Amada Álvarez

President of the Asturias "Guisanderas" Club

Like any stewmistress worth her salt, Amada Álvarez believes that the secret of future cuisine lies in the recipes of the past.

Amada claims she inherited her fondness for cooking from her grandfather Celesto Pico, who worked as a chef in Asturias and Cuba.

As a little girl she learned to help out in the kitchen, and what had formerly been a chore turned into her passion. She had talent and she was good at cooking, especially broths and stews. She also helped out with pig-slaughtering, and made cured meats.

She later decided to enhance her culinary knowledge to fish, and finally opened her own restaurant, Meraxko, in 1988.

Amanda has not been running any businesses for some time now, but she is still President of the Asturias "Guisandera" Club.