El Celler de Can Roca presents a menu of 40 dishes to celebrate its four decades

Saint SebastianForty years is no small feat. That is why Joan Roca appeared before the audience at the San Sebastián Gastronomika congress to explain how El Celler de Can Roca has celebrated and will celebrate these four decades of the Girona restaurant's life. One of the cornerstones will be an extraordinary (and long, despite being small bites) 40-dish menu to pay homage to the restaurant's 40 years.

"We defend the tasting menu," he said. These are words with the intention of contradicting those who claim there is a certain exhaustion of the model. "We make small portions, which require immense work." The goal is clear to them: to provoke an "extraordinary satisfaction." "It is not just a tasting, but there are also elements of magic and fun."

A good example of this is the circular plate made with Girona stone. It is inspired by Ramon Llull's philosophical system Ars combinatoria. There we find the concepts of memory, represented by the mother's cannelloni; product, represented by two Mediterranean sand eels in tempura; wine, by an oyster with cava (this dish has been recovered and is a display of how the quintessential Catalan sparkling wine can be used in gastronomy) and poetry, which they materialize with their truffle brioche. This bite stuffed with Piedmont truffle is one of the Celler's snacks that tends to provoke the most euphoria. For this reason, it must be present at this moment of celebration and fanfare. We also find freedom, with a nigiri in which, instead of rice, there is squid, and instead of fish, turnip. These are some examples of the start of the menu. But the display of technique unfolds before us like a carpet. From some that they have learned in Asia, such as the versions of the most traditional dishes, like the veal with mushrooms –in which they mix Girona veal, Galician blonde, cecina, and mushrooms– or the homage to the Empordà nest. There are moments for learning, such as the rose and lychee-flavored dish in which the variety of flower used is one created by some Dutch guys called Jordi Roca.

And if we talk about the little brother, the desserts are a catalog of good humor. The augmented reality glasses are to make the diner part of the party. And thepetit fours, the dish that makes 40, is a Ferris wheel on which music plays. Which one? It will depend on the table. While the meal lasts, the waiters will have to see what makes the table tick. It will be the moment to decide if they want to serve them the Crazy for you, the music of The Godfatheror the Real Madrid anthem.

A party, expansion and the future

Joan Roca explained that many people asked them how they would celebrate it. Well, the answer is that they have already celebrated it. They held a party to which they did not invite social obligations or the press, but rather the entire team from all their businesses. That day, only one person worked, Jordi Roca, in his musical persona spinning music: DJ Stone. Furthermore, he showed a photo that was very impressive: that of the four grandchildren who are already integrated into the business, Marc, Martí, Maria, and Marina, with the grandparents, with whom it all began, Montserrat Fontané and Josep Roca.

Regarding growth, Roca recalled that they have not given up on expanding their universe. "We have given up on being in other parts of the world, but not on growing in Girona," he said. Growing has been the way to accommodate the talent of the family and the team. Roca also wanted to stand up for the sector, following the statements by Bruno Verjus in which he claimed that haute cuisine was dead. Roca could not disagree more. "It is not true that haute gastronomy is dying," he said. And he provided figures. "We have an eleven-month waiting list. We serve 50 covers at lunch and 50 at dinner. Haute cuisine is relevant and will continue to be if we have the necessary awareness to do things well and maintain constant creativity. The success of a restaurant is that people return. The most important thing in a restaurant is not the stars. It is that it is full and the clients want to return," he concluded. For the three brothers, if people have enjoyed themselves at their restaurant, the goal has been achieved. "May they want to return and continue with us for another 40 years," said Roca, while the auditorium broke into applause.