El Celler De Can Roca, Girona

First off, we just want to apologise for the lack of blog posts this year! It’s been a crazy few months coupled with a hint of laziness as its easier to upload food pictures to Instagram. To make up for the lack of activity the post to kick start the blog is non other than the San Pellogrino number 1 restaurant in the world..... El Celler de Can Roca, from the picturesque town Girona and holder of 3 Michelin stars.

Having come all this way we chose the longer feast menu over the short classics menu along with a wine pairing to share. We had done our research before hand and noted the build up of glasses on other reviews where people couldn't keep up with the wine pairings!

The world

Thailand - chicken, coriander, coconut, curry and lime

Japan - miso cream and nyinyonyaki

China - pickled vegetables with plum cream

Peru - Causa limena

Korea - panco fried bread, bacon with soya sauce, kimchi and sesame oil

Memories of a bar in the suburbs of Girona - breaded squid, kidneys with sherry, escabeche mussels, salt cod with spinach and pinenuts, Campari bonbon

Green olive ice cream and calcot lyo

Coral - ying yang oyster and sea bream ceviche

 Truffled bon bon and St George mushroom brioche

Pumpkin consommé with green tea - hazelnut tofu, parsnip, liquefied pumpkin, liquefied spinach, passion fruit, pumpkin seed, turnip and charcoal grilled chestnut

Red mullet with kimbu - prickly pear foam, sea anemone, salicomia and Katsuobushi vinegar, charcoal grilled red pine mushroom

Langoustine with cocoa bean sauce - black mole with mantis shrimp cream with cocoa and boletus edulis

Partridge and fermented cabbage salad - smoked broth and tarragon foam

Pigeon with fermented rice - rice skin sauce, koji sauce, rice bread and pigeon parfait

Prawn marinated with rice vinegar - prawn's head sauce, crispy prawn legs, seaweed veloute and phytoplankton

Sole with olive oil, fennel, bergamot, orange, pine nuts and green olives. The restaurant changed this course to the signature sole dish for Mrs Nom as she is not a fan of skate which is what was listed on the taster menu. I'm glad she did and its no wonder this is on the classics menu and I would go as far as to class the sole as the dish of the meal. Each flavour complimented the fish perfectly and took it to new heights when eaten in sequence as advised by the staff. I did note that the pieces Mrs Nom gave me were very small as she wanted it all to herself!

Confit skate with mustard oil, beurre noisette, honey, chardonnay vinegar, bergamot, aromatic mustard and smoked hazelnuts

Blackspot sea bream with samfaina

Iberian suckling pig with salad of green papaya, thai grapefruit, apple, coriander, chili pepper, lime and cashew

Lamb with eggplant and chickpea puree, lamb's trotters and spicy tomato

Veal oyster blade and marrow, tendons and avocado

Suspiro limeno - milk, lime, coriander, milk caramel, pisco

Turkish perfume - rose, peach, saffron, cumin, cinnamon and pistachio

 Orange colourology

 

Stuffed to the brim we ordered peppermint tea to end the marathon four hour meal and to call it a night. A trolley full of delectable petit fours accompanied the tea and we ordered a selection of the servers favourites to share.

The visit has been a long time coming and it certainly lived up to our expectations and then some. All three Roca brothers were in attendance on the night of our visit and the signed menus and quick snap with Joan and Jordi Roca was the icing on the cake.

Signed menu in full with wine pairings

The total cost was 500 Euro for a very long tasting menu and one wine pairing. The wine pairing was the most exceptional we have tried anywhere thus far, well recommended.

Eleven Madison Park, New York

The last night of our trip to the Big Apple was spent at Eleven Madison Park which holds 3 Michelin stars and is rated the 4th best restaurant in the world by San Pellegrino.

We arrived early and were led to the bar to enjoy some cocktails as the team briefing with a huge brigade was held on the dining floor. The restaurant is set in an impressive art deco building with a high gold leaf ceiling.

A long tasting menu at $225 per head is served for lunch and dinner service alongside a limited menu in the bar area. The meal began with a small envelope containing a card with four choices, coffee, celery, cherry and strawberry. We were asked to pick one each and the choice would feature in some of the dishes during our meal, we chose cherry and strawberry. Our meal consisted of the following dishes:

Cheddar – savoury black and white cookie with apple.

Oyster – baked potato ice cream and caviar.

Melon – salad with cucumber and lemon verbena.

Tomato – two parts, first with tea and thyme and second as a salad with lobster & garlic. The second part of the tomato with lobster was a knockout, simple but one of the dishes of the year.

Beef – pastrami with peppers, rye, mustard and cherry/strawberry soda. A story accompanied this dish and it paid homage to the deli’s of New York. 

Foie gras – seared with chanterelles and plums.

Apple – Waldorf salad with celery, walnuts and grapes. This was prepared at the table alongside a story of the history of the Waldorf salad. By this point Mrs Nom was rather merry and commented that the apples were extremely shiny, they were normal. This course I felt was a bit gimmicky and normal compared to what came before but the interaction was welcomed.

Halibut – slow roasted with pickled daikon and radishes.

Sunflower – braised with sunchokes and sunflower seeds.

Duck – roasted with peaches and fennel. A whole roasted duck with lavender was presented to us at the table before carving for serving. Another star dish.

Fresh cheese – pretzel, parsley and tomolives. A DIY course presented in a picnic basket with a bottle of brown ale.

Whey – sorbet with caramelised milk and milk foam.

Almond – baked Alaska with rum, caramel and cherry/strawberry. This was set alight at the table and was the pick of the dessert courses.

Pretzel - chocolate covered with sea salt.

Chocolate – sweet black and white cookie with raspberry ganache – aesthetically the same as the first cookie but a sweet version.

We were left with a bottle of apple brandy to end the meal and told to drink as much as we wanted. Prior to the meal we were discussing how much we could drink, in the end I struggled with one small glass due to its strength!

The standout courses were the lobster filled tomato, roasted duck and baked Alaska. Some weaker courses including the Waldorf salad and the picnic but with any extended tasting meal not all dishes will be equally enjoyed by everyone but the quality of the ingredients and cooking was first class.

Service was slick with well-versed staff as expected in a 3 star establishment. There was a lot of interaction and conversation which was probably led from the top as Chef Proprietor Daniel Humm made his way around the tables conversing with diners. He even gave us some recommendations for lunch the next day.