana; Esencial Picual, de Peal de Becerro; Esencial Olive Picual, de Begíjar/Baeza; Olibaeza Picual; Oro Bailén Picual; Oro Magnasur Picual and Melgarejo Ecológico Premium Picual. 

Among the aspects to be assessed, the pairing of the Jáen extra virgin olive oil with the other ingredients, the presentation and innovativeness of the dish and the correct use of each of the ingredients were taken into account. The jury was made up of the chefs Lucía Campos, winner of the 18th competition and chef at Cancook; Sergio Bastard, from La Casona del Judío; Hilario Arbelaitz, from Zuberoa, and Francis Paniego, from El Portal; the gastronomic journalists, Pilar Salas, Guillermo Elejabeitia and Julián Méndez, and the Councillor for Promotion and Tourism at Jaén Provincial Council, Francisco Javier Lozano.