Croquemon Gou: shameless, but tasty

AS THE joyous news that Pokemon Go is almost unplayable after developers Niantic removed a heap of features, the global hysteria may have reached its zenith for the time being, but that does not mean the almighty bandwagon that the augmented reality phenomenon has foisted onto the world will suddenly wither away, as epitomised by the latest scheme from the Tapatologos Association.

Thus, we are presented with the deep-fried spinoff ‘Croquemon Gou’, in which lovers of the bechamel-based tapas are encouraged to hare through the streets of Cadiz in search of the ancient city’s most flavoursome croquettes.

Food blogger Pepe Montford captured the mood, and the croquette, as he wrote: “If people are running around the world hunting Pikachu, why don’t you go to stalk croquettes…what’s more, they have ham inside!”

In order to participate, contestants have to send a photo of their captured croquette, which can be either “whole, or with a bite taken out,” and send it in to Pepe, with the winning formula being based on a number of attributes, including the creaminess of the bechamel, the originality of the filling, the perfection of the breading, or the number of chunks of solid matter inside.

The snapshot must depict either the croquette alone in all its glory or pierced by a fork, although players can also submit a ‘selfie-croquette’, in which they appear alongside the breaded ovoid in order to “show the world your croquette-based happiness.”

Photos must be taken in local bars, restaurants, or other eateries, with croquettes cooked by grandma, mum, girlfriends or lovers not submissable, and a maximum of two entries per player will be accepted.

The competition is running until August 12, and the winner will receive a set of cookery books, with further details (in Spanish) available here.