Biko’s Chefs to describe their cuisine as "gachupa" and "mestiza"

By Gutiérrez Marcela Bobadilla. Correspondent London, Jun. 2 (Notimex) .- Mikel Alonso, Bruno Oteiza and Gerard Bellver, Biko restaurant’s chefs in Mexico City, define their cuisine as "gachupa" a blend between Basque cuisine and traditional Mexican cuisine, based on traditional Mexican ingredients. "It is not Basque cuisine, is a blend with a little bit more from Mexico," Chef Mikel Alonso, Biko’s co-founder, who 20 years ago opened the restaurant in Polanco area, in Mexico City, said in an interview with Notimex. The restaurant, located on Presidente Masaryk 407, provides among other dishes, pulled turkey with almond, shrimp with annatto and quelites, lamb pot, bean soup and papantla quail, among other creations. "It is a cuisine of pirates who have no port and, gastronomically speaking in terms of identity, because when the Basques come, they tell us that we do not make Basque cuisine and Mexicans said that we did not make Mexican cuisine," Alonso said. Alonso who is co-founder together with Chef Bruno Oteiza said that Biko produces "a half-breed cuisine which has incorporated products and techniques from travels that we have made". This year Biko was readmitted to the 50 Best Restaurants in the World list at the place 37th, after an absence of one year from the annual list of the British magazine, Restaurant. Chef Gerard Bellver, a Catalan who arrived to Mexico at the age of 12, said that "it was great; we did not expect to be placed 37th, we are three (restaurants) in Mexico City, just a few blocks from each other." The executive chef said: "We will not change in Biko, because we have been rewarded for what we've done, and not for what we will do." For the first time three Mexican restaurants are in the 50 best in the world list: Pujol (16) Quintonil (35) and Biko (37), which are located in the exclusive Polanco area, in Mexico City. William Reed Media, who publishes The Restaurant magazine, organizes the annual list which is created through the vote of an "influential group of nearly one thousand leaders of restaurants’ international community ". NTX / MGB / SRA /ZOC