Chefs tour of Spain

[stereoboard]

hello guys,

Im a pastry chef living and working in New Zealand,

Im travelling from NZ to spain at the end of september, starting in San Sabastian with Arzak, Mugaritz and Bertasgui, be there for 4 or 5 days, then to Girona, for El Celler can roca, barcelona for 1 day, Angle at Mon St Benet for a day, then down to Denia to stage at El poblet for 7 or 8 days, hopefully a meal at El poblet before i go back to El Celler for a stage. I have a two meals booked at Espai Sucre, and then La Broche before getting on a plane back home, I have 24 days in total and would love to hear what you have to say in the way of food and Accommodation, I would appreciate any help at all.

Im on a budget too, thanks

Brian

http://sweetcuisine.blogspot.com/

[pedro]

You should probably cancel your reservation at La Broche and get one at Sergi Arola Gastro. Sergi Arola left La Broche for good in January 2008 to open his own restaurant, receiving two Michelin stars in November 2008:

Sergi Arola Gastro

[stereoboard]

Im glad i asked you guys, thanks for the info so far,

You should probably cancel your reservation at La Broche and get one at Sergi Arola Gastro. Sergi Arola left La Broche for good in January 2008 to open his own restaurant, receiving two Michelin stars in November 2008:

Sergi Arola Gastro

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[david goodfellow]

hello guys,

Im a pastry chef living and working in New Zealand,

Im travelling from NZ to spain at the end of september, starting in San Sabastian with Arzak, Mugaritz and Bertasgui, be there for 4 or 5 days, then to Girona, for El Celler can roca, barcelona for 1 day, Angle at Mon St Benet for a day, then down to Denia to stage at El poblet for 7 or 8 days, hopefully a meal at El poblet before i go back to El Celler for a stage. I have a two meals booked at Espai Sucre, and then La Broche before getting on a plane back home, I have 24 days in total and would love to hear what you have to say in the way of food and Accommodation, I would appreciate any help at all.

Im on a budget too, thanks

Brian

http://sweetcuisine.blogspot.com/

←

Brian, it looks to me that you have a very good food budget.

I'm extremely jealous of course, not having been to any of the places you mention.

Although I'm currently looking at a few short visits to Spain myself.

Perhaps your best savings can be accommodation wise, because all of the places you mention are very expensive.

Wish I could help, but can't think of anything at present

Clearly your very talented to get stages at these places, like to wish you all the very best.

[stereoboard]

Thanks David,

Yeah Im certainly spending a heap of cash on eating out, its the accommodations to sort out that is left, If you hear of anything it would be great to know, quite hard to keep up with whats on offer when you in New Zealand. but for sure it will be an education.

hello guys,

Im a pastry chef living and working in New Zealand,

Im travelling from NZ to spain at the end of september, starting in San Sabastian with Arzak, Mugaritz and Bertasgui, be there for 4 or 5 days, then to Girona, for El Celler can roca, barcelona for 1 day, Angle at Mon St Benet for a day, then down to Denia to stage at El poblet for 7 or 8 days, hopefully a meal at El poblet before i go back to El Celler for a stage. I have a two meals booked at Espai Sucre, and then La Broche before getting on a plane back home, I have 24 days in total and would love to hear what you have to say in the way of food and Accommodation, I would appreciate any help at all.

Im on a budget too, thanks

Brian

http://sweetcuisine.blogspot.com/

←

Brian, it looks to me that you have a very good food budget.

I'm extremely jealous of course, not having been to any of the places you mention.

Although I'm currently looking at a few short visits to Spain myself.

Perhaps your best savings can be accommodation wise, because all of the places you mention are very expensive.

Wish I could help, but can't think of anything at present

Clearly your very talented to get stages at these places, like to wish you all the very best.

←

[Lenski]

L'Angle is inside a Hotel and the prices are relatively cheap.

I honestly think that you can skip Berasategui and Espai Sucre and try something different.

[stereoboard]

Im planning on opening a dessert restaurant in NZ so thats the reason for Espai Sucre, more for checking out other dessert restaurants than anything, any suggestions on other places to see?

L'Angle is inside a Hotel and the prices are relatively cheap. 

I honestly think that you can skip Berasategui and Espai Sucre and try something different.

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[PhilD]

hello guys,

Im a pastry chef living and working in New Zealand,

Im travelling from NZ to spain at the end of september, starting in San Sabastian with Arzak, Mugaritz and Bertasgui, be there for 4 or 5 days, then to Girona, for El Celler can roca, barcelona for 1 day, Angle at Mon St Benet for a day, then down to Denia to stage at El poblet for 7 or 8 days, hopefully a meal at El poblet before i go back to El Celler for a stage. I have a two meals booked at Espai Sucre, and then La Broche before getting on a plane back home, I have 24 days in total and would love to hear what you have to say in the way of food and Accommodation, I would appreciate any help at all.

Im on a budget too, thanks

Brian

http://sweetcuisine.blogspot.com/

←

Brian - we did our non-professional food tour last year and spent 21 days meadering across Spain. We stayed in a wide range of accommodation from expensive to moderate. Like any country though most towns in Spain will have lots of options and you can pick and choose based on budget. We generally average between €80-100 a night for something that is reasonable.

