Esther Gomez |
Marbella (Málaga) (EFE).- “Spanish gastronomy is in a splendid moment”, despite the “hard times” that it has just gone through due to the pandemic, says three Michelin stars Joan Roca, one of the most influential chefs in the world, who confesses that there will be a Roca clan for ten more years because retiring is not in his plans.
This is a sector that “is recovering well and is on the rise,” said the renowned chef from Girona in an interview with EFE, for whom the “essential reason” for the success of Spanish cuisine is “the diversity of products and highly talented chefs.”
Roca, who has received the Hospitality Golden Key award from the Swiss school Les Roches in Marbella, has been convinced that Spanish chefs can “guarantee a very high level of commitment to excellence” which is, in his opinion, “the key and the flag of gastronomy in this country”.
Now all this “must be valued,” he adds, “society has to believe and support it” and understand that enjoying good food “is probably going to cost a little more.” And in a way, he regrets that national gastronomy, which is “highly valued and highly respected and prestigious chefs” abroad, is not so much here.
“Together, better than each one separately”
Joan, Josep and Jordi, known as the Roca brothers, have been together for 37 years and “with the desire to continue for many more years,” Joan – the eldest of the three – assures EFE for whom the secret of this successful and lasting union is that they get along well, listen to each other and respect each other but, above all: “be clear that the three of us together are better than each of us separately”.
Not long ago they had a “significant” meeting in the back of the kitchen where they talked about the future and wondered if any of them were “thinking of stopping machines” soon, he confesses, but the three agreed that they were not and agreed to “continue for at least ten more years”.
So, “if health accompanies”, they are willing to continue “as many years as possible”, he comments with a laugh. Their commitment to the work they do “remains firm”, she emphasizes, so there will be “El Celler de Can Roca for years”.
Today, the most important project is to continue consolidating the initiative that has put them where they are, their restaurant at 48 Can Sunyer street in Girona, and the “main part” of the Roca family and business network; although without leaving aside its other “small complementary businesses”, Rocambolesc, Casa Cacao, Normal or Mas Marroch, indicates Roca.
The best prize, the spontaneous applause of your neighbors
He and his brothers have lived “wonderful moments” at the helm of El Celler de Can Roca, confesses this award-winning chef, whose establishment has been chosen twice (2023 and 2015) as the best restaurant in the world, according to the British classification of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
However, there is one recognition that Joan Roca describes as “magical” and that stands out above all the others: the spontaneous applause of his neighbors shortly after receiving his third Michelin star.
A large group of people from Girona came to the doors of his restaurant to applaud them for almost ten minutes, he recalls with emotion, and that recognition of anonymous people who celebrated as their own the success of a business they had seen grow is something that they will carry forever in their hearts, he assures.
Linked to education for years, Joan Roca considers that “training is the key and the basis for these young people who want to dedicate themselves to the hospitality industry to be happy”, he affirms regarding the students of Les Roches -in his opinion, “one of the best schools in the world”-, whose graduation he has recently attended.
“Success is being happy doing what you like”
“Because success is being happy doing what you like and this, sometimes, should be reminded because they think that success is having recognitions and winning Michelin stars”, he qualifies, and a school like this “gives the tools to be happy, to work on it at the highest level with good preparation and values, which are also necessary”, he adds.
Roca, who along with his brothers also displays his commitment to sustainability, points out that chefs are the first to realize that “you have to pay attention to the primary sector and support it”, but you also have to “be alert to the loss of biodiversity”, since prioritizing monocultures causes the loss of “small crops with diverse products”.
The chef recalls that many of the seeds that “provided extraordinary products are no longer cultivated” and with this, not only is the basic diversity that gives splendor to Spanish gastronomy lost, but also “culture, tradition and cuisine”, he stresses.
“And we can’t afford that, we have to advocate for the recovery of biodiversity,” concludes Roca.