Pere Monje: "Our waiters have salaries comparable to those of lawyers in some law firms."

BarcelonaI interview Pere Monje one morning, hours before the first diners arrive at the restaurant. In the kitchen, suppliers are bringing in ingredients, and the cooks are busy preparing the various batches. Chef David Andrés is in his office, next to the kitchen, reviewing the recipes they'll be adding starting in April. The Via Veneto restaurant was opened by cultural promoter Oriol Regàs on April 9, 1967., two months after the Bocaccio nightclub had opened. This year, then, the restaurant on Ganduxer Street turns fifty-eight and, furthermore, celebrates having held a Michelin star for 50 years without interruption. For the Monje family, it is a reward for consistency in the profession, for their effort to ensure that every lunchtime and evening meal becomes the best possible experience for the diners who sit at the tables with salmon-colored tablecloths and napkins. Pedro is the restaurant's manager, but also maître and serves as a sommelier. He plays an active role in the dining room, often preparing steak tartare and, in particular, crepes Suzette.

Pedro, in 1975 other restaurants received a Michelin star, but you're the only ones who've kept it intact, just as it was awarded. And I'll add one more detail: the restaurant has almost the same history as yours, because you'll be 52 this year.

— [Laughs.] I wasn't aware of it. I've always noticed the life experiences of the people who've worked there since 1967, and I hadn't related it to my age. The Michelin star makes us very happy because it reflects the goal of our work, which is always to offer the best service.

I'll focus on your career. Living above the restaurant, your parents' jobs (your father in the dining room; your mother in administration) were very close to you.

— Yes, even at 11, I had direct contact with them at Christmas and also in the summer. I took Christmas orders to the houses, and in the summer I was in the kitchen, where I did everything from selecting fish to boning meat. Looking back, I think it's been positive because it's allowed me to get to know them from the inside out. At 11, it also gave me an insight into what parents did when they weren't home, because the three of us spent time with Grandma. I understood the value of work, the effort behind my parents. Having peeled beans, opened sea urchins, and deboned pigs' trotters allows me to speak the same language as cooks.

You started in the kitchen, but you also trained as a sommelier. You've mastered all the techniques.

— In a small business like Via Veneto, we touch every area. This morning I discussed marketing, finance, and purchasing with the chef. We reviewed the new dishes we'll be introducing in April, and I spoke on the phone with clients. By trade, I consider myself a restaurateur.

You have told me on occasion that you don't remember praise, but the opposite.

— A doctor would tell me it's a pathology, because it is; my driving force is to focus on all the things we can do better. Of course, I appreciate the customers' praise, but I forget about it. I insist it's a pathology, or maybe it's because I'm a natural sufferer, because I'm so involved in the entire running of the restaurant, and because I'm always working hard to make sure everything works.

I've occasionally interviewed second-generation entrepreneurs, who tell me they feel pressure from their parents. Is that your case, Pedro?

— My father has been very generous to give me complete autonomy to run Via Veneto. I've been lucky to have him as a mentor; we also share values, a way of understanding life, and he's motivated me to move forward, to always be eager to evolve. He's also understood that the younger generations have improved their management: since March 2021, we're closed on Sundays and Mondays, which hadn't happened before.

Having two days of partying a week has never happened before on Via Veneto!

— No. The hospitality industry's schedules are difficult, but I also believe that no job is easy these days, nor is economic advancement in our country easy. There's no professional sector in which you can advance if you're not competitive and always working to get ahead. And we have to balance all of this with our personal lives.

You once told me that the waiters at Via Veneto They had salaries similar to those of lawyers in some law firms.

— And it's still the case. Our waiters have salaries comparable to those of lawyers in some law firms in Barcelona. A significant portion of the hospitality industry can earn a very good living. We work in a job that changes every day, which is intense, but provides opportunities to meet many people. And I say all this in a positive way. We must vindicate the work of waiters, which, directly or indirectly, is the country's leading sector. I vindicate the dignity of the hospitality worker, and we are proud to dedicate ourselves to it. And all this taking into account that it is a sector affected by the challenge of globalization, by large companies, by the pandemic, which caused enormous damage, and we have emerged from all the blows. However, the profession has always lacked vocations, and it remains so now.

Changing the subject. I'd like to ask you about the new dishes on the menu starting in April. Is there a common thread?

— I don't like labels, because they always simplify. With chef David Andrés we are building our own gastronomy, and we move between classic and contemporary dishes, if we must classify them in any way. But above all, we really like local products. Now that it's pea season, we have those from the Maresme. We make a dish of drowned peas, in which the peas are cooked, because it's a sin not to cook them. It's a well-smothered, not a blanched, dish.

I've read the dishes on the menu, but at Via Veneto we all know that there are always those who make them without them being written down.

— That's how it is today, yes. We have a reservation from a customer who we know likes a specific dish, which we don't have on the menu. We don't know if he'll ask for it, but we're cooking it for him because it's a labor-intensive dish. If he asked, we wouldn't be able to improvise, so we've already set it for 11 a.m.

But maybe I won't ask. May I ask what dish it is?

— Nothing's going to happen. It's a bowl. And, on the other hand, off the menu, we're also preparing a Paul Bocuse soup, which isn't on the menu either, but we also know it's a dish that another customer who's also coming for lunch today likes. The dining room is a challenge, and we must be prepared not to say no to anyone. Or rather, before saying no, we must have many options.

I went in Paris, in restaurants that reminded me of the Via Veneto, and I saw that there were pianists playing live, with an atmosphere that impressed me, it was the joy of living.

— I have clients who have suggested we have a piano in the dining room. It's great to have that atmosphere, because the hustle and bustle is wonderful, and a good atmosphere is a great asset for a restaurant. Restaurants should have a soul, because in restaurants we go to enjoy ourselves, to talk, and that's what keeps people coming back.

I must tell you that lately I have seen more than ever restaurants that light candles on the tables at night (Wolf Table, France).

— We came from a time when we had stripped down the tables, and now the opposite trend is happening. We long ago decided to use candles for our evening service. We always buy them from the same candle shop in Barcelona Cathedral, and they're an exclusive model for Via Veneto, because they're candles that don't slide down the table. The tablecloth we use is linen, and the cutlery is silver. And we always put fresh flowers on the table. When my mother worked, she was the one in charge of this, and she always put beautiful flowers on it. It makes me happy when the customer appreciates and enjoys it, and the same thing happens when they appreciate and enjoy a very difficult wine that we've found. All of this is part of our job.

Step-by-step instructions for making the Via Veneto crepe Suzette

1. In a frying pan on the stove, put sugar and butter.
2. When it starts to melt, add orange peel and, pierced with a fork, pass it through the pan so that the ingredients are soaked.
3. Add the liqueurs: Grand Marnier, brandy, and Cointreau. You'll get a flame. The more sugar you add, the more flame you'll get. Stir the pan.
4. Now it's time to add the crepe, which you'll have prepared previously. Mix well.
5. Remove the orange peel.
6. Serve the crepes on the plate and pour over the juice that remains in the pan.