The tributes to the key figures of Catalan cuisine and the restoration promoted by La Boqueria continue and yesterday it was the turn of Jaume Subirós, chef and owner of the emblematic Motel Empordà in Figueres. As was recalled during the event held in the Barcelona market, attended by some of his most dear professional colleagues, such as Carles Gaig and Josep Maria Freixa, Subirós is considered “a revolutionary and a precursor of modern Catalan cuisine.” .
At just 11 years old, he started working in that motel that had opened in 1961, on the national highway through which international tourism accessed the Costa Brava. Little by little he learned the trade in the kitchen of the hotel restaurant, alongside its owner, the creative chef Josep Mercader.
Subirós, who would marry Anna Maria Mercader, daughter of his boss, in 1974, took the reins of the Empordà Motel when his father-in-law died prematurely in 1979. At that time the Motel was already an emblematic place to which Mercader had contributed the original creations (there are the anchovy bones, the garum canapé or the broad beans with mint and pig's foot, among many others) that would promote the first revolution in Catalan cuisine and that, together with classic preparations, would make one of its most enamored. regular customers, Josep Pla.
Óscar Ubide, manager of La Boqueria, highlighted Subirós' ability to make diners enjoy themselves, making them feel “at home” due to his charisma (without losing the habit of finishing the dishes in front of the customer) and his hospitality.
Subirós, which at this time of year offers one of the best game cuisines in the country, thanked the tribute and highlighted that Catalan cuisine “is the continuity of the cuisine of the grandmothers who went to the garden in search of the products we find in the markets".
The chef also recalled what that part of his job that consists of choosing the products he will cook represents for him: “They are intimate moments, of creativity in the choice of fresh ingredients that vary each season” and he pointed out the importance of the little ones. details that have great consequences” as well as his faith in “daily creative work.”
To conclude the tribute ceremony, the honorary president of the Boqueria, Salvador Capdevila, highlighted “the crucial contribution of Subirós in uniting tradition and modernity in Catalan cuisine.”