Try lastminute.com, venere.com, or expedia.com are all worth checking (we use a range and compare and contrast). If you want something interesting then: http://www.sawdays.co.uk/accommodation/spain/ is pretty good.

For San Sebastian I think Gary Marshall published an almost definitive guide to Tapas bars - search the board and you should find it. They don't do dessert but some of the creations are spectacular.

[stereoboard]

Thanks Phil, How was you trip? what were the highlights for you? Thanks for the links , its my weekend tasks to sift through the accommodation and find what i want or can afford,

Cheers

Brian

Edited April 29, 2009 by stereoboard (log)

[PhilD]

Thanks Phil, How was you trip? what were the highlights for you? Thanks for the links , its my weekend tasks to sift through the accommodation and find what i want or can afford,

Cheers

Brian

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We traversed Spain from SS in the North East down to Seville in the South West. The highlights:

Tapas in SS - IMO the best in Spain (although I have not been to Madrid). The great Mathew Grant (not Gary Marshall) review has a link to Todos Pintxos that has suggestions for different Tapas crawls - it is very useful.

We loved Mugaritz on both our visits - although desserts are not his strong point

Roast baby pig (21 days old) and lambs at an Asador (a restaurant that does simple grilled meats) in Segovia, a tradition across the central plains.

Seafood on the atlantic coast was really good - a couple of towns have large open air restaurants where you choose the food at a fresh fish counter and then it is bought to the table. Very casual, quite quick, but excellent - Romerijo. The Carabineros which are like huge very red prawns are amazing if you can get them.

Expanding my knowledge of Spanish wine, especially sherry in Jerez and some of the less common ones in other regions.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at Hacienda Benazuza was really great, probably the only place you can try a Ferran Adria breakfast.

And to sum it up: the broad range of tastes as you moved for area to area underpinned by easy access to high quality food in every town, at many price points. Spain isn't perfect and there are as many (if not more) bad places to eat than good ones. But compared to many countries good food is easy to find and accessible. IMO the way to spot a good place in Spain is no different to spotting a good place in NZ, UK or anywhere.

[stereoboard]

I was thinking of Hacienda Benazuza, would you consider it worth going to Seville for 1 day to visit? It may be the only way to get to an El bulli esque restaurant,

Thanks Phil, How was you trip? what were the highlights for you? Thanks for the links , its my weekend tasks to sift through the accommodation and find what i want or can afford,

Cheers

Brian

←

We traversed Spain from SS in the North East down to Seville in the South West. The highlights:

Tapas in SS - IMO the best in Spain (although I have not been to Madrid). The great Mathew Grant (not Gary Marshall) review has a link to Todos Pintxos that has suggestions for different Tapas crawls - it is very useful.

We loved Mugaritz on both our visits - although desserts are not his strong point

Roast baby pig (21 days old) and lambs at an Asador (a restaurant that does simple grilled meats) in Segovia, a tradition across the central plains.

Seafood on the atlantic coast was really good - a couple of towns have large open air restaurants where you choose the food at a fresh fish counter and then it is bought to the table. Very casual, quite quick, but excellent - Romerijo. The Carabineros which are like huge very red prawns are amazing if you can get them.

Expanding my knowledge of Spanish wine, especially sherry in Jerez and some of the less common ones in other regions.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at Hacienda Benazuza was really great, probably the only place you can try a Ferran Adria breakfast.

And to sum it up: the broad range of tastes as you moved for area to area underpinned by easy access to high quality food in every town, at many price points. Spain isn't perfect and there are as many (if not more) bad places to eat than good ones. But compared to many countries good food is easy to find and accessible. IMO the way to spot a good place in Spain is no different to spotting a good place in NZ, UK or anywhere.

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[Lenski]

If interested in desserts, this is a must

http://www.oriolbalaguer.com/

[stereoboard]

For sure Oriol Balaguer and Paco Torreblanco are on my to do list, cant wait to see there shops,

If interested in desserts, this is a must

http://www.oriolbalaguer.com/

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[PhilD]

I was thinking of Hacienda Benazuza, would you consider it worth going to Seville for 1 day to visit? It may be the only way to get to an El bulli esque restaurant,

Depends on where you are coming from in Spain. We had planned the trip to end up in Andalusia so it was a natural end point for us.

We did have three great meals there, which culminated in the full 30+ course dinner experience. They do El Bulli's greatest hits and so they select dishes from the back catalogue to make up the meal. I understand the head chef was one of the top chefs from Roses and Ferran can spend time in the Kitchen here (especially in the El Bulli off season) so the standard is meant to be as good - I haven't been to El Bulli yet so can't do a direct comparison.

Seville is a nice city (although the hotel is approx 20kms outside) and Andalusia is a nice region, Spain is good because it has really good regional variations which hopefully you will see.

[pedro]

Not 100% sure, but I believe Benazuza is closed for good.

[stereoboard]

its advertised on the bulli website as reopened on 1st may last time i looked

Not 100% sure, but I believe Benazuza is closed for good.

