MADRID, June 12 — Tomorrow night, all eyes will be on Roca brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi, who will learn if their restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Spain has managed to hold strong to the title of world’s best restaurant for a third time.
After first taking the title at the 2013 edition of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and then snagging the top spot again in 2015, Joan Roca has been catapulted into the culinary spotlight and upheld as one of the most dynamic and innovative chefs to watch.
Because for Roca, gastronomy is not a single silo art form. By contrast, he seeks the creative input of interdisciplinary experts to help develop his menu.
“Our creative team includes a scientist, botanist and artist, a lot of interesting people,” Roca said in an interview in French.
“They help bring new ideas to the table.”
Roca also credits his brothers for fuelling the restaurant’s creativity — not a small feat for those who are at the top of their game and live under the constant pressure of raising the bar.
“We have a very good relationship. My brothers are very creative and between this triangle, things can get very interesting,” he said. “Three heads really are better than one.”
Josep works the front of the house, while Jordi is the restaurant’s pastry chef.
Reinventing the concept of dining
Since winning the title, the restaurant has elevated food to a musical and artistic experience with the staging of a one-off theatrical production El Somni in 2013, which engaged all the senses.
Likewise, in 2014, the restaurant capitalised on their international fame and embarked on a gastronomic tour — not unlike rock stars — taking their Girona restaurant to parts of the US and Latin America.
Because for Roca, El Celler de Can Roca is not a brick and mortar restaurant, he said.
“The restaurant is our team.”
Paradoxical cuisine
Despite redefining the traditional dining experience with interactive dinners and world tours, Roca admits he still has much culinary terrain to uncover.
During a recent trip to Thailand with Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Roca stepped out of his comfort zone and explored the flavours of yellow curry, Thai basil, and chili peppers — ingredients that are relatively new to El Celler de Can Roca’s culinary spectrum.
Roca’s unfamiliarity with Asian flavours is perhaps a byproduct of the restaurant’s paradoxical cuisine: avant-garde cuisine using hyper local, traditional Catalan ingredients.
This summer, Roca will embark on his third world tour with the restaurant staff, hitting London, Phoenix, San Francisco, Santiago, Chile and Hong Kong, where he will demystify local flavours. For Roca, one of the most elusive cuisines is Chinese cuisine, which he admits he knows little about.
And while culinary creativity is an important aspect of the El Celler de Can Roca experience, chef Roca believes the reason the restaurant has found such favour among the gastronomic elite — whether they realise it or not — is their emphasis on the art of hospitality.
“Normally, guests will find at least two of us at the restaurant, if not three,” he said.
“The most important thing is hospitality. It’s important that the guests are happy to be here.” — AFP-Relaxnews
