The restaurant El Celler de Can Roca turns 40 this 2026, and Josep Roca is thinking about the song To pave the way Borja Penalva's poem (based on a poem by Maria Mercè Marçal) serves as a metaphor for everything they've experienced. The story begins in 1986, when the brothers opened what was their dream. They weren't far from their family's support; they were right next door, adjacent to their parents' restaurant, the Can Roca of old, as the people of Girona call it. They've told the anecdotes from those early days countless times. There were few diners, or none at all, during the first services. They spent hours playing foosball, the legendary foosball table, and some days they even convinced friends to come for lunch.

In its forty-year history, El Celler de Can Roca has transformed its dishes into icons of Catalan cuisine. Those who have never had the chance to try the Viaje a La Habana dessert, the apple and foie gras timbale, or the parmentier with Llobregant (three of the Roca brothers' signature dishes) can now do so. at the Esperit Roca restaurant, located in the Sant Julià CastleFor this reason, Raül Sillero (Blanes, 1987), the chef at the helm, considers that "Esperit Roca is the library of El Celler's dishes, and not one outlet "Last minute." Currently, the restaurant offers two tasting menus, just as it started: one consisting of six savory and two sweet dishes; and another with two savory and six sweet dishes. The prices are 140 euros (the sweet menu) and 170 euros (the savory menu), which is up to two hundred euros more than the previous year's menu.

Anna Payet is the manager of Hotel Casa Cacao, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2025. She and her brother-in-law, Jordi Roca, opened the hotel a month before the start of the pandemic and had to remain closed for a year. All of this is now history, as Casa Cacao is a landmark hotel in the city of Girona, attracting visitors from all over the world, especially Americans, Australians, and Northern Europe.

It's Friday, the weather is good, the train to Girona has gone reasonably well despite the delay, and when I arrive at the Fontané restaurant, located on the first floor of theEsperit Roca Hotel, in the Sant Julià castleI find myself in a brightly lit room, tables with white tablecloths, waiters and waitresses dressed in black trousers and jackets, and diners who have filled every table. There are entire families, couples, and colleagues, and I sit next to the large window that projects the green of Sants Metges Mountains onto the table.

The half-full fridge (Planeta Gastro) is the book to give if the teenager at home is moving into a student apartment or if the young people are moving out of the family home. "Especially the first option because the two of us, Martí and I, thought, while writing it, about our early days as students in Barcelona, ​​when each of us studied away from home," explains Marc Roca (28), son of chef Joan Roca. Martí (25) is his first cousin, son of sommelier Josep Roca. I interview them on a Friday afternoon at El Celler de Can Roca as the last tables are getting ready for dessert. The Ferris wheel hiding chocolates and sweets in each seat is wheeled up and down by waiters with strong arms and hands, and at another round table, the diners have put on virtual glasses, which take them to another world.

Marta Cortizas Fernández (A Coruña, 1992) won the final of the Spanish Sommelier Championship, which took place today in Madrid. Other finalists included Anna Casabona from Vallecas, head of training at the Juvé & Camps winery, and Diego Tornel from the Canary Islands. However, it was Marta Cortizas, sommelier from El Celler de Can Roca, who emerged as the overall winner.

Joan Roca says he doesn't celebrate his birthdays, but the day he turned 61 he will surely remember him. Yesterday in Leña restaurant in Barcelona by chef Dani Garcia There was an unusual density of chefs per square metre (71 Michelin stars in total). The aim was to pay an emotional tribute to Joan Roca, in the same way that the chef from Malaga had paid tribute to Ferran Adrià, Robuchon, Nobu and Arzak in Marbella. "I am not at the level of all the chefs to whom previous tributes have been paid," said the chef from Girona. In his usual modesty, he stated that the chefs present had "improved" their dishes. The tribute consisted of versions of 21 dishes created by El Celler de Can Roca. An ambitious menu that included creations from Disfrutar, Mugaritz, Atrio, Casa Marcial, Noor, Quique Dacosta, Miramar, Lasarte, Les Cols and Nandu Jubany, among others.