July 31st

Don't have much for ya today.... Went shoppin for the fam, went down to the market again for some fresh juice and pastries. Love this place, wish I could buy more, but no kitchen.

Went down to the beach for lunch, wasn't that good, so stopped back by La Champagneria for some sausages.
Few glasses of Cava later, ready for a nap. Went to dinner down by the port, then out for some drinks. Good day, not too crazy...

Enoteca was booked tonight, headed there tomorrow. Lookin forward to taste all of the crazy things I saw last week.

Pics

View of a typical street here, everyone's clothes drying

After dessert last night, espresso and almond cakes

My appetizer. Sautéed squid with mushrooms, tomato, and scallions. Really good, squid and calamari here is super high quality.

Besides the ridiculous glass they serve it in, they have the best tonic over here. Hendricks is available everywhere as well. Every place serves it in this huge scooner, don't like that. But here they bring the bottle out, and pour table side, kinda cool!

Anchovies at this little tavern/restaurant I stopped at on the way to dinner. It was cool, had some tapas and some wine.

Wine I had at dinner, I let him pick. Somewhat inexpensive and freckin good

My dinner, sea bass with sautéed beans, and red pepper sauce. Super fresh, simple. Wasn't worth what I paid for it, but I wanted to go to out to a nice place. Overall good meal, great service. Good service is not easy to get when you are by yourself.

Tiramisu

The port

Another shot of that tavern I went to before dinner, lots of cool wine

July 30th

Made it back to Barcelona today. Gonna hang here for a few days and treat myself to some good food. I'm only here for 10 more days!!!! Gotta live it up before I head back to Paris, I really want to go work back at Vin Choi Moi for a bit before I come home.

Learned to not trust google maps today...Laundry turned out to be workout!

Just went to La Champagneria! Place was hard to find. New name on maps, and actually no name at all when I showed up! Google is killin me over here...Awesome spot that Blake said was a must. No tables, just crowd around the bar, or any place you can, and drink Cava. It's rosè champagne, and it's the only thing they serve. Ha! It was cool. Met some ladies from Austraila, always nice to speak English.

And I had blood sausage, for the first time! I've been looking forward to this moment. Sounds crazy, but always something I wanted to try, and it was really good. Kinda soft, but delish... I promise you would like it!

I also tried the Iberco Ham plate. It's those pig legs hanging from the ceiling, and at every place I've been yet. Just sittin at room temp, with a cloth over it. Mold growing from the ones hanging on the ceiling. Crazy, but good! They have so many different grades of it here in Spain. Just ok here, amazing at the hotel though. The ham at the hotel is from a specific farm, acorn fed. They take this stuff seriously. It's like Japanese Kobe beef. I will be back tomorrow for a sandwich, for sure..

More later

Pics

View from the hostel. Nice terrace at least...

Ha to take a pic for Blake, no name on the place, but so glad I came

G and T and some olives

La Champagneria

My mixed sausage plate, with blood sausage, so good!!!!

July 29th

Slept in a little today, and took a walk thru town. Went down to the beach and walked up this hill they have down there that overlooks the port. It's called El Castellar. Really nice views of the ocean and the city. Was great to just chill for the day!!!!

Walked thru this market and found Ma's birthday gift, hope she likes it. We were actually together in Paris on her birthday, but I was not prepared. She said not to worry about it, but it's my Ma!

Then off to a cafe for some Caná. That's what they call their draft beer. Had some tapas... Fried calamari, some incredible chorizo on baguette, and some Patata Bravas. The chorizo reminds me of the sausage I had every morning down in Mexico when we went two years ago with the fam. Awesome! And Patata Bravas are like the bombas I've talked about recently. They are simply fried potatoes with two sauces. Every place has their own version. A spicy tomato and a garlic aioli. Basically ketchup and garlic mayo at the cheap spots. But soooooo good at the nicer places. They even do a play on the dish at Miramar. It's those potato pillows we made the other day, filled with the sauce. My friend Mailing would like Spain, she loves french fries:-)

Hung at the beach, ate a great meal, Im out! Back to Barcelona mañana...

