Tagged with food

Someone’s in the kitchen with….Jordi of Carosel

 

We met Jordi Morera , Chef Owner of Carosel, in 2009.  He was teaching a cooking class called Arroces de tu abuela  ( your grandmother’s rice dishes) and we thought it would be great fun to attend.   It was and an after-class conversation with Jordi led to an invitation to eat at Seu Xerea where he was executive chef.  The following Monday Marty and I found ourselves seated in front of our first puchero.   Puchero, a very traditional Valencian dish, is a bountiful array of meats and vegetables and the stock they are cooked.  The stock is then served with chickpeas, and noodles and the meat and vegetables are served separately.

It was  wonderful.  We visited with Jordi as he shared his culinary point of view.  He is committed to using fresh, local and organic product.  He even cultivates some of the produce he uses.  His cooking is deeply rooted in traditional Spanish cooking and most particularly Valencian cooking.   However, Jordi does not stop there.  He is  highly innovative, finding ways to present the flavors of traditional dishes with  a new and fanciful flair.

When we returned to Valencia the next year we discovered Jordi was no longer at Seu Xerea.  In March of 2010, he had opened his own restaurant, Carosel,  near the Mercado Central.  Needless to say, we had to give it a try.  It is a modern and open space  with indoor seating for 50 and an ample terrace seating 48.

 

 

 

 

 

It has become one of our favorite places.   It has also become the place we choose to celebrate special occasions because we know we can count on Jordi to create just the right experience for the occasion.

Marty’s Birthday Feast

  

 

 

 

 

 

So, I was really delighted when Jordi said I could spend the day with him.   It was 8:30 in the morning,  the restaurant was dark, the doors  closed and the patio was quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

Jordi arrived and we crossed the street to the Mercado Central where he would do a little of the day’s shopping.  As we walked, Jordi gave me a bit of his history.  He started cooking at 16.  When I asked why he had chosen to be a chef, he thought for a moment and simply said, “ I like to eat.”  He learned to cook by working in restaurants, reading book,  taking cooking courses and ultimately  attending Bella Mar Escuela de Hostelería  (Bella Mar Hotel School) in Marbella.  Over the last 25 years he has cooked in Madrid, Barcelona, Venice, Milan, the Spanish Embassy in Rome and, of course, here in Valencia.

We arrived at the market and he led me to the stand that sells preserved fish.  He explained the ancient way of preserving fish was salting it  or putting it in olive oil.  It was clear from the variety in the case that preserved fish is very popular in Spain.

Jordi  made his vegetable purchases and we proceeded to the fish monger.

Clochinas Valencianas are very much in season and Jordi is featuring them  on his menu board.

With purchases complete we returned to the restaurant and Jordi began the preparations for the days .

 

 

 

 

 

First order of the day was making the bread. Jordi  took out a masa madre (sour dough starter) and went to work.

 

 

 

 

Next on t0 the estofada de rabo de toro(oxtail stew).

Pot number one makes its way to the stove just as the fish delivery arrives for the fish stock Jordi will soon be preparing.

 

 

 

Jordi salts the meat  and returns his attention to the bread, taking a few minutes to feed the  masa madre and shape the bread for the first rising.

 

 

 

 

 

He adds a generous amount of red wine  to the estofada.  Time to knead the bread for the second rising.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation of the fish stock for the paella is the next order of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jordi’s assistant Eva arrives  and prepares the potatoes  and onions for what will become  tortilla de patata y jamón fría y caliente(Hot and cold potato and ham omlette ).  While tasting exactly like a tortilla de patata, it is a dance of textures and temperatures.

 

 

 

On to the preparation of the honey ice cream, but first a quick trip to the nearby honey shop.

The last rising of the bread  is complete and the dough ready for the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talk about your multi-tasking.

Eva begins to assemble the bote de escalibada, con puré de calabaza  y queso fresco texturizado y salsa de perejil ( jar of cooked vegetables, puré of pumpkin, creamy cheese and parsley sauce).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is nearing 1:30, the doors open and a few early customers are seated in the patio

 

The easy pace of the morning changes to a flurry of activity as the first orders come in and the “tabla de entrants” is assembled.

