Delicooks

Success stories are often full of individual characters, mavericks and prodigal sons who reject and never return to their roots, and make their fortunes. The case of El Celler de Can Roca and the men behind it couldn't be more different. Theirs is a story of hard-earned success and work, deeply tied to the land of their birth, of calm and steady progress, and, above all, of enthusiasm and passion. El Celler is a way of seeing food and the restaurant business from a traditional starting point blended with constant curiosity about other cultures, for innovation and new techniques. Theirs is a creative freedom based on common sense, reflection and respect for their products, for customers, for tradition, for other professionals and for themselves.

The origin of the universe.

To explain El Celler, we must first explain Can Roca, the traditional family restaurant opened in the 1960s in Taiala, a working class district of Girona. There, the Roca brothers' father and mother worked day after day, serving breakfasts and lunches for workers. Joan and Josep, the two older brothers, love recalling their childhood in this popular eatery, where they helped their parents after school, where they did their homework in the dining room, where they watched TV and played, where they roamed the kitchen ... Joan, the chef, first became interested in cooking while serving in the dining room. Josep, meanwhile, developed a passion for wine as he filled bottles in the wine cellar. When they were old enough, they decided to study catering at the nearby Sant Narcis school to continue the family business. But formal education always involves continuous learning and further training on the ground, not only working in other kitchens, but also investigating other restaurants. And that's how the Roca brothers discovered that other types of restaurant and food were possible. France and its gourmet restaurants were an eye-opener: there they would only not only eat but allow themselves to be seduced.

El Celler opened its doors in 1986 in a space next to the family restaurant, and was initially seen as an extension of the family business. There, Joan and Josep began to experiment and offer diners a new gastronomic experience. It can't have been easy, located as they were in a working class neighborhood, offering gourmet dishes. If at Can Roca they served up cannelloni, escudella, fried calamari or fish and meat dishes, in the Celler they experimented with Nouvelle Cuisine and creativity.

In 1997, younger brother Jordi Roca joined the team and took over the restaurant's "weak spot"  – desserts. Over time his creations were to become legendary.  

Three stars

The success of El Celler de Can Roca lies in the perfect balance between the three brothers, who are committed to creativity and continuous development. The restaurant's name includes the term "celler" (winery), which to a certain extent represents a declaration of intent. If El Celler de Can Roca is unique, this is thanks to the importance of the wine cellar and the relationship they have established between wine and food. It is the result of having a sommelier and wine enthusiast (considered to be one of the best in the world) as co-owner. Creative and poetic, Josep not only manages the cellar and serves. He also studies, investigates and reflects on wine. As if that were not enough, he provides a link between the world of wine and that of his bothers. Unlike Jordi and Joan, who cook with raw materials, Josep does not produce wine, but he does carefully select it on the basis of the dishes prepared by his brothers. He is, to a certain extent, like the conductor of an orchestra, making a harmonious symphony of dishes, liquid and solid, hot and cold, no matter how different the individual ingredients are.

In the kitchen, Joan uses Catalan cuisine to structure his creations and to take his dishes into uncharted territory, always based on the study of the techniques available. He is justly renowned for his studies and applications of vacuum cooking. His career follows the maxim that to be creative and to innovate, one must first know one's traditions. Just like the great writer Josep Pla, Joan speaks using a modern, reflective language redolent of childhood nostalgia for the aromas of cannelloni and fried calamari. And while nostalgic, it is never melancholic: traditional it may be but it is always looking to the future. For Joan food comes first and presentation is merely secondary. Yet he remains aware that the staging of the dishes is an essential part of the dining experience. A good example is the calamar a la gallega (Galician squid) served in a transparent bowl covered with plastic wrap with a small hole. Inside the bowl, smoke. Atop the plastic, the squid.

This creative staging is carried on by Jordi, in charge of the desserts. If Joan's vision is to look back and rethink tradition, Jordi looks right and left before stepping on the accelerator and racing forward. Perhaps his most famous creations are his twists, in the form of desserts, on celebrity perfumes: Carolina by Carolina Herrera, Trésor by Lancome ... But it's one of his latest creations, Anarquia (made up of many ingredients that diners can combine in different ways) that best represents where Jordi is taking us: to absolute freedom.

The strategy of the snail's pace

In 2007 the Roca brothers took the Celler to a new location. Bucking a trend that sees businesses relocate to up-and-coming areas, the brothers moved barely a few meters across the street. Here they have found the space and the atmosphere they needed to take their restaurant to the next level. This change also involved internal changes: a greater role for the wine cellar, the consolidation of the kitchen and a progressive shift from creativity to Jordi, who looks carefully at the concept of each dish, whether sweet or savory. It doesn't mean there has been a shift in power, but rather a redistribution of responsibilities. As always, the symbiosis between the three is total.

The modest center of the cosmos

A new location, new awards, international recognition ... 2010 was a big year for El Celler de Can Roca: 4th Best Restaurant in the World, a third Michelin star and the unanimous applause of fans, gourmets and colleagues. The response of the Rocas? humble gratitude and back to work. As from the very first day, they continue to walk the walk 100 meters that separate the family restaurant Can Roca, where they sit and enjoy their mother's home cooking, never forgetting their roots. Like other geniuses of the region, the Rocas are nourished by the tranquility of the land and its people and they are able to find the universal in the very local. And in that universe, there are three shining stars.