- Country: Spain
- Recipe:Suquet of horse mackerel
- Fish: Horse mackerel (Atlantic Ocean – Bay of Biscay)
About the chef
Joan Roca is the chef of the restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, twice acclaimed Best Restaurant of the World by The World's 50 Best Restaurant. The restaurant, which he runs with his two brothers, also has been on the top positions of the international list for the past 11 years and holds 3 Michel-in Stars since 2009.
His cuisine is conceptually inspired by traditional Mediterranean cuisine and reinterpreted in a modern and creative style in total freedom. While his main emphasis is on the quality of excellent raw ingredients, technical innovation and research also play a crucial role.
His creative process is a constant dialogue and engagement with science and farmers, technology and sensitivity, products and sensorial anthropology. This genuine balance nourishes the creative game of Joan and his brothers. Josep, the sommelier, adds his mastery of the universe of wine, and Jordi closes the triangle with his defying and brilliant desserts.
Under the native exchange philosophy of the three brothers, in 2014 La Masia (I+R) was created next to the restaurant. The old farmhouse that once hosted the production process of El Somni was readapted to become a Research, Education, and Creativity Center, a house for multi-disciplinary exchange.
Nowadays, the restaurant is leading a botanical research called Terra Animada that has catalogued more than 3000 wild species for their recovery and reintroduction in gastronomy. This way, the Roca brothers educate society about the local natural environment and promote ecological awareness.