Delicooks

> www.koldoroyo.com Foto: Paola Marcon

Many of us have the idea of a chef as someone stuck in the kitchen dressed in white with a great big hat. However, you collaborate with various media outlets and also have your own blog, How have you built up such a presence on the Internet? Is it easy to combine the kitchen with the computer?
The truth is that I divide up my time between the two, fifty-fifty. Cooking is my passion, so the time that I devote to "A fuego lento" is a hobby that has become part of my job. It allows me to see what's going on around me and gives me lots of new ideas that I can then bring to the kitchen. It doesn't take any time away from me, on the contrary, it broadens my horizons. Surfing the Internet is as necessary as going to the market and seeking out seasonal products and discovering what's new. You often find the most original ideas closest to home.

What do you think is the key to the success of your digital magazine?
We're very honorable. We have never taken nor copied ideas from other media outlets. We were the first online magazine to appear in Spain and have become a benchmark for the rest. Another key factor is being up to date. All food web pages have to be constantly updated, but not all do so. You have to update blogs and news; and if there are comments that are outdated, these will undermine the credibility of the page editors.

Spanish cuisine is now world famous and media coverage on both it and food, in general, has multiplied at an incredible speed. Has it become a very competitive world?
Competition is always there and especially in the restaurant world where everyone wants to make a name for himself. That's good to some extent. That said, I think we live in a mediocre country in this respect; we need to pull together more, rather than just looking at what we're doing ourselves in our own regions. And this is what I intend to fight. I believe in the idea of grouping together concepts and so I am always eager to partner with other media or share my work with others.

Over the thirteen years you've been publishing the magazine, has it undergone many changes?
No, but that's why we're doing now. In a month we'll see the results of an intensive year of work. The site has been completely overhauled to conform to all the latest trends. We want to encourage interaction between the editorial side, collaborators and internet users. Debate is crucial to making our product better. We aim to merge technology and food so that anything can be made at home.

You've had your own restauraunt on the promenade of Palma de Mallorca, but it's no longer called" Koldo Royo. " Has your concept changed?
That's right. Now it's called Aquiara de tapas. Being a Michelin chef can make you a slave and I see my future career as being in my digital magazine. That's why I preferred to get back into tapas. Tapas allow you to innovate every day, and it means I don't have to be so hands-on in the kitchen or in the business side of thingsI have a kitchen manager who resolves all the day-today issues.

Palma has made quite a name for itself as a tapa city, with the initiative Tapalma 2010, set to bring thousands of food lovers into the city's bars and restaurants between now and next Monday. It'll be the first time you take part in this, the third outing for the event. Are you nervous?
A little. It is our first time and although I've heard how it works, we have pay attention to every little detail. It'll be crowded and we'll have to be watching out for every thing. Our two tapas will be: mullet on black olive puree and a pastry filled with mushrooms.

Nevertheless, you'll be sticking to your culinary style. You prefer traditional cooking to the creative, don't you?
Of course. New ideas, such as deconstruction, are fun but there's nothing better than a good pot of stewed lentils. Of course,  there are great innovators such as Ferran Adrià, who have blazed a trail, though I prefer his recipes that draw on the sea and mountains. They're much more rooted in the land.

Just two months ago we first heard about the proposed cooking university, the Basque Culinary Center. Do you think Spain needs this initiative?
It was a great idea and I think it was clearly necessary. I just don't understand why it's not being set up in Madrid. "A fuego lento" wholeheartedly supports the project and while I won't be working as a teacher with them, I'm sure there will be projects on which we can collaborate.

To finish off, what would be the best dessert to follow a good meal?
One doesn't always make it to dessert! So I'd recommend our Aquiara iced coffee whisked up in a centrifuge. It's the best coffee in the world!