To talk about Sitges, we could go back many centuries, when, thanks to its privileged coast, it began to become a town of fishermen and maritime trade. But we want to focus on the present. Sitges is one of the six municipalities that form part of the Garraf region. It is a town that looks to the sea, both from the more playful aspect and from the commercial necessity, and which, at the same time, stands out for its economic, cultural and social fabric.We are at the La Nansa restaurant, founded in 1963 by Antoni Rafecas and his wife, Rosa Maria. Currently, the restaurant is run by three of their four children: Anton, Mireia, and Francesc, with the invaluable support of Angel in the kitchen and Isidoro in the dining room. You can feel the Mediterranean, both in the decor of the place and in the numerous references on a menu that seeks to preserve the memory of the Sitges cuisine of our grandparents. There is a traditional menu for 38 euros, but we opt for the a la carte menu.We start with a prawn salad with caramelized onion, a Sitges xató (with endive, cod, tuna, and anchovies) and some fried prawns with garlic and parsley, chosen from the list of suggestions. The wine list dedicates a prominent section to wines from Garraf, while the rest of the references are mostly Catalan.In the second part of the meal, we want to taste some of the most representative seafood dishes of the local cuisine. The first is octopus romesco with beans, a fishermen's recipe made with one of the least commercial, but most appreciated fish. The second is a turbot caught, possibly, by Oriol or Alfredo, two of the most emblematic fishermen of the town. The third deserves special mention: lobster with margin snails.The reference to this dish comes from the book Sitges dels nostres avis, written by Emerencià Roig i Raventós and published in 1934. The work collects the history and popular memory of Sitges and its inhabitants. “At the end of the 19th century, there was the Fonda Carcolse in the area of Carrer de les Parellades. The book talks about lobster with snails; we make it with lobster so as not to excessively increase the price, but the recipe did not appear there. My father started preparing it after talking with fishermen and added a very personal touch. Now my brother Francesc is leading the kitchen and preserving this recipe book”, Anton tells us, proud to be able to maintain, together with his brothers, a family and town legacy.We have left the Sitges-style rice, made with pork ribs, sausages, cuttlefish, langoustines, and clams, for another day. The desserts we taste are also homemade and deeply rooted in the region: Sitges foams, according to the recipe of the old pastry shop l'Estrella (meringue and almond cookie), burnt cream, and carquinyolis from Sant Quintí de Mediona. All of this, well accompanied by a sip of Sitges Malvasia.Anton, Mireia, and Francesc, still with their parents' remote support, run a restaurant that honors the seafood cuisine of a town open to the Mediterranean. Respect for fishermen, local produce, Sitges' history, and the hard work of the three siblings are the pillars that make La Nansa a must-visit establishment. It's always a good time to go to Sitges, but for us, now even more so.

There are people who exude optimism, and a way of understanding work based on enthusiasm and perseverance. Joan Carles is one of them. After a professional career linked to Empordà, three years ago he decided to shape the most personal project of his career. Thus, three years ago, Descarat was born, a restaurant that deliberately moves away from the canons that have marked a large part of his journey.

I'm reading an interview “with a bite”, the kind from Trini Gilbert in the ARA, at the Flash-Flash trout farm, with Karin Leiz, designer and writer, widow of photographer Leopoldo Pomés, who was a co-founder of the restaurant. The mother of the beloved Poldo Pomés says: “I learned to cook by going to the market and listening to what people said”.

Edició de Premsa Periòdica Ara SL develops Goita Barcelona, an artificial intelligence agent from Diari ARA designed to help users discover cultural, gastronomic, and leisure plans in Barcelona based on selected sources, context, and editorial criteria.

Jep Morales Albert (Girona, 1972) has built a dream of reeds, tarpaulins and recycled materials that concentrates everything that makes him enjoy: cooking, music, art and contact with nature and people. La Carreta del Ter has been stopping for six years now behind the Bordils pavilion, in a "magical space in constant transformation" that, in the middle of the fields, offers tapas, burritos, paellas, good live music and extraordinary sunsets. "Here you find people of all ages and conditions, it's like Noah's ark (animals included) where everyone is welcome," explains Jep Morales.

