THESE are the dishes that won 26-year-old fishmonger Aleix Puig Masterchef 2019.

The seventh edition of the hit show was held in Denia and featured local three-Michelin starred chef Quique Dacosta.

The three plates, named ‘Where I’m From’, ‘Where I Am’ and ‘Where I’m Going’, chart the three phases of Aleix’s now nationwide famous life.

ROOTS: After smoking the sardines, Aleix left them to marinate in salt, sugar and lemon zest

The first dish consisted of chopped, home-smoked sardines on a tomato bizcocho, with frozen basil and a black garlic sauce.

The starter touched on culinary themes of Aleix’s youth, in Barcelona.

MAIN: After briefly scalding the shellfish, Aleix kept them in cold salt water before serving

The main dish was based upon Aleix’s working life as a fishmonger with his mother. 

It featured exquisitely prepared cockles, clams, barnacles and mussels, alongside ponzu-marinated scallops and lobster in a turbot consomme, with kimchi and freshly-prepared mayonnaise. 

TRY YOURSELF: The full recipes can be found online, follow the above link

The dessert dish blew the judges away with a dish rooted in Aleix’s upbringing, but encapsulating his wildest dreams.

The dish was built from crema catalana with two ‘moon stones’ – made from orange liqueur, cocoa butter and breadcumbs and frozen in liquid nitrogen – with violet-flavoured ice cream and broken bits of frozen mulberry and raspberry.

The three sumptuous dishes won Aleix the tournament, and a tidy 100,000, in the UNESCO designated Creative City of Gastronomy.

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