Joan Roca: “Friendship is a key value in cooking. It's the ingredient that made Nouvelle Cuisine possible and what we did.”
Monday night, February 10th, was Joan Roca's night. A night to honor his legacy, pay tribute to him, applaud him, and give him all the recognition he deserves; but, very much in keeping with Roca's style, Joan himself shifted the focus and turned that night into an ode to friendship.
The friendship of all those who gathered, and also of those who weren't physically present but were there in spirit, was palpable on that special night. The Catalan chef emphasized not the tribute itself, but the reason behind it, because the foundation for it lies not only in sharing a profession but also in the underlying friendship: “I feel very fortunate to be a chef and to be your friend, to celebrate friendship as a key value in cooking.” An ingredient that, as Roca himself acknowledged, “is what made the Nouvelle Cuisine revolution possible, and the one that took place here and that we spearheaded. The ability to share knowledge, to love each other, to respect each other, to help each other, to be there when we know someone needs something, a call, a piece of advice. This is what has allowed the revolution to succeed.”
That's why none of the more than 20 chefs Dani García contacted to prepare this tribute dinner said no to the call to celebrate a colleague. 23 chefs, 21 restaurants, 71 Michelin stars in total, orchestrated a gastronomic symphony with Joan Roca's cuisine as the guiding thread and each participating chef's personal and unique interpretation of every creation. Albert Adrià, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Alberto Chicote, Diego Guerrero, Fina Puigdevall with her daughters Martina and Carlota Puigvert, Francis Paniego, Josean Alija, Marcos Morán, Nacho Manzano, Nandu Jubany, Oriol Castro, Paco Morales, Paco Pérez, Paco Roncero, Paolo Casagrande, Quique Dacosta, Rafa Zafra, Ramón Freixa, Ricard Camarena, and Toño Pérez all came together for a truly luxurious menu. A menu that moved Joan Roca, who emphatically told his colleagues: “You have improved our dishes, you have made better those dishes that were inspired by ideas, by stories. You have told wonderful things about the dishes and you have found the inspiration to make them your own.”
The stories behind each dish are intimately linked to Joan Roca's family, and especially to his parents, whom he made sure to mention and to whom he dedicated the tribute because "everything we are, both personally and professionally, is thanks to our parents, who taught us to work, to respect this wonderful profession, to keep alive the values they passed on to us: generosity, hospitality, humility." Joan Roca used the plural because he believes in teamwork, something he does in complete harmony with his brothers, Pitu and Jordi, who "continue to make El Celler de Can Roca like the Marx Brothers' stateroom," Joan Roca joked.
The evening, which followed in the footsteps of previous tributes that Dani García had already led years ago for great figures of gastronomy such as Ferran Adrià, Robuchon, Nobu and Arzak, not only brought together chefs in the kitchens of his recently opened Leña in Barcelona, but also included among the attendees cooks such as Ferran Adrià, Pedro Subijana, Martín Berasategui, Carles Gaig, Elena Arzak, the Torres brothers or Cristian Escribà and Patricia Schmidt, who also offered a sweet surprise in the form of a cake on that very special night in which, with the twelve chimes of midnight, Joan Roca also celebrated his 61st birthday.
Minutes of the Joan Roca Legacy
Olive tapa – Coca pizza and truffle (Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatrich and Mateu Casañas, Disfrutar ***)
Anchovies with truffle (Dani García, Smoked Room **)
Petrichor, the taste of wet earth (Diego Guerrero, DStage **)
Hot and Cold of Perdiz with Erizos (Albert Adrià, Enigma *)
Royal of capers and lemon, liquid tomato, warmed carabineros prawn and soup of its corals (Paolo Casagrande, Lasarte ***)
Carpaccio of pig's trotters, peas and cod tripe (Ramón Freixa, Ramón Freixa Restaurant**)
Pork jowl flan with Riofrío caviar (Toño Pérez, Atrio ***)
Fried Crisanchofa, Iberian ham essence and spiced “Burrata” (Alberto Chicote, Omeraki)
Tendons in the style of gnocchi alla sorrentina (Francis Paniego, El Portal de Echaurren **)
Hake kokotxas, pig's ear and cockles in green sauce (Josean Alija, Nerua *)
Limpet juice with cider, cabbage, potatoes and seaweed (Nacho Manzano, Casa Marcial ***)
Red mullet with its livers and ratte potato emulsion (Marcos Morán, Casa Gerardo*)
Rice with sausage and sea urchins (Quique Dacosta, Quique Dacosta Restaurant***)
Wild boar mille-feuille (Nandu Jubany, Can Jubany*)
Roast pigeon with its parfait, black olive shortbread and asparagus (Paco Morales, Noor ***)
Honey flower, cottage cheese, walnuts and ratafia (Fina Puigdevall, Les Cols **)
