Cuisine, art and mythology: the Coque restaurant opens a mural
red, white and black . Three colors, three brothers, a restaurant, a mural. Coke launches a new menu and does so at the same time that it welcomes a unique art piece , a mural located in the eye of the hurricane, where everything happens even if the diner does not see it: in the bowels of the “warrior yard” in which the Coque team rests, breathes, where they talk about the good and the bad, go up, down, go in, go out... where everything is born.
Simmon Said signs a great piece that is pure gastronomic mythology, family history and “a tribute to ancient flavors” , in the words of the artist. A synthesis of sandoval saga but also of the kitchen that was, that is and that will come.
And this is also the Coque experience: evolution and journey . Eating here is a path that flows in crescendo: it is starting with the bar , it will happen cellar, drop by the sacristy to, after expiating our sins with a glass of Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée, arrive at the R&D room , to the rage the battle of the stoves, the orders and... the great view to the mural . The final step, the warrior's rest, in room.
Tasting Coque is getting to know all its nooks and crannies while we taste bites and take perfectly conjugated sips; It is a pleasant walk in which we will let ourselves be guided by our 'shamans', an impeccable team that prepares and presents each elaboration in a perfectly orchestrated dance.
Emulating this gastrowalk, Simmon makes us walk through the memory of the Sandoval family and by the archeology of gastronomy . Starting with them, with the three brothers who lead Coque today and who are represented in this great mythology with three animals: Rafael, the bull , for his bullfighting career and his defense of the meadow; Mario, Horse , for his energy and his desire for research and innovation; Diego, the Eagle , the room manager who sees and supervises everything.
Simmon Said at work
But they are the third generation. The history of this gastronomic saga started in the 1940s: “my grandfather was cattle dealer and went to Talavera to buy and to sell. With my grandmother, they decide to buy a haystack in Humanes and open a tavern since she cooked very well, and that is how Waves : these were the wickers of what we are today”, he comments mario sandoval . And from there, Casa Peña, and then Peña Coque and, later, the cart wheel (like the one that appears on the mural, of course) .
WHAT CAME FIRST THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
Coque is also a story to write, future, sustainability and local cuisine . And something so elusive has its materialization in a basic element: in the chicken and the egg, which symbolize the traditional. The egg as origin and future.
“The egg has always been a somewhat magical element due to its versatility. So I went to CESIC to make an egg dish that hadn't been made before. So I started working with the scientist Marta Miguel, whose doctoral thesis dealt with the egg hydrolysis (that is, add an enzyme to the egg protein and cut it into small particles, so you break it down and you can make an egg with less fat, an egg with the texture of yogurt... ). We present it at Madrid Fusión and discover the new face of the egg. There were 1,000 ways to make an egg, but this was 1,001. ”, Mario Sandoval comments as he looks over all the icons that appear on the mural.
Coke hydrolyzed potato omelette
In the end, that's what kitchen archeology , of searching the past for ancient flavors to create new formulas . All this can be seen on the menu, in this “Potato omelette my way” (hydrolyzed Spanish omelette) that we tasted standing in the kitchen observing the mural: observing the map of the Universe Coque.
THE BIG DISH: COKE ROASTED SUCKLING PIG
From here, from the Innovation room, and while in our mouths we savor an egg like we had never done before, we take a look at the great red work among the hustle and bustle of the cooks. And we notice an intense heat that comes from the corner: it is the big oven in which it cooks over low heat the famous suckling pig that put the Coque family on the radar of lovers of good work.
“ The suckling pig is perhaps the best metaphor for Coque and the great symbol of the Sandoval family ; It is the family inheritance of the second generation, a traditional legacy that we turn into something magical: a lacquered suckling pig, of which we have studied the genetics, all the physical and chemical conditions to achieve a juicier and crispier roast, a suckling pig with 30% less fat...”, says Mario as he follows the image of the animal on the mural with his eyes.
From this emanates a white smoke that is soon confused with clouds? with a woman's hair? A female figure depositing her wisdom in an amphora containing three saucepans . That wisdom jumps from one to another, "it is the evolution of maternal knowledge, that never comes directly , but goes from generation to generation; that takes all those flavors and shows you the way”, analyzes Simmon.
This sort of hero (or heroine) represents ragweed “The food of the Gods, an eternal food that represents this archeology, that ancient flavor. Giving it another twist, according to Greek mythology Dionysus turned Ambrosia into a vine... and here wine also appears, that accompaniment to the great Coque dishes”, the artist points out.
Greco-Roman mythology, archeology of flavors, family history . Y future . In the central part of the mural, a great temple, “ a mystical zone , with two warriors from two different generations that represent teamwork”, defines Simmon. Above them, a kind of food pyramid , pantry, which contains everything we eat. And we will eat.
Two generations working on the future
I see this temple as the pantry of the future : what foods are we going to eat in 2050, how are we going to grow them, how are they going to be mixed... and everything always has to be in balance between the solid and the liquid, and always attend to that call for sustainability, defense of the sea and the land ... We have to be aware of what we take, how we take it and how we take advantage of it; what are we going to choose in Coque in a few years and why are we going to choose it. This is how I see this pantry. And we are protagonists to see how to do a kitchen that is easier for society and healthier Mario concludes.
A dialogue between art and cuisine what works, what explodes in the mouth , that strikes the mind . Which works perfectly as we travel for Coke in dishes like Torta del casar macaron accompanied by a Tio Pepe Fino (selected in the Rafael Sandoval winery) ; what a surprise with that False Canarian black potato with mojo picón that we eat in the darkness of the Sacristy, surrounded by large bottles of champagne and cava; that we finish with Lacquered suckling pig with its crispy skin, baked in a wood oven and osmosis lettuce.
Coque is a journey through the history of our flavors and an adventure for the future. And now, in addition to trying it, you can contemplate it.
Coke lacquered suckling pig