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[PhilD]

its advertised on the bulli website as reopened on 1st may last time i looked

Not 100% sure, but I believe Benazuza is closed for good.

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It got 2 stars in the '09 Michelin guide and it's website has spring offers for this year - it looks very open to me.

[pedro]

You're right, guys, it's open. According to the always reliable and knowledgeable Raimundo García del Moral, who covers Andalusian restaurants for El Mundo´s Metropoli and Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía, it opened its doors along with the hotel on April 1. The former chef, Rafa Morales, who had been always running the kitchen, left his post and has been replaced by Rafael Zafra, who was his second for many years.

The offer hasn't changed, they feature old --classic, if you prefer-- dishes from elBulli.

[stereoboard]

does anyone know of any real chef shops for equipment etc in MAdrid or Barcelona, or anywhere else in spain?

[Silly Disciple]

does anyone know of any real chef shops for equipment etc in MAdrid or Barcelona, or anywhere else in spain?

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In Madrid, cocineros.info

In Barcelona, Casa Gay

[stereoboard]

ok, well my trip is planned out, Im arriving in Madrid on the 28th of September after a mammoth flight from NZ, heading straight to lunch at Sergio Arola Gastro, then hopefully La terraza casino(el bulli's place in madrid i have been informed), then in the morning I have a trip to San Sabastian where I will attend Mugaritz berasatgui, and Arzak and have a couple of days to relax or hopefully attain a stage in one of the said restaurants.

After 6 days in San Sabastian I head to Alicante for Torreblanca and on to Denia where i have organised a stage and then lunch at El Poblet, I will spend 7 days there. after this I head up to Mon St Benet where I will eat at Jordi Cruz L'angle, Hopefully I can get a look around Alicia, then I head to Barcelona to spend a day there and look around Bubo patiseree, Oriol Balaguer and have tapas at Inopia, maybe hopefully get to meet Adria, fingers crossed,

After that I head to Girona to El Celler Can Roca for Dinner and spend the next day in the kitchen, hopefully the next two days but i will have to ask about the second day, feel so priviliged to be let in to see the inner workings, then after Girona I head back to Barcelona to eat at Espai Sucre, Moo and maybe Abac. and a trip to Yann Duytsche hopefully

Then I return to NZ ,

Sad I didnt get a booking for Bulli but if anyone needs a right arm I will swap mine for your booking or if anyone needs a person to make up a table pm me. Dreaming? most probably but i will be calling them every day i am in spain to try and get a table. even to sit out side on a crate would do:)

Thanks everyone for there help and advice,

[stereoboard]

Ok so the trip is going great so far, didnt make the stage at El Poblet but had two dinners there, the 2009 menu is probably the best food Ive eaten in Spain so far, (celler can Roca tonight), Mugaritz, arzak and Berasategui all solid, for me a toss up between Arzak and Berasategui, I loved both meals, Mugaritz was good though, one or two things I didnt really get but extremely good, Made it to Hotel Ferrero by Paco Morales, great service and fantastic food, amazing hotel too, blew me away, Just been to Barcelona for a day, been to Bubo(great) , La Boqueria (so much to take in, smells, colours, taste, Superb) also made it to Mon St Benet, Alicia and lunch at Jordi Cruz's L'Angle which is also so good, I love his food, so clean. So Roca, Espai Sucre, Balaguer, and Duytsche to go then heading back to NZ, Anyone know where I can buy quality chefs wear in Barcelona or Girona? NZ has a shortage of chefs white that are comfortable, still selling stone age thick high starched jackets and hate em!!!

Reviews on my blog, Its been an Awesome trip!!

[stereoboard]

Ok so the trip is going great so far, didnt make the stage at El Poblet but had two dinners there, the 2009 menu is probably the best food Ive eaten in Spain so far, (celler can Roca tonight), Mugaritz, arzak and Berasategui all solid, for me a toss up between Arzak and Berasategui, I loved both meals, Mugaritz was good though, one or two things I didnt really get but extremely good, Made it to Hotel Ferrero by Paco Morales, great service and fantastic food, amazing hotel too, blew me away, Just been to Barcelona for a day, been to Bubo(great) , La Boqueria (so much to take in, smells, colours, taste, Superb) also made it to Mon St Benet, Alicia and lunch at Jordi Cruz's L'Angle which is also so good, I love his food, so clean. So Roca, Espai Sucre, Balaguer, and Duytsche to go then heading back to NZ, Anyone know where I can buy quality chefs wear in Barcelona or Girona? NZ has a shortage of chefs white that are comfortable, still selling stone age thick high starched jackets and hate em!!!

Reviews on my blog, Its been an Awesome trip!!

Oh Yeah and Sergi Arola in Madrid too, Great restaurant , fun food,

[Carlos Piqueras]

Stereoboard,

I'm not sure what you are looking for, but you can find some nice stuff in Joma's, Carrer d'Aragó 295, it's about crossing Paseo de Gracia.

[Aidan Brooks]

I used to buy my chefs whites and other gear at this place when I was living and working in Barcelona:

El Transwaal

Carrer de l'Hospital, 67

08001 Barcelona

Hope this helps.