"Guisanderas", the guardians of traditional cuisine in Asturias

The "guisanderas" or stewmistresses are tasked with safeguarding traditional cuisine.

Cooked slowly using local produce and customs that have been handed down from previous generations.

Three pioneers founded the Asturias Guisanderas Club in October 1997 with a solid commitment to protecting traditional recipes, but also because they were tired of all the focus being on men while they stayed at home.

Nowadays there are almost fifty of them all over Asturias, of all ages. The stewmistresses live out the present without losing sight of the past, in a special region in terms of the variety and quality to be found in its larder, albeit hampered by the complex orography of the Principality of Asturias.

The stewmistresses are like the pillars holding up any structure. Amada Álvarez has spent over two decades fronting this curious club in Asturias, which also features names such as Ramona Menéndez (Casa Belarmino – Gozón), Yvonne Corral and Sara López (Casa Telva – Siero), Viri Fernández (El Llar de Viri – Candamo) and María Busta (Casa Eutimio – Lastres), among others.

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