Design and gastronomy met in a fortuitous encounter, at least when we talk about what happened between the Roca brothers and the artisan designer Andreu Carulla , which has just opened Normal, a restaurant in the barri vell (jewish quarter) of Girona. "We met at the baptism of a friend's son where they did the ctering," explains Carulla, who has been working with the Roca family since 2009.
“What is normal for the Rocas, is great for the rest of the world”, he tells of a project in which the kitchen is led by Eli Nolla from Cerdanya and directed in the room by Joaquim Cufré directs the room , with a kitchen of proximity and without impositions.
Gastronomic normality with the Roca seal.
At the beginning of the project, the brothers had a clear idea of creating a higher restaurant than Can Roca , but below El Celler and Mas Marroch. But the design was still unclear until Carulla entered the equation. Normal seeks the normality of its creators in its menu, with dishes such as a rabbit kidney sandwich with sherry, the Sacha omelette (in honor of the Madrid restaurant), a sticky pigeon rice or 'a la llauna' or veal tail with marrow. But, How do you get to "normal" with a interior design of design?
A purely handmade interior design.
"We try to make the interior ergonomic and visually comfortable , but that does not overshadow the gastronomic proposal, as often happens in the world of interior design. The exercise was to create a pleasant space to accompany a full dining experience , but nothing pretentious and at the same time very close. The Roca brothers emphasized that they wanted a place where people would feel welcome and at ease”, confesses Carulla of a job that was done completely to measure.
Even in the illumination , which responds to criteria justified by space. "That's why the ceramic lamps that we have put we would not find them in the market”.
Neither are the tables in the living room and the entrance bar made with recycled glass from El Celler de Can Roca , the fun ones water sources fresh from the bathroom that replace the faucets, the imperfect porcelain plates wave handmade bookshelf to accommodate 300 wines.
The wines (300 to be exact).
“One could also highlight the leather board that we have created to announce the dishes of the day as the most ingenious piece, the closing of the blinds that allows you to see the sky as the most practical piece. Without forgetting the star piece of a restaurant, which are the chairs , in this case made to measure like the most unique and ergonomic pieces (and inspired by the Catalan chairs designed to sit outdoors)”.
Mackerel with white garlic.
All this conceived so that you have your own space within the restaurant. “The beautiful thing is that when you enter it seems that there is nothing, however, it is not pure minimalism . There is nothing left or missing. everything has its place , without impositions, very natural and organic. It's the new warm minimalism."