I had an opportunity to stage at Alkimia restaurant with Chef Jodi Vila in Barcelona last fall. Alkimia, to me, is one of the best in the city, not because I was there and had the opportunity to work alongside Chef Jordi and the crew, but because of Chef Jordi's outlook on Catalan cuisine. Jordi takes traditional dishes from the region keeping the soul of the classics but giving them a modern edge. Alkimia, which opened in August 2002, is a quaint restaurant in the Sagrada Familia neighborhood of Barcelona. Chef Jodi did most of his training in and around the city working with renowned chefs like Jean Luke Figures. Deciding not to further his training in France, he opted to open Alkimia at the age of 28 and within two years of opening he garnered a star from the Michelin guide in 2004. Chef Jordi A typical day started around 9am with four cooks, one pastry chef, Chef Jodi, and me, (the stagier). As small as the kitchen was there was an incredible amount of attention to detail in the way we worked and in the food. Alkimia was open for lunch and dinner but the bulk of the work was done in the mornings. We all worked extremely hard in the kitchen and Chef Jordi made sure we all had a great time doing it. He played around with the team and cracked jokes so our mornings went quickly and were seamless. But when it came time for the service, he was all about business. I worked in pastries at Alkimia which was fine for me because my experience with desserts was limited to mainly classic French plus Armando, the pastry chef, needed help. Pastry Chef Armando We would make three different kinds of bread in the mornings, Focaccia with olives, Sun-dried tomatoes (also render iberico ham fat…mmm ham fat), Walnut bread, and a super crispy white bread. The bread we made was the only bread served in the restaurant, and it was a labor intensive project tying up Armando for most of the morning, mixing, kneading, proofing, shaping, baking, just a huge project. So I was in charge of a lot of the pastry prep while Armando focused on the bread. When he was finished he would help me complete the prep and we worked right into service. It was a good system and Armando is a very talented pastry chef with great organizational skills. It was very easy to work with him because he spoke some English and he helped with my Spanish. Bread stick flavored with fried onions and Moritz beer. One of my favorite dishes was called the Borracho (which translates to drunk) it was a rum Baba that was soaked in a coffee bath just warmed through. For the presentation, served in bowl was a white chocolate puree, passion fruit seeds and coffee beans. We poured fresh orange juice thickened with xanthan gum. (The xanthan gave us the ability to thicken the juice to our desired texture without applying heat, and it also is odorless and flavorless.) The coffee baba was then placed on the top of the puree before being served, a great dish, not to heavy, but very satisfying. Petit Fours of Alkimia: Almond Madeleines, Raspberry Balsamic Macaroons, Chocolate Curry Tuiles, Salted Peanut Caramels, Passion Fruit & White Chocolate Lollipops, and Strawberries and Sheep Milk Foam Chef Jordi is a fanatic about great products, everything from fish, meats to produce, must be the best quality that is in season. A lot of the products we received in the restaurant were from small produces in and around Barcelona. One in particular I remembered was a farmer named Jack. He was a local farmer who only dealt with a few restaurants in the city. He would deliver what he had fresh once or sometimes twice a week. The produce Jack grew was some of the best I have seen in Spain. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to capture pictures of Jack when he was delivering, but you can see some of his work in a lot of the dishes at Alkimia and in the 3 pics below. Jodi stays true to his Cataluña roots with a lot of dishes on the menu. He takes traditional cooking and gives it a modern edge without going too far, or over the top. But he also has a playful side to his cooking. Take this dish he calls “Dentro de Mar” or inside the ocean. It has various seafood and shellfish such as oysters, clams, sea snails, caviar, Ortega de mar, and gooseneck barnacles. The water part of this interesting dish comes from a langoustine stock that is mixed with purple basil water turning the liquid an ocean blue. When I was there Jordi did not know the chemistry of how or why the colors changed, but I know he was doing the research to find out why. After tasting the whole dish together it is a refreshing transportation right to the deep sea. He also has some classics on the menu such as cannelloni; it’s very simple with a beautiful presentation that has indescribable flavors. The cannelloni was filled with a ground chicken mixture, wrapped in a fresh pasta sheet, draped with a silky béchamel sauce, and served with almonds and crisp frisee lettuce. Jordi also used a lot of modern techniques and tools, in his cooking, but he always said he never wants to over do it. He will use the spherification technique, but only once on the menu. It is demonstrated in the dish of sous vide baby lamb, with goat cheese spherification. The goat cheese acts more like a sauce or fondue to the dish, with the main focus on the perfectly cook lamb. I believe this also demonstrates Jodi’s philosophy in keeping things simple but showing a side of his creative mind and ideas. Overall my experience at Alkimia was one of kind, I could not have found better people to work for or a better young chef to train with. Working with chef Jordi was a great experience, I was able to absorb everything from classic Catalan cuisine to post modern techniques. Jordi’s excellent style of management and outlook and a long restaurant work day got me thinking that maybe in America we should take a siesta in the middle of the afternoon. I hope to return to Barcelona soon to revisit Alkimia and to see what new creations Chef Jodi and his team are working on. Salt Cod, with a Ragout of White Beans, Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Cod Tripe, and Salmon Roe
