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Rafael Anson Delivers Master Lecture at Havana University
14May
News

Rafael Anson Delivers Master Lecture at Havana University

The main hall of Havana University has historically been the stage of choice for dignitaries and boldface names related to collegiate matters who visit Cuba.

On the eve of granting the city of Havana the status of Cocktail Capital of Hispanic America, Rafael Anson, president of the Iberian-American Gastronomy Academy, climbed to the podium Monday morning to deliver a master lecture on the importance of gastronomy for the development of the travel industry.

With Jose Carlos de Santiago, President and editor-in-chief of the Excelencias Group and ambassador of the Iberian-American Gastronomy Academy, and Jorge Méndez, chairman of the Cuban Gastronomy Academy, in attendance, Mr. Anson spoke candidly to over a hundred students from the School of Tourism at Havana University and their professor clusters.

Mr. Anson explained that the Iberian-American Gastronomy Academy has helped found over 40 local academies in different countries in Hispanic America, including the ones in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Peru.

He referred to today’s trendsetters in the gastronomy realm and homed in on the need to break free from pre-established concepts linked to haute cuisine and the culinary art.

“We must respect people’s preferences in terms of what they eat and how they eat it. There’s no such thing as drinking white wine when you eat seafood or sipping red wine when eating beef. Eating is the only human activity in which the five main senses are involved,” Mr. Anson told the audience.

In reference to the bond between gastronomy and tourism, Mr. Anson hinged on the cultural values of gastronomy, a sector that’s currently penciled in as one of the most creative human activities in today’s world.

He also pointed at the need to educate children and teach them how to eat properly, especially in a world that’s increasingly marked by fast-food trends and bad consumption habits.

“A goal we must achieve is to teach children between three and six years of age to train their taste and sight senses. That’s something way too hard to attain in today’s families because they don’t have the patience nor the time to do that anymore, so educational institutions should bear the brunt of that job now,” he explained.

Rafael Anson is in Cuba to present Cuban authorities with the certificate that grants the city of Havana the condition of Cocktail Capital of Hispanic America. This status will be in Havana’s possession for a course of a full year.