For the people who make El Comidista, and I hope for our most loyal fans as well, the Christmas Viejuna contest has become one of the highlights of the year. For six years now, hundreds of priceless images of demodé dishes have been received, sent from Christmas banquets throughout Spain by readers sensitive to retro food, demodé or whatever you call it. This party wants to vindicate the prawn cocktail, the impossible decorations in the salad, the stuffed pineapple and all those fantasies that are no longer cool, but to which we continue to have affection because they remind us of childhood.

Participating in this contest could not be easier: you just have to send us one or more photos of any old man who passes by your table on Christmas Eve or Christmas. What is “viejuno”? Well, everything that reminds of the sixties, seventies or eighties, or that is out of tune with the gastronomic modernity of the 21st century. Good examples can be the deviled eggs, the prawn compositions, the varied canapés, the jellies, the rococo cakes or the ham rolls with spun egg, but if you want to understand the concept well, the best thing is that you go to see the winners 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 or 2016.

This year we have three awards which are the repanocha, and which, as is tradition, has given us the wonderful store of kitchen tools Le Cuine. For the winner, a Breville coffee maker. More specifically, the newest on the market: the Prima Latte 3. A simple and compact coffee machine to prepare professional espresso, cappuccinos or lattes at the touch of a button. It includes a removable 600ml milk tank with which it can be put into the fridge, and the height is adjustable for large and small cups. One cucada, come on.

The winner of the second prize will receive a Kuvings B8200 juice extractor at home. This prodigious machine presses the fruit cold, and its large inlet allows the entry of whole pieces, thus avoiding oxidation and obtaining a more vividly colored juice. With the Kuvings you can also prepare smoothies, sorbets or vegetable milks. And something very important in the morning: it doesn’t get too loud (40dB).

For the three finalists, the trendy kitchen tool: an oil-free deep fryer. The COSORI Smart has a capacity of 5.5 liters and works via WiFi. The combination of hot air and high temperature allows the miracle of fat-free frying potatoes, croquettes, dumplings, chicken wings and even French toast.

Who will decide the winners? As always, the leadership of El Comidista in a top-secret meeting. What will be valued for the verdict? The originality, the fantasy, the charm, the sentimental history of the dish, its old-fashionedness, the sense of humor, the scattering … All good things. Attention: we do not want ugly, seedy or repulsive food. We like good old-fashioned cuisine, and this contest is not a joke, but a loving tribute to its peak season, which is Christmas.

You have multiple ways to send us the photos:

• By mail, writing to [email protected] and putting in the subject “Christmas Viejuna”.
• For Twitter or Instagram, copying @elcomidist and using the tag #NavidadViejuna.
• On Facebook, leaving them on the wall of the El Comidista page with the hashtag #NavidadViejuna.
• And, of course, sending them by carrier pigeon or telex to this address: Ernst Stavro, 14, 5th right. Spectra, Vacation Town. Vladivostok (former Soviet Union).

The images must reach our hands before 12 pm on Monday, December 27.

The verdict will be made public on January 6 on this same website, in an article that will show the best examples received. Until then, we wish you a Christmas as old as possible, which for avant-garde is already the rest of the year.

You can check the contest rules here.