Treasures Around El Bulli
August 19th, 2011
Ferran Adrià’s departure leaves a void, but Gerona remains a unique culinary destination, Cinco Dias reports.
It remains a culinary destination par excellence. For years, Gerona has competed with San Sebastian for the greatest number of gastronomic temples. The phenomenon of El Bulli spread throughout the province and brought out the talents of numerous chefs. With the temporary retirement of Adrià, who is considered the best and most influential chef (Ferran Adrià will return in 2014 with El Bulli Foundation), Gerona has found a worthy successor.
El Celler de Can Roca (www.cellercanroca.com), is run by the Roca brothers, who have brought this establishment to the top. It has three Michelin stars and is the second best restaurant in the world, as ranked by S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants, published by Restaurant magazine. Their kitchen, as they themselves define it, is based on emotions, in the search for new techniques and concepts, also inviting you on a journey through the memory of flavours and aromas. So much so that Jordi Roca, whose deserts have always been inspired by perfumes, has now taken the opposite approach and launched his own Lemon Cloud fragrance.
About 60 miles away in Olot, the capital of the La Garrotxa district, is Les Cols (www.lescols.com), the gastronomic project of Fina Puigdevall and her husband, Manel Puigvert, where all their inspiration comes from the land. Their kitchen tries, they explain, to convey a lot but with just a few elements, in their eagerness to strip the plates down to the essentials, without getting lost in the poetry. The couple has started researching into bringing back traditional market gardens, and use products from their own area, such as buckwheat, corn, ducks and free range chickens, Santa Pau beans, river trout, truffles, and chestnuts, amongst other things.
By the sea, surrounded by the Cabo de Creus National Park, in Llança, is another culinary discovery: the restaurant of the Hotel Miramar (www.miramar.cat), which this year received its first Michelin star. In the kitchen is Paco Perez, and in the dining room is his wife, Montse Serra. Serving either an avant-garde tasting menu, or a la carte, dishes such as rice with cuttlefish or a provincial dish with pig’s trotters. Also in this town, serving the freshest produce is Luis Fernandez Punset at Els Pescadors (www.restaurantelspescadors.com).
In Figueras, as well as stopping off to see the Dali Museum you can partake in the classic culinary offerings of Motel Ampurdán (www.hotelemporda.com), with 50 years of serving dishes that bring back memories of days gone by.
Although El Bulli is closed, a trip to Roses is still a must, especially to taste the snails in Rafa’s restaurant (972 254 003), one of Ferran Adrià’s favourite dishes and favourite places to eat, and where also the quality of their grilled fish is outstanding.
Nearby is L’Escala, with El Roser 2 (www.elroser2.com), overlooking the Gulf of Roses and the ruins of Empuries and Riells, where the star is the seafood and where no one should leave without trying the local anchovies with Dauro oil or honeyed rice with Roses prawns and mushrooms.
Inland, Bo.Tic (www.bo-tic.com) in the village of Corca, was awarded a Michelin star in 2010 for their surprisingly mature and imaginative cuisine. These are just a small sample of what’s on offer, there are more …
