El Celler de Can Roca
It’s time to dive into Part 2 of our Girona trip: the dinner at El Celler de Can Roca. The timing of this piece could not have been better because it’s my 4-0 birthday today and I have relished reliving the experience!
Accolade Highlight Reel:
3 Michelin Stars, The Michelin Guide
Best Restaurant in the World, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
World’s Best Chef, The Best Chef Awards Academy
World’s Best Pastry Chef, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Chefs’ Choice Award, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Goodwill Ambassadors, UN Sustainable Development Programme
El Celler de Can Roca is founded and run by brothers: Jordi (pastry chef), Josep (“wine waiter”), and Joan (chef), who were born and raised in Girona. Their mother is a chef and with her husband, she opened the traditional Catalonian family restaurant Can Roca in 1967. The boys grew up in and with her restaurant and it is up the street from their own. I believe she still cooks daily meals for her sons’ staff of 70+ at the young age of 84! Clearly, the hospitality seeds were planted early in the Roca progeny.
Fine dining establishments possess a high level of accuracy, meticulousness, passion, beauty, and creativity. If I had to use a single word to describe what makes El Celler de Can Roca stand out to me, it is fidelity. There is an undeniable faithfulness to family and craft that makes them special. From the moment you step onto their property and despite a modernist interior design (which I loved), you feel a welcoming sense of warmth, cohesiveness, and anticipation. The night we dined, all three brothers were on-site and we were lucky enough to meet them. Hospitality is quite literally in their blood and at the heart of everything they do; it is palpable and I felt it in our conversation. What I also love about their story is they evolved over time into who they are today. The two oldest brothers opened the restaurant in 1986 and over the course of several years, the trio found out who they were as professionals, individually and then collectively, to build something magnificent and then the numerous accolades followed. Rome was not built in a day and neither was El Celler de Can Roca.
What can you expect dining at El Celler de Can Roca? A tasting menu of local Catalonian ingredients coupled with some avant garde and molecular techniques. And a whole lot of wonder. I think you can pick up on this with the globe pics/video above. What kind of a mind comes up with this stuff and what’s the story behind the dish? It’s not just the incredibly refined cooking. It’s the design, aesthetics, 5 senses experience, and utmost thoughtfulness to every detail. The heavy influence of regional cuisine juxtaposed with the El Bulli training creates something unique. The wine pairing was magnificent and I’m glad we did it then because I would not be standing after even a few rounds today, having largely given up alcohol. The desserts were whimsical and you cannot help but marvel and smile.
I appreciated the focus on sustainability, local, and the environment. Glass and wood are key design elements and I loved our table with the glass encased birch looking trees right in front of us in the intimate yet spacious dining area. The best news for those weary of fine dining is that you won’t need to hit up a drive thru at the end of this meal!!
The restless brothers never cease to amaze and it is hard to keep up with their ventures of late. Jordi has Rocambolesc, an ice cream store with locations in Girona, Madrid, and Barcelona that’s guaranteed to be the most imaginative and creative you’ve ever tasted (e.g. there’s a popsicle in the shape of his signature nose). The online store sells everything from their recycled glass project goods to alcohol to chocolates. They have written several books.
Last year, they opened Casa Cacao (a chocolatier with onsite production) and an adjacent boutique hotel, Hotel Casa Cacao in the city center. Chocolate lovers, run, don’t walk! They didn’t let 2020 get in their way because they also opened a temporary restaurant Mas Marroch in their new 8 hectare/20 acre eco-sustainable event space The Agora in the outskirts of Girona. These 2020 projects are in partnership with Joan and Josep’s wives respectively. Imagine hosting an event with the Roca family at the helm…
What a great photo! If you know me, you know that family means everything to me! (Picture from their website)
My Final Thoughts on Fine Dining (based on a collection of experiences):
Fine dining is about setting your expectations. I know you’ve paid a lot for your meal. Maybe you’ve even waited for more than a year for your reservation. I know you’re likely giddy excited. Gentle reminder though, that perfection does not exist. Not even for this experience.
The restaurant staff are busting their asses at a level you cannot imagine (unless of course you’ve worked in a restaurant) to prepare your food. Keep this in mind in the framing of any criticisms you may have to offer. This actually applies to any restaurant.
Not everyone is into fine dining and that’s totally cool. On the other end, while everyone is (sometimes unfortunately) entitled to their opinion, a food critic is a qualified job. If you have a choice in who you dine with, choose your dining partner(s) carefully and pick someone you want to spend 3+ hours with.