Just a bunch of pics from today, no cookin...

June 28th

Day 3 at Mirimar. Came in today and helped with the pastry crew. Filled some bottles and CO2 canisters. They have about 6-8 that they use daily. Every single one is cleaned and refilled every two days. And each sauce, with is previously vacuum sealed, has to be blended again with a stick blender before putting into bottle. Little much, but hey...

I was talking with, Sean (cook from Barcelona, Ritz) the other day about starting in a new kitchen. One thing that drove both of us crazy is the fact they give you one, small thing to do at a time. I don't speak that much Spanish, but I'm not an idiot!!! They tell ya to do one minor thing, so when I'm finished with it 2 min later, I have to go bug them to see what they want next.
Que mas? Que mas? (What's next, or what more?) I could just take my time with everything, but i want to show them I'm interested and eager to do more. I don't want to just stand around all day, I want to help! Just gotta deal...

I went to other kitchen to prep some things. Super small diced tomato after taking all skin and seeds out. They use this for a tartar dish. Looks and tastes just like Steak tartar, but with tomatoes. Juiced about 50 lemons and 50 oranges for some more spheres or gelatins. And helped shuck some oysters. Their oyster knife is broken, so they use a dull paring knife instead, lol! Thought this is something i thought I could finally be of some real help with, but of course I didn't bring my oyster knife. I should have brought so many of my tools, instead of just my knives and peeler?!? They shuck the oysters different because of the knife too. They have to go at it in a different spot because the blade in the knife is so flimsy. Took me a min to figure out where to go, but I got it and we rocked out about 100 in 10-15 min.

Then lunch... Whole small bonito fish, with Caesar salad and leftover desserts from the wedding they catered last Saturday. Awesome!!!! They said they all got to meet Ferran Adrià there!!! He is the chef at El Bulli, one of the best in the world. To them here in Spain, the best!!!! Chef Paco, I learned, did a Stagé there at El Bulli for years back in the day. After that, he came back to this town, to his families restaurant, Miramar (circa 1939), and changed the philosophy and cuisine. Pretty awesome what he has created, and achieved.

Then I made some squid ink chips. You take that edible paper I've been taking about, Ubulato, and fold twice, then place one more on top. After that you brush the ink on, let dry, then repeat. I cant wait to experiment with this paper when I get back. They use it a lot of different ways. I picked up a pack here, an it has a website on the back so I can order more. I'm sure we have it back home, but I cannot find a translation. Maybe it's just called Obulato?!?

We picked the bones out of the bonito triangles tonight. Much easier than the anchovies, only about 8-12 bones per instead of about 100. I need some tweezers to work here... Cleaned some crabs, with a toothpick, of course! And made some baby octopus dust. Dredged in flour, you fry the hell of of this meat. After it dries, you chop til it's like a powder and fry again. It is like octopus flavored bread crumbs. Just one of their many garnishes, done daily, took me about 20 min! That's a long time for one garnish:->

Went for beers with the crew tonight, it was cool to go chill and talk about home with them. Then back to the hostel. Bout a mile walk to a from work, but I don't mind... It kinda chilly at night here. Feels great after sweating for 14-16 hours. Gives me chance to soak up where I am and what Im actually doing here. Dream come true!

Said my goodbyes and thanks to chef Paco tonight. He gave me a pat on the head and a big smile, and thanked me for coming. They are closed tomorrow night for a employee party. I'm gonna take tomorrow off, and head back to Barcelona on Monday. Its tough to leave after only three days, but I'd need 6 months here or a year to really learn the language and master their techniques. Not saying that they are sooooo much better than us by any means. Thats one thing I've thought a lot about lately. Are they better? In certain aspects yes, I like they way they approach things and the dedication and discipline they have. But not really in execution. I think our team does an amazing job of putting out the food that we do, in the quantities we do. This trip has just opened my mind to what you can do with food, textures, and presentation. I will be back here as well one day!


