It is not usual to see Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca together, and it had been a long time since we had the opportunity to listen to the three brothers. But yesterday, as the final fireworks of the first day of the Girona Gastronomic Forum, it happened. The ideologues and co-owners of El Celler de Can Roca took the stage to reflect on the three axes on which their project is centered: cooking, awareness and research. It was one of the most acclaimed moments of the day, the first event for the person in charge of the sweet world of the restaurant since he recovered his voice a few days ago. "I am very happy to be able to give speeches again, and I am very excited that the first one is at home," said Roca, who showed affectionate gratitude to all his team and family.
Josep, the wine waiter, focused on sustainability, which has to do with the environment, but, above all, the emotional one: "A different hospitality concept is possible and it is the one we have been working on for years, because being responsible with the emotional part can also be vanguard and revolution”. The eldest of the three brothers, Joan, demonstrated to an auditorium packed to the brim with some of the Celler's current and future dishes, with absolute prominence in making full use of the products.
The person in charge of giving the starting signal to the first day of the Fòrum Gastronòmic was, in fact, Jordi Roca, with a monograph around the Bean to Bar, the movement focused on the production of high-quality artisanal chocolate. “We must consume and commit to this type of chocolate; With products for two euros in supermarkets, we contribute to the precariousness of cocoa producers and exporting countries”, said the latter. Together with some members of his team at the restaurant and at Casa Cacao, they prepared a sequence of desserts based on the reinterpretation of cocoa.
The Forum, with a smaller format, in which the majority of visitors had programmed their own route so as not to miss the tour of the entire fair area, neither the presentations nor the workshops, featured various events in which emphasis was placed on The sustainability. The chef Fina Puigdevall and her daughter Martina Puigvert explained how from Les Cols Restaurant they are facing some of the environmental challenges that the sector faces, with their orchard in the Vall de Bianya, and how they also transmit that awareness to their diners with each dish .
In the same sense, Paco Pérez spoke about the use of seaweed in his kitchen. The sea occupies a fundamental role in his life and in that of Antonio Muiños. Both, one a chef in Cap de Creus and the other an algae collector in Finisterre, respectively, agreed on the need to be generous with the environment, "which means not only stopping overexploiting them, but also collaborating and promoting their conservation and recovery." Perez said. The Majorcan delicatessen Xesc Reina showed how he prepared hybrid sausages, which mix meat with protein from the sea.
There was also a lot of space for debate about the current state of the sector. Rafael García Santos insisted that there is no kitchen left like before, just as gastronomic criticism has also been lost. "Journalists have sometimes elevated young chefs too soon," said Carlos Maribona. There was no shortage of live demonstrations, including a preparation of cocktails, vegetarian and vegan Moroccan cooking, and a steak tartare contest in which Héctor and Francisco López emerged as winners.
