CubaPLUS Magazine

The 4th edition of the Casabacha or cassava festival was held this Sunday at the Longina bar in the capital with the presence of numerous chefs, producers, entrepreneurs and defenders of this ancient food.

A large group of people attended the event, organized by Amigos del Casabe, which, moreover, is becoming common in a timely manner, since those who love this food have proposed to promote its consumption in the western part of the largest of the Antilles, since in the eastern zone it has never ceased to be present at family tables.

During this edition, the attendees were able to learn about the nutritional benefits of cassava, the ways of preparation and many other details that were exposed in two lectures given by Dr. María Ester Abreu, Master in Food Science and Technology and by the also DoctorMaría Isabel Lantero, specialist in food safety, respectively.

The participants in this meeting were also able to learn about the process of making cassava through a documentary made under the direction of Fernando Valdés (Ferval), a prominent photographer specializing in gastronomy, who was also the main coordinator of this edition of Casabacha. Subsequently, the chefs who participated in the preparation of the cassava-based dishes made their respective presentations, which were later tasted by those present.

Joel Fontaine, producer and great defender of cassava, Jorge Luis Acosta, Director of the Palmares non-hotel group, Eddy Fernández Monte, President of the Culinary Federation of Cuba, José Luis Méndez, executive of the Ministry of Tourism, and Madeleine Vázquez, attended this meeting.general coordinator of the SlowFood movement in Cuba, among other sector officials.

Originally produced from grated cassava by Native Americans, Arawaks and Tainos throughout the Caribbean basin, cassava has been passed down from generation to generation for more than five centuries. It is because of this great history that on behalf of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras and Cuba, the latter country has just submitted to UNESCO the file that seeks to register the tradition of this food as intangible heritage of humanity.