Santi Colominas: "I have received all kinds of offers to buy my Toc al Mar, but I am not going to retire"

Aiguablava/BegurI interview the chef Santi Colominas (Argentona, 1973) on a summer morning, a few hours before the first lunch shift starts, at 1 p.m. The Toc al Mar restaurant celebrates its fifteenth anniversary this year, having opened in a fisherman's hut during a time of economic crisis. Santi had vacationed in Tamariu, and when he was offered the proposal, he accepted. For the first three years, he combined Toc al Mar with the Toc de Barcelona restaurant, which was located on Girona street in Barcelona. They were very intense years, with two young children he had along with the head of service and partner, Sandra Baliarda (1972, Badalona), who have today confessed that they like and are enthusiastic about the world of hospitality. They have their succession secured.

When did you decide to close the restaurant Toc de Barcelona, and dedicate yourselves only to Toc al Mar in Aiguablava?

— When Toc al Mar took off. From the first moment we opened, it was liked, because at a time of economic crisis, we created a formula without luxury, without tablecloths, informal, but with very high quality product, which has always been our obsession. At Toc al Mar we have tables that eat sardines with a beer or others that eat lobster with a good wine. We don't differentiate anyone, because all options have a place. And do you know what's happening to us now? We have many young people, twenty-year-olds, who you see like to eat and who come to Toc al Mar. I drool over these young people, and I make sure they don't lack anything, because they are the foundation. Young people who like to dine together are our future, and I go out of my way for these kids. I'm not one to greet customers much, because that's Sandra's job as head of the room, but when I see these young people who come to eat, I might end up sitting with them to talk.

The fishermen of our ports tell me that it is difficult to find sardines; they catch few of them.

— They are in season now, and we always work with local produce. It's true that the temperature of the sea water is changing everything. We also have problems with mussels from the Delta de l'Ebre, where production has dropped. It's a year in which the mussel is suffering a lot.

The same as happened this season with the herons.

— We don't serve them. We have to make a biological ban for years, because there are none, and when there are, they are empty! We cannot serve them to restaurants by making clients pay a high price, because we also pay a high price. A sea urchin costs 1.05 euros, and it turns out you pay and they are empty. That's why we haven't served them. Currently, in the time we live in, tourism campaigns based on a single product cause it to be destroyed in the short and medium term. In ancient times, very ancient times, they made sense, because they also helped to have tourism in other times of the year besides summer, but now they don't make sense. I repeat: campaigns based on a product are a mistake, because they end up generating speculation with the product.

You have it very clear.

— I am very critical. They consider me the enfant terrible, but I think I have to say what I feel and see. When they tell me that they are campaigning for mussels or rock fish to de-seasonalize tourism, I tell them that if people don't come in January or February, it shouldn't be the fault of the mussels. We must have a long-term view.

What do you mean that they cause product speculation.

— What has ended up happening with the anchovies. Since there are none on the Costa Brava, they end up buying them in Asturias, Galicia, and Portugal. What happens with anchovies on the Costa Brava is similar to the phenomenon of lobster in Menorca.

Topic change. What are Toc al Mar's star dishes?

— Dishes cooked on the grill, such as fish, seafood, and rice. The wood we use is oak; we do not use charcoal. We generate the embers ourselves from the wood, and we cook everything on them, including vegetables.

The rice dishes are the big draw.

— We make them at midday; at night, no. At Ametller Origen supermarkets and also in other restaurants we sell them as ready-to-eat meals. That is to say, we sell them through both channels, both the catering and the retail trade. We make paella, black rice, squid rice, the surf and turf, the Iberian pork. So our competition is ourselves. We also have other ready-to-eat products, such as pâté en croûte, which we make with Albert Boronat, and we sell it at El Corte Inglés's gourmet club; also in other places. Albert puts his name on it; I make it.

Santi, there have recently been evictions of beach bars. The latest to receive a notice is La Caleta de Sant Vincenç de Montalt. Bar Boia in Cadaqués had to close. Do you think it could happen to Toc al Marc too?

— Toc al Mar is located in a historic heritage site, which saves us. We start from the premise that we are in a fisherman's cottage, and inside we have our business. Furthermore, we pay everything to all the organizations: to Costes de la Generalitat, to Madrid, and to the Begur Town Hall. When the summer season ends, there are no services left on the beach, and it is we who collect the rubbish and offer the toilet. We are open all year round. By the way, I always recommend everyone to come in the autumn, as it is beautiful. In the summer, it is all overcrowded.

It is true that there are many people now. It was difficult to park in the car park, but the views, the menu and the option to swim in the sea afterwards are unbeatable. Do you have a change of clothes?

— My children, aged 24 and 20, have told me they want to continue with it. Arnau is working this summer at the Candlelight restaurant with chef Oriol Fernàndez. He has worked at Tinars and has also been to Switzerland. Martina is studying in Madrid, and one day I went to see her and she told me that when she finishes, she wants to continue the business. She has two years left of her degree, and she has already told me that she wants to get involved. She is with us during the summers. We have always told both of them not to get involved if they weren't passionate about it because they know it's a demanding profession. We have always worked weekends, entire summers, Christmas. All of this has also made them strong. In fact, Arnau started studying Business Administration, and one day he told us it was very boring and that he had enrolled in the hospitality school. It took us by surprise.

You have the relief assured.

— I have received all kinds of offers to buy Toc al Mar, but I am not going to retire. We also have very high fiscal and personal pressure. I have been working as a cook for many years, and the pressure we are receiving now is something we have never experienced. We have turned small business owners into the villains of the movie when we are doing a great job. The last inspection, which was a labor inspection, I had on June 1st. And there are many in the region as well. The restaurants that came out of the carob campaign this year have also received inspections. The year they say they don't participate, they receive them.

The desserts at Toc al Mar are what make me travel miles to see you too. Desserts with ratafias and sweet wines.

— Bread with chocolate, oil, and salt is a tribute to my grandmother Angeleta, who used to prepare it for us on Saturday afternoons while we watched Tarzan. We used to buy the chocolate at the small grocery store across the street from our house, Josefa's place.

To finish, I have one last question for you. How did you want to be a chef?

— The two grandmothers cooked very well at home. Both Grandma Angeleta and Paquita were very good, and my parents' hobby was to sit at the table, to go to restaurants. We went to Racó d’en Binu, because I'm from Argentona, and also to restaurants in France. They gave us a broad gastronomic culture, but it was a family drama when I told them I wanted to be a chef. They sent me to a private school in Tona to study Baccalaureate, and when I finished it, the management called them and told them: “If you have a son who knows what he wants to be when he grows up, why don't you let him do it?”. The phrase convinced them, and then I enrolled in the hospitality school in Barcelona, where I met Sandra. I went back and forth every day from Barcelona to Argentona. Soon I started working in restaurants, I turned a lot, and finally Sandra and I opened El Toc, in Barcelona.

How good are Francesc and Francina from Racó d’en Binu!

— Nothing has changed. It's the same as when I used to go as a child with my siblings and my parents. I love them. For me, it's the haute cuisine of fifty years ago, which they continue to make with the same decoration, tableware, cutlery, and the same people do it. They are very great!