Pics

Family meal today... Whole bonito fish over the red sauce from yesterday. Certainly not the best family meal yet, Chef Daniel in Paris killed it with the fresh pasta and bread, but up there for sure

They own mico greens growin...micro greens are just super small & edible, delicate greens or flowers that you usually buy. First time I've ever seen them actually grown in house!

Cool little flour dredger. Just cool to me, never seen before. Saves flour and keeps the kitchen clean!

View of on way to work everyday. So many cool little gardens and tiny homes in this town.
Squid ink chips made with Obulato

Denise, chick from Costa Rica, dippin a white asparagus foam in liquid nitrogen for a tasting menu dish. Only girl in kitchen here.

Fresh oysters, super clean and delish. Why did I not bring all my tools?!?

The bin of mico greens and sea beans for garnish. Sea beans are like tiny raw green beans, but they taste salty like the sea

Crabs, still kickin...

July 27th

Today was fun... Finally got my hands dirty!

Started with baby squid. Tiny little "bone" that is super sharp on both sides. You take that out, take another piece of collagen between the legs, and then take the eyes out. Then into ice water. And don't break the ink sack inside!!!! Never worked with seafood this fresh before. Beside whole fish, most of our seafood is brought in somewhat cleaned already. Not here, everything is brought in completely untouched, and not frozen. Don't think I grabbed a pic of the large ones that came in later that day, but wow! They were the size of my leg!

Then lunch. We had a mushroom and potato omelette yesterday. They call it a tortilla here. It's a thick potato and egg "omelette or frittata" instead of the thin flat corn thing I was picturing. They serve them everywhere. The chef just added some mushrooms & onions to this one, it was good! Today we had a roasted vegetable red sauce, with bread and guacamole. Random, but good.

Then I did anchovies. And I thought those cherries were crazy?!? Ok this is by far, the craziest thing I have ever prepped in my life! I took a picture of one, that is what you start with. Take a pair of tweezers, and start pickin each and every bone out. LMAO!!!! Anchovies are the one fish with bones so small that you just eat them! Not here.... Now these are the biggest/most expensive you can buy. The ones you get back home, are the smaller kind with the outer layer of bones cut off. The bigger bones on the outside are the easy ones. Then there are three more rows thru out the meat. I mean... The most ridiculous thing I've ever done!!!! And I sat there and did it for three hours:-) then for four more hours at night!!! All good, at least I know what it's like at a Michelin starred restaurant. I put a smile on my face and kept at it. All day I bet I finished maybe 25-30...then when we finished, we went bck thru and double checked, ha!

They store all their seafood a little different too. We have always been taught to store all seafood on self-draining ice. They have the same storage containers, basically a perforated pan inside another slightly larger pan to catch the water. But they don't use ice?!? They just cover everything with damp paper towels. May not be that big a deal to you non-chefs out there, but I thought it was cool. We vacuum seal most all of our proteins, and put on ice. Wonder which way is best?

Tonight after we cleaned, the chef started yelling, basically saying that we didn't do good enough. So we did it again!!! Hahahahahahaha... But that's why their kitchen looks brand new.

Another long day, 9am-1am. Still can't believe the work culture over here. Everyone, not just cooks/chefs, work all day, almost everyday. Maybe a small break, depending where you work, but still. The cooks get Monday off, except in August. They go 7 days a week then, it's their busy month here. Just the way they roll here. I see the same people working at the cafe's on my way to work, and when I'm on my way home. So next time you are sick of work, just be glad you work in the states, and prob work an 8hr. day!


Pics

The spotless kitchen

Anchovies:-/

Triangle pieces of bonito fish, covered with a paquillo pepper (sweet red pepper) sauce

Fresh quail... They brûlée with a torch, then take the breast meat off the bone, and use the rest of the carcass for a sauce. Don't really understand this, there are a few things here I don't agree with. I like the sauce idea, we do the same with our extra bones our restaurant. But the torch? Why not just clean it and evenly sear it, whatever "to each his own."

Another shot of the kitchen

Pile of anchovies, ha!

