Somos Gastro brings together great names in Madrid restaurants in its first days

"A meeting by and for gastronomy. To learn stories, to talk, to disagree...".

,

, launched this Monday

at

, the first conference on hospitality and restaurants that the historic leisure and gastronomy section of

held in the center of Madrid as a preamble to the

. which hours later were delivered to the Palacio de Cristal in Matadero.

The

space witnessed an interesting and entertaining meeting of the sector in which

from the Madrid gastronomic world was deciphering

while giving an account of the

that the future will bring .

Marcos Granda

, sommelier, businessman and owner of four restaurants with five Michelin stars;

, partner and chef of the La Ancha group;

and

, chef and partner of Amicitia, named revelation cook 2021 by the Metropolis Guide;

They talked about the

, how to create and retain talent at a time when it is difficult to find workers who are interested in the hospitality industry.

"

, although achieving that economically is the most complicated thing right now," said Lucía Grávalos in this sense and also in relation to the difficulties that businessmen must face in the beginning.

"I attach great importance to the

, to make the team believe that it is also their company (...) and that we all win or lose here," said Marcos Granda before pointing out that companies must adapt to the needs of your team, for example, by reducing working days or hours to increase rest if the numbers allow it.

"Society has changed.

(...).

If you want to be a leader, you have to be very human," said Nino Redruello, fourth generation of the La Ancha family, along the same lines before considering that the objectives are an important tool for the team to feel happy.

Paula Babiano and Juana Reinoso. BERNARDO DÍAZ

The second part of the day featured the daring and curious stories of

, CEO of the Balbisiana pastry shop;

and

, CEO of the catering Juanyta kills me!

Both referred to that turn that one day they decided to take in their lives to dedicate themselves body and soul to a profession without which they could not live today.

Paula Babiano studied Law and came to work in a law firm, but one day she decided to give it all up for cakes after the owners of the Larrumba group tried one of their

at a meal with friends .

"

it. Earning money to support myself was the most vertigo it gave me," said the businesswoman, who launched into entrepreneurship without knowing what a workshop was or setting up a business.

," added the pastry chef before telling that between now and March she will open four new points of sale in Madrid.

, she left as advice to those who are thinking of starting a business.

The story of Juana Reinoso, who worked in banking and renewable energy, also surprised the attendees.

," said the businesswoman, who set up a restaurant and later took a small turn towards catering.

"The most important thing was personnel management and cost management. With that, you get a business going," she added.

she added.

Juan Diego Sandoval, Sergio Gil and Guille Rivera. BERNARDO DÍAZ

The first day of Somos Gastro, sponsored by

, closed with a talk about the tough but essential challenge that awaits the sector:

.

, head waiter at the Coque Restaurant;

, businessman from the Agarimo gastro-tavern;

and

, president of the Fundación Restaurantes Sostenibles and scientific director of Gastropology, offered their impressions on where restoration is headed and the benefits that taking that direction has for the sector.

"

. They grew vegetables and raised their own piglets. We grew up like this, where everything had to be done. When we came to Madrid we wanted

," said Juan Diego Sandoval, who considers that being sustainable is much cheaper than not being so and that to carry out a good job in this sense it is essential to have the figure of the sustainability manager.

"For me there are two important challenges: environmental and human sustainability,"

said Guille Rivera, who said that he reuses food waste for his own urban garden, uses seasonal products and suppliers aligned with his ideas in his restaurant.

For Sergio Gil, an expert in the field, Spain must lead this step towards sustainability in the hospitality industry.

," said the president of the Sustainable Restaurants Foundation, who saw it as essential not to leave anyone behind in this race.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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