The Pedralbes Palace was dressed up to award the distinctions with which the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition (ACGN) each year rewards the talent of our land. More than 550 people gathered and enjoyed a dinner together offered by chefs Romain Fornell and Òscar Manresa.

In Beirut, his hometown, Roger Nasr was the baker at the establishment Roger Le Boulanger. Under the same name, he created a small bakery-workshop in the Sants neighborhood of Barcelona when, in 2019, he and his wife, born in Figueres, decided to leave Lebanon and move to Catalonia to "ensure a better future" for their son, who was then 7 years old. Both in Beirut and Barcelona, at Roger's "bakeries", customers particularly appreciated the "nomad bread", rescued from an ancestral recipe and made with sourdough, flour from local producers, unrefined sea salt, and spring water.

Casa Rufo opened just before Easter and I already hear diners saying "it's delicious", while confirming that "all dishes enter the kitchen clean". Lleonard Cardona Rufo is a self-taught cook; he has learned from his parents, who first worked in a butcher shop and then at Casa Jesús, in Cases d’Alcanar. In the same place, but with a completely renewed concept, he insists on saying that he has opened a wine bar, but that you can also "eat" there. "In the "terreno", we always eat very well, from the garden, from the sea... and when you hear "delicious", you can rest assured", he shares. "My parents were artists. They made breakfasts, a menu for workers, and à la carte, both at midday and at night", he recalls. He has copied their format a bit, without lunches. At Casa Rufo, he offers a hearty breakfast, vermouth, and small plates at night. There is often a queue because, for the moment, he does not take reservations. He is open from Thursday to Sunday.

Berlin is a city that the more you visit it, the more it enchants you. It is diverse and open-minded. Full of nooks and crannies where it reveals its character, making it a kind of bubble in the middle of Germany. That is why it has been the chosen place for people who came from much more conservative regions to build a home there. This is explained to me by the cook René Frank, chef of the renowned restaurant Coda. A restaurant "that could only be in Berlin". Thanks to his knowledge of the city and that of the people who are part of the Coda team, we are about to visit places to subsequently make a list of the most recommendable ones. From cafes, cocktail bars, pastry shops, and, of course, where to eat a good René Frank, chef of the renowned restaurant Coda. A restaurant "that could only be in Berlin". Thanks to his knowledge of the city and that of the people who are part of the Coda team, we are about to visit places to subsequently make a list of the most recommendable ones. From cafes, cocktail bars, pastry shops, and, of course, where to eat a good currywurst or a kebab, two of the most representative and popular dishes.

"Culture is alive to the extent that it is conflictive," wrote Manuel de Pedrolo in his diary. This idea is the starting point for the fifth edition of Perifèria Cultural, the cycle of music, land, and gastronomy that since 2021 has been traveling through the Catalan Countries, bringing artistic proposals outside the big commercial circuits to equally peripheral spaces: towns and corners of the country that are left out of tourist and cultural radars. For six months, from May 23 to November 15, the cycle will feature over 100 shows in forty-five municipalities.

Right across from the church in Riudarenes, a town of just over 2,500 inhabitants, stands a farmhouse with stone walls and a beamed ceiling, over 300 years old, proudly displaying the flags of Girona and Catalonia. This is Restaurante Can Cordons. "We try to make dishes respecting traditional cuisine, but with a modern touch," says Pau Turon (Riudarenes, 2000), its owner for the last eight years. "We met at the Girona Hospitality School," replies Gerard Picard (Girona, 1995), the chef. "Even though I'm now in the dining room, I'm also a cook," Turon asserts. That's not all they share, as they are also big Girona fans, although Picard has a bit of a Barcelona side. "Now I'm a little more of a Girona fan than a Barça fan," he admits. Míchel's team visits Osasuna this Saturday (6:30 p.m., Movistar LaLiga).

