The Roca: large and close
Many thought that it was not possible, that after elBulli nothing would ever be the same, but others of us knew that it was not: Celler de Can Roca has been the best restaurant in the world since yesterday and even the detractors of the controversial and influential British magazine Restaurant list.
During the "family" meal, as the group of Spanish chefs attending the event is known (whether they are on the list or not), chef Alex Atala, owner of the Sao Paulo DOM, whom rumor mills had made the winner since the weeks, he assured me: “whatever happens this afternoon, if there is a complete restaurant in the world, it is Celler de Can Roca. We all have a weak spot, they don't.. The kitchen, the pastry shop, the cellar, everything is perfect” . The Roca brothers are a unique case, because each one has stood out in his specialty, reaching the top: Joan in the savory kitchen, Jordi in the desserts and Josep as a sommelier.
"We couldn't be happier," Joan Roca told me hours later at London's Guildhall, where the festival is held every year. "Not just for us, but because this is a recognition for Spanish gastronomy . We want to share it with all the restaurants in Spain. Once again they turn their eyes to Spain and if they look at us, they will also see them”.
After the complete list of San Pellegrino was made public, among the top ten restaurants in the world there are three Spanish. In addition to Celler de Can Roca, Mugaritz is in fourth place and Arzak in eight. Juan Mari Arzak is the only chef of his generation who is still at the top. ** The other joy of this year has been the rise of Quique Dacosta to 26th place (he has risen 14) ** and the entry of Tickets Albert Adriá in position 77 , because although the list is known as 50Best, the truth is that it reaches number 100 and what the hell! Anyone would like to be among the 100 best professionals in the world in his trade. Or not?
The grill also has a lot of merit Etxebarri (whose chef Bitor Arguinzoniz rarely travels abroad and participates in events) has maintained a worthy 44th position, although he has fallen several times. The last Spanish restaurant that appears is Martin Berasategui in 64th place.
As **Quique Dacosta (also happy)** explained to me: “in Spain we have it harder to be on the list because there are many very good restaurants and the vote is distributed . If there was only one, everyone would vote for him as it happens in other countries. Arzak, for his part, was already happy before knowing the result: "What more can I ask for, after so many years to continue on the list is already a prize - he said smiling".
With the same enthusiasm he spoke Andoni Aduriz after learning that he had dropped one position and that Celler was number one, a position to which Mugaritz also aspired. “I am very happy for the Rocas, and for Spanish cuisine, good news is needed and this is it . It means that we are there that we continue to fight, that our way of understanding gastronomy is still valid, that it has not expired. We have been among the top 10 for 8 years, we cannot ask for more either”.
The Roca brothers collecting the award
Things that stand out from this 2013 list: that there is no French restaurant in the top 10. That there are only two women on the list (50) Helena Rizzo de Maní (Sao Paulo) and Elena Arzak, and that the restaurant of the chosen best female chef, the Italian Nadia Santini, does not appear in it. Or that Alinea (Chicago) has fallen from Gran Achat and Per Se (New York) from Thomas Keller, leaving only Eleven Madison (New York) in the top 10, despite the strength of the American vote on this list.
Among the most striking novelties, the rise to the top of Steirereck (Vienna), a truly extraordinary restaurant where I had the opportunity to eat a few months ago, and Vendome (Germany), both representatives of central European cuisine.
But one thing is clear: Restaurant looks to South America. The magazine's editors and event organizers know the importance that gastronomy has there and just as this winter the 50Best Asia list was made public, next September the 50Best South America will appear. The list of restaurants represented is becoming more and more important: in addition to DOM by Alex Atala in 7th place, the also Brazilian Maní by Helena Rizzo and Daniel Redondo (a Spaniard who was second at Celler de Can Roca for many years) are among the 50 which is in 46th place. **The Peruvians Gastón Acurio (14) and Central (50) **. The Mexicans Pujol of Enrique Olvera in the 17th position and Biko in the 31st. In the 80th position is Roberta Sudbrack (Rio de Janeiro) and in the 76th Malabar of the Peruvian Pedro Miguel Schiafino.
Yesterday, at the Guildhall in London, I shouted and applauded with all my might when the name of Celler de Can Roca appeared on the big screen and the brothers hugged each other in their seats before going up on stage smiling and nervous. I would have done it with any Spaniard, it's also true, but with the Roca I have a special feeling. Many years ago, when I did the first report, the restaurant was closed because it was Monday. Joan apologized and told me that we had to eat at her parents' restaurant, "an eatery where they give a menu, nothing gastronomic": it was a party and I ate -I still remember, I forget everything- the best fish suquet I have ever eaten, cooked by hers Montse de ella, her mother.
Yesterday she thought about how she would be living the moment there in Girona, with her husband, seeing the worldwide success of her brilliant children. I got goosebumps. It must not be forgotten, the Celler de Can Roca, number one in the world, is a family restaurant, which emerged from a modest eating house, which He has gotten to where he is thanks to effort, work, humility and intelligence . This should serve as an example. I'm not going to write about the Roca family's kitchen because everything has already been written, but as Quique Dacosta said yesterday, “The Roca family's cuisine is avant-garde, yes, but a diplomatic avant-garde, that everyone can understand and that's perfect”. Large kitchen, but close, that is its merit.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- El Celler de Can Roca, elected the best restaurant in the world
- The restaurant without chronicle - Pitu Roca: the perfect sommelier