“It is an area with a thousand landscapes that can drive you crazy”
His training in the kitchen began very early , at 14 years , when he started working at the restaurant Estany Clar de Cercs . Today, his cuisine is characterized by enormous creativity, unbeatable technique and constant innovation, what makes him open to all tendencies . As a good cook, he knows very well where the culinary greatness of his land is. One of the areas that most surprises him due to the variety and quality of his product is La Garrotxa.
An incredible place due to its volcanic singularity, with a unique landscape and a fertile and vital land, where products grow that give rise to its own cuisine. “ The Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa , the Vall d'en Bas and the Valley of Bianya They are very special areas with gastronomy deeply rooted in high mountain cuisine. There we can find forceful products, very close to tradition, such as fesols (beans), farro, black naps , the potato from Vall d'en Bas , or the lamb. Just to try them, it's worth visiting the area”, says the young chef born in Manresa.
One of the things that Jordi recommends to the visitor with gastronomic curiosity and restlessness is to visit the Origins Fair in Olot , a gastro-food fair that is held annually in this city of the Pyrenees of Catalonia . “Due to the peculiarities of the area, very dispersed population areas within a mountainous territory, this fair serves to put a face to small producers or processors and bring them closer to the final consumer, something that would otherwise be impossible”. There are always good addresses to give and it is convenient to follow Jordi's gastronomic instinct.
Origins Fair in Olot: on the trail of the product
“ In that area I have a lot of love for the restaurant Les Cols in Olot and I also really like to visit the Cal'Enric Restaurant in the Valley of Bianya. It does not mean that the others are better or worse, but rather that these are the ones I know best and with whom I have the most friendship, and you can eat very well in both. . But there are plenty of traditional places, with home cooking that are also worth it. . It is a volcanic area where there is a lot of green, a lot of nature and a lot of high mountains: a thousand landscapes where you can go crazy”, says Jordi.
“Also, I would highlight Olot, which is the city of volcanoes ; an unforgettable monument . And, since I really like history and medieval themes, there are two places that I am passionate about, they are Besalu and Santa Pau ”, he explains.
The mushrooms at the Cal'Enric restaurant... MA-RA-VI-LLA
EVERY DAY, AN ADVENTURE
Jordi Cruz's cuisine is evolutionary and restless, based on the product and the to tradition but where there is much room for imagination . “I want my clients to leave delighted with the feeling of having eaten very well, that what they have paid is worth it; surprised and excited and with a deal ten . We make a product-based and avant-garde kitchen uniting the two things in a very elegant way, but where the product, as in any good house, it is the basis of everything ”. Innovation is his key word.
“ We are with five thousand things at once . In our house we always have several open creative paths. We have been all autumn and winter working on the broths; the thousand ways of elaborating them: in cooking, in clarifications, in microfiltrations... and always working on dealing with the new products that arrive and that we find interesting . From there, own techniques, own recipes, ways of serving in different rooms, many ways of being creative that Every week they provide us with two or three new dishes... ”.
For Jordi Cruz, every day is an adventure
A BELL TOWER KITCHEN
Catalonia is already a benchmark throughout the world for the quality of its gastronomy. And Jordi sticks out his chest . “It is highly positioned on the map, not only because Ferran Adrià did it very well , but because of our gastronomy, because of our products, because of our tradition, because of our location on the map, because of the influence of great cuisines such as Italy or France. We say that it is a bell tower kitchen because in almost any small town or city, in each bell tower, there is a different and unique dish ”.
Regarding the future, it is clear. “The kitchen has to go towards tradition and creativity in equal parts” he assures; and perhaps that is why the cook is not afraid to constantly embark on new adventures. “ Now we're about to open A Tempo , a very cool gastronomic bistro in the center of Barcelona; and our search for motivated people leads us to open a kind of health center or gym called Core , where we will merge good eating habits with great training and sell a very attractive food and health concept, ”he says.
A detail of the streets of Santa Pau
THE KEYS OF JORDI CRUZ
Where to eat:
- Cal'Enric in La Vall de Bianya.
- Les Cols in Olot.
- ABaC, in Barcelona. Two Michelin stars.
-Angle in Barcelona. One Michelin star.
- Bistro Ten's, in Barcelona at Park Hotel Barcelona, in the heart of the Born district.
Two irresistible cities: Besalu and Santa Pau.
A landscape where to get lost: The Vall de Bianya Natural Park and the Vall d'en Bas.
An appointment to discover new flavors: La Fira Orígen: Agrifood Fair of Quality Products in Olot (November 21 to 22, 2015).
Follow @JordiCruzMas
* This article has been published in Monographic number 80. Remember that, in addition to your usual kiosk and with the June issue, the monograph on Catalonia is on sale in digital format on Zinio .
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