Their cotton candy machine

These are strawberries, kinda. The tops are real, the the bottom is a sphere of strawberry juice. Which is dipped in liquid nitrogen, right before it is sent out. Cool, and delish!

July 26th

First day at Miramar in Llança! Had a few espressos on the way to work this morning, and some killer pastry. You can smell these bakeries from 30 feet away, they're amazing. That's one thing Europe in general, kills us on... bread!

Walked into a chefs dream kitchen! It is one of the best in the world, kinda hit me today. This place has every tool and gadget imaginable. They are using all the chemicals, we have about 8-10 back home, they have 100. They have an "anti-griddle," like a flat-top or skillet but it gets super cold instead. Never actually seen one of those. They use liquid nitrogen, and it's utilized in like 5 of their dishes. View of the beach doesn't suck either.

That being said, we have a pretty amazing spot back home. We should be thankful!

A lot of cooks! Half actually work there and half are interns basically, at least 15. He has housing on site for most as well. One sous chef, the main chef, and Paco. The Dean of Barcelona. This main chef is def serious, but at least let me take some pics. He is kinda like other guy, chef de cuisine at Arola, I think that they might have worked together at El Bulli. El Bulli, for all of you basically, was once the greatest restaurant in the world, on a 2 year break right now. Its in Spain, look it up. These chefs here just demand the utmost care and quality of every little thing that you do. They are truely what I've always heard about in books and stories of old school chefs.

I made a lemongrass infused syrup, picked some flowers for pastry today, and that was about it. I watched and tried to clean as much as I could but... These plate ups are just as they were at Enteca. Tweezers, rings molds, super delicate ingredients. It's rough because I'm just in the way, but it's still cool to see what they do. Couple of the guys have been explaining things so don't feel completely lost. It's tough... Takin lots of notes though, have lots of recipes. and they did let me plate some tonight which was nice.

It is the cleanest place I've ever been. They scrubbed the entire kitchen before family meat @ 1230 @ 5 before our break, and of course at end of shift bout midnight. It's nice to see that! There's a wet towel (Shamwow) on every station, and they constantly wipe down. They even have different towels to wipe different surfaces. EVERYTHING is vacuum sealed! The slicer is actually clean, sorry Europe, that's one thing I haven't seen yet?!?

Insane tasting menu! You are served four rounds of Tapas, then an Amuse bouche, and then about 8-10 app and entree courses. After lunch/dinner you get pre-dessert, three desserts, and petit fours. It's crazy! Now, we did four for lunch, and 28 for dinner, but still. That's still a lot of plates!

Wish they could see us do 300+!

Pics

That's Foie gras... Dunkin Donuts style

The kitchen

The Lemongrass syrup for a meringue

Really cool chicken sauce "skin" with deep fried chicken & Foie gras. They take chicken Demi (chicken stock reduced down to almost nothing) and brush it on that paper I used the other day to make fried ice cream. Then fry. You get this awesome chip, that looks like skin, and tastes like the most intense chicken sauce... Wow!

These are cool little fake limes. The skin is this is like gelatin, filled with ice cream... One of the many petit fours

Liquid Nitrogen, always thought it would burn if you touched it... Not so much

This guy is making chocolate cones for dessert with the same paper. They make a chocolate spray/sauce and brush on the paper. Then slightly heat up to form around the mold to make the cone shapes

The next two pics are of a really cool technique of frying potatoes. You constantly flip the potato in the cooler of the two pots of oil. Then just when they are right, you just gotta know. You put in the hotter oil, and they pop up like little pillows... Awesome

The dinning room

Fresh octopus/calamari/squid... There are so many different kinds here

Fresh eels, when I say fresh I mean still jumping around, lol!!!! They chop the heads, and clean them while they are still jerking around.

These are the Dunkin Donut Foie Gras!!! They even have the paper, I'll take a pic this weekend when I sit down to eat. So cool! They have another special paper/mold for this. Then poke with a needle, and dip in the different colored chocolate. I need Dean to contact Krispy Kreme so we can do this!!!!!

These are the finished product, super fresh cleaned eels. The sous vide them for three hours, then finish on the grill