Following the final of this contest held last Wednesday at the Perujo Playa beach bar in Torremolinos, we wanted to find out what it takes to prepare a good 'espeto de sardinas' roasted, skewered sardiens. To do so, we spoke to the 'amoragador' (espeto chef) at Royal Beach Piratas, which reached the final stage of the competition along with four other beach bars in the province.

It might seem simple, but it's not. The first step is selecting top-quality sardines, and then skewering them correctly, as explained by Francisco Clavijo, 'amoragador' at this Calahonda-based beach bar: “You always skewer them through the spine, so that when you turn the sardine over, it doesn’t fall off”. The distance from the fire is also key: “If it’s too close, the sardine burns on the outside and stays raw inside. So getting the distance right is the most important part".

 

This skill shown by Clavijo, who has been grilling fish on the Mijas coast for 18 years, has earned Royal Beach Piratas a place among the top five beach bars in Málaga for eating sardines. “We didn’t come first, but we’re among the five finalists, so I’ll take that to mean we’re the best in Mijas, that’s for sure”, said one of the owners, Carlos Morales.

Experience truly counts, and many kilos of sardines are grilled here every day. “We grill a couple of boxes of sardines a day at the moment, while it’s still quiet and on weekends, we serve four or five every Saturday and Sunday”, said Morales. That’s a substantial amount of fish, considering each box contains between six and seven kilos of sardines.

The competition

After going through several stages, the pirates from Mijas reached the final of the eighth edition of the Ruta del Espeto by Málaga en la Mesa, in which 45 establishments took part. In the final, each participant had to prepare four 'espetos' with sardines from Castellón, Barcelona, and Cádiz, without knowing where each one came from.

"I got the one from Castellón right because I know that sardines from Castellón have bigger eyes, and I also guessed the one from Cádiz”, explained Clavijo, thus fulfilling one of the requirements of the competition, which was to identify two out of three. Once again he had to skewer the sardines, finishing the contest "very happy because, I was just one point behind the winner, so I’m pleased with that".

Ángel Ruiz, from Chiringuito Marina Playa in Rincón de la Victoria, was crowned the winner. The audience award went to Boraz Chiringo Club in Vélez-Málaga, while the Comerco prize was awarded to Tropy, in Caleta de Vélez.

 

Nearly 3,000 people submitted their votes in this edition of the competition. The winning establishment was awarded an advertising campaign with Málaga en la Mesa valued at 3,000 euros, while the public’s choice won one worth 1,000 euros. The eighth edition of this contest, organised by Málaga en la Mesa, the food and gastronomy supplement of Diario SUR, is sponsored by the Provincial Council of Málaga and its promotional brand Sabor a Málaga, with the collaboration of Cruzcampo, the Costa del Sol Beach Association, and Comerco.

Competitions like this highlight that the 'espeto, a quintessentially dish from Malaga, is still on the rise, attracting more and more visitors eager to taste it and witness the skill involved in its preparation. "Espeto is gastronomy, art, culture, tradition. There’s nothing more typical of Málaga than an 'espeto' of sardines", emphasised Morales, who invited everyone to stop by Los Piratas and try the dish.

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