I've been able to see and hear, on social media, the speech given by TV3 sports journalist Xavier Bonastre to say goodbye to his colleagues on the day he retired (for months now I've only been seeing people from my own circle). fifth (who are retiring, and it's a somewhat unsettling reminder). From here, I congratulate Xavier Bonastre on his retirement and for so many years of good work, and, especially, I congratulate him on the words he spoke at his moving farewell.

EasyJet has launched an advertising campaign to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the airline's first Barcelona-London flight. To attract tourists, in addition to a discount on flight prices, three main reasons to visit the city are listed: its light, Gaudí's buildings, and, as expected, the gastronomy. But in this case, the company hasn't chosen bread with tomato or a frying pan, but rather a sandwich that earned its name in Barcelona: the bikini.

It made a lot of sense for the guest of honor at the Barcelona Restoration Guild's party to be actor Alberto San Juan, who has just been nominated for a Goya for his performance in La cena. And it was precisely this film – which humorously recreates a fictional dinner of Franco two weeks after winning the Civil War – that led the Madrid-born actor to use the podium of the mythical La Paloma venue in the Catalan capital to launch a forceful "no to war." San Juan received a standing ovation from the five hundred attendees at the meeting, including actors, politicians, and restaurateurs, with his call "against this new world order where those with the greatest capacity to impose violence now lead." He reviewed the bombings in Iran and the "genocide of Gaza," among other things, and delivered a harsh criticism of the European Union and its "renunciation of defending the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The celebrations began on Sunday in Reus, continued in Tarragona, and will conclude in Alcanar in a few weeks. The Tarragona region hosted the Repsol Suns gala, marking the culmination of Catalonia's designation as a World Region of Gastronomy. In a striking photo, the Roman amphitheater hosted a gathering on Monday at midday, bringing together all the chefs in Spain with the highest distinction, the Three Suns. The weather was perfect, and those unfamiliar with the site were amazed to see this relic overlooking the sea. Later, at a red-carpet gala attended by more than 200 chefs, the new additions to the list were announced. This list is intended as the oil company's answer to the French guide.

The European eel (Eel eelThe eel is critically endangered, and the Spanish government, pressured by some chefs, scientists, and the public, wants to stop the capture of both the eel and its juvenile, the elver, which is highly prized and sought after in gastronomy. Last autumn, the Basque Country banned its fishing, while neighboring regions, such as Asturias, continue to catch them despite complaints from the Basque fishing sector. In Spain, scientists like Arnau Subías, who runs the Instagram account @Gastrobio, have been warning about the situation for years, and points out that fishing has been prohibited in Andalusia since 2010. "Finally, there seems to be more awareness, but action should have been taken a long time ago by prohibiting fishing and regulating pollution in reservoirs," he says.

Arnau Pérez de Tudela Guasch is from Valls and runs a communications agency in Altafulla. A few years ago, Gerard Cañellas Prades, from Riera de Gaià, joined the agency. They both always said they had to do something to bring together everything in the world of calçots (where to make them, where to buy them, where to find the sauce...) and one day they had a lightbulb moment. Inspired by the hit app where people noted where to make hearty breakfastsThe CalçotApp has arrived.

About fifteen subscribers to ARA newspaper's Premium Club They enjoyed a guided tour of Casa Navàs in Reus. Located in the heart of the Baix Camp capital, on Plaça Mercadal, this house designed by Domènech i Montaner is one of Catalonia's modernist gems. Many elements are reminiscent of the Palau de la Música Catalana, also by the same architect.

Joan Font (Barcelona, ​​1961) takes on the challenge of presiding over the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition when it has only been a month since the death of Carles VilarrubíThis Wednesday, at the traditional game luncheon that the Academy holds at the La Venta restaurant, he will officiate his first act as president, a position he will hold until 2030.

Girona will once again become the epicenter of gastronomy in February. From the 9th to the 11th, the 12th edition of the Fòrum Gastronòmic Girona will take place, a must-attend event for the restaurant, gastronomy, and Horeca sectors. It will bring together more than 200 companies and 150 speakers at the Palau de Fires and in the Devesa Park area. This year, escudella and carne de olla—one of the great symbols of Catalan cuisine—will be the focus of an edition that will celebrate tradition as a driving force for innovation and the future of cooking.