Pont Sec

Pep Romany is the founder of the culinary project Pont Sec. Pep is a cook but also a gourmet, a reclaimer of flavours, a hunter of experiences, a provider of sensations and a thousand more things that may be a tiny bit pretentious.

Some would even say that he is an artist, although Pep is uncomfortable with that label: "I am not an artist; I am an artisan. I don't compose; I interpret the scores that others have composed, whether many years ago or just yesterday; that doesn't matter to me. I conduct an orchestra; other people are the artists."

His cuisine is based on the 3 Ts: Tradición, Territorio, y Temporada (tradition, land and season). It's that simple and yet, that complex. He directs his team and guides them in respect for traditional culinary culture, for the legacy of our grandparents, for reclaiming our history, for the land, for escaping the bubble and for innovation, investigation and modernity as his menu leaves space for trying new things.

Sustainable tourism education is something he considers necessary to deploy sustainable tourism and avoid massified low-cost and low-value tourism experiences. He applies sustainability in culinary experiences bottom-up, from a single practice to public and sectorial recognition.

Circular Strategy: Regenerate

Country: Spain

Up-cycling raw materials and preventing waste

Denia is a nationally recognised paradise for catching and eating fish and has been since ancient times.

The past fishermen had limited markets and resources, usually nearby. The difficulties of transporting and preserving highly perishable foods, such as fish and cephalopods, forced fishermen and families living in fishing areas to develop economic preservation techniques that reduced food loss and made consumption possible at times of the year when fishing trips with very rudimentary means were not possible.

One such ancient salt preservation technique that is very popular on the Mediterranean coast is known by its generic name: salting.

Similar to this preservation technique, but without salt, is that of sun-drying. Among the seafood products that are dried in the sun, the king in the case of the Marina, the region where Denia is located, is the octopus.

Acceptance is needed in the local restaurant sector to allow these techniques and their resulting products to have a tangible impact on the population.
In addition to preserving the techniques, creating a demand for them is necessary.
In this creation of demand, it is necessary to have consumer involvement through education and information on the properties and organoleptic values of the product. It is important to include the product in preparations by the best exponents of the local restaurant industry where the product is produced.

Economic
Km0 sourcing not large value chains to consumers means lower costs. Regional Gastro offers differentiation.

Social
Fish Dryers jobs (producers and speciality shops) Tradition Territory values

Environmental
Waste reduction, Km0 sourcing (CO2 footprint)

Human resources
Staff needed for the different production processes.

Financial resources
PONT SEC needs to invest some financial resources in elaboration and stock; the products should be curated for several weeks or months, depending on each type. Not immediate sale implies adding a considerable stock cost derived from the food curation type to the elaboration cost.

Other resources
He needs specific investments in tools and spaces for the long curate period.