My last day at the Ritz, Barcelona... And I could not have been better. It was def the most fun I've had yet!!!
Worked in the Marina kitchen today, the poolside restaurant here at the hotel. The chef, Leo, put me with his lead cook, Sean. So I immediately got my old nickname "Texas" back, ha! He is from Germany, been here 2 years, and we got along great. I tried their mussels, pizza, and desserts. He just kept making me food...It was nice! We just chilled the first hour and ate. We ordered cokes from the bar, haven't had too many sodas here, which is a good thing. Only water, coffee, and alcohol...
Their lunch service is from 12-5, and it was kinda busy today. The food they put out of this tiny kitchen is good. Much nicer than mine back at Prestonwood CC. Archie on pizzas, Monica on Salads, and Sean and I on the hot side. They make the dough for the pizza fresh, and roll out to order. The salads and fruit plates are really nice too. Hot side has baby squid with garlic and herbs, fresh snapper, lobster macaroni, burgers of course. They love hamburgers over here just like home. Nothing blowin me away, but still fun to see some new things, and it's so relaxed and fun with this crew. Leo made sure I stayed with Sean all day do I could see everything, and not just prep mise en place(its what we call all of our ingredients) down in the main kitchen. We had some really cool VIP guests in for lunch, funny seeing them get so excited about American celebs. Even I was excited to see these guys...
We finished lunch service around 530, and went to Burger King for a beer, lol! Funny that they both have beer here, and that it's cool they all go for a drink.
7 o'clock, back for dinner service... It was slow tonight, maybe 30 covers. They said it was usually about 100. We hung out, prepped a little, and ate some more. Sean told me there's a beach party tonight, and he's off tomorrow, so we are goin out! Really, really good guy. We talked a lot about life and working as a a chef today. The attitude of him and most of the chefs over here is awesome. They have a passion for what they do, they work extremely hard and efficient, and they push themselves daily. I think every chef in America should come see how kitchens work over here...
Leo is also working on this Stagé with Chef Paco Perez. Guy is supposed to be one of the best in the world, hope it works out. His other restaurant is
about two hours north in Costa Brava, and everyone says it would be amazing. Nice that both these chefs are so willing to help out.
It was a bad-ass experience here at this property. It was great to see all five kitchens, learn some killer techniques, and meet some really cool chefs. I will be back here one day...
Pics
Beer on tap at Burger King
Nice view from the Marina Kitchen
Fruit plate
Mussel and octopus risotto with squid ink, awesome!
Tomato salad with the best Tuna fish ever
Pizza in the wood fire oven
Sautéed octopus with garlic and herbs
Herb mustard, thought it good, never seen before
Family meal. Awesome pizza with some pastries on their last day
Yummy!
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