 

 

 

 

 

The vegetables are grilled and main courses are ready to be served.

By 2:30 I couldn’t resist the urge to call my husband and invite him to join me at Carosel for lunch.  He happily agreed and we again enjoyed an exceptional meal.

 

Carosel
Taula de Canvis 6, Valencia, 46003
In the Carmen, near the Mercado Central

961 132 873

Someone’s in the Kitchen with…. Eddie of La Comisaría -Tapas y Copas Ilegales

One of the delights of Valencia is that you never know what you are going to find as you wander down a narrow street or turn a corner.    The day we were wandering through the Carmen, was just such a day.  There was a sign that said La Comisaría- Tapas y Copas Ilegales . Of course we thought that was amusing and took a picture, as have many people.  What we didn’t know initially was that La Comisaría  is an absolutely wonderful place to experience some exceptional food and some equally exceptional service.   We are now regular customers who find ourselves there often.  So, it seemed logical to make La Comisaría my next interview.

 

At 10:00 AM on a Tuesday morning, I met with the chef/owner Edward Phillips Blanco, know to all as Eddie. As he prepared his kitchen and assembled a couple of dishes for me, he told me about his personal journey to become a chef and how La Comisaría- Tapas y Copas came to be.

Eddie, son of an international investment banker, traveled a great deal with his family. They took advantage of their travels to dine on a wide range of international food. His mom loved to cook and even stocked her kitchen with ethnic foods, categorizing them by cuisine types.  It only seemed natural that Eddie developed an interest in cooking.   A cricket and rugby player for Midlands Regional, Eddie still found time to work in a restaurant at age 16. As was expected by his family, he went on to University in Nottingham. While studying economics, politics and Spanish, he found himself more devoted to the kitchen than the university.  Unlike his sister and brother, who are also investment bankers, he felt this was his calling. His parents were not keen on this decision, concerned about the hours, the stress and the commitment.   However, he felt it was time to fly the nest.

 

 

 

 

Working at Nottingham’s 2-star Canal House, Eddie started as demi-chef of desserts and rose to chef de partie (line cook) of the garde manger in 6 months.   He had made a commitment to himself and his father, that if he was going to be a chef, he’d go to the best.  In London he had the good fortune of securing a position as a stash (apprentice) at Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin 3-star Claridge’s and sister restaurant Petrus . He started with lettuce, then starters, then deserts and finished as a chef in the fish section.   He worked in a kitchen with a staff of 35 that gave him exposure to chefs from all over the world. After two and a half years of British Modern French food he was ready for a new experience.

 

 

Through a contact in Human Resources, he was able to get a position as stash in    Nobu , a Michelin One-star Japanese Restaurant.  Within 2 months it turned into a paying job.   Nobu afforded him the opportunity to work with a staff that was primarily Asian. It gave him an understanding of the philosophy of Japanese cuisine at its essence –getting the base flavor and taking it up to another level with technique.  I was amazed to learn that a well-trained Japanese chef may spend up to 7 years learning how to cut fish.

 

 

 

 

 

After 2 years at Nobu, he wanted more experience. At the invitation of friends, he decided to visit Valencia for a month.  He fell in love with the city and its people.  At that time he had received an offer to go to Japan to work for Alain Ducasse at one of the best restaurants in Japan.  Before he could leave for Japan, a family illness prevented him from accepting it.

In 2001 he returned to Valencia and spent a short while working in Denia.  He later met Marie, his fiancé and mother of their daughter, Grace.  Marie was only in Valencia for a couple of months, so he went with her to Hamburg when she returned to Germany. There he worked at the 1-star Tafelhaus, with  featured modern Germanic-French fusion cuisine.  It was a good team and experience  but Valencia kept calling him.

In 2007, he was sent a business plan by a group of businessmen in Valencia who wanted him to open a restaurant on the 6th floor of the Ateneo.  They wanted Michelin level cuisine and staff.  He selected his staff and returned to Valencia.  Six months later, due to lack of finance, the project ended.    It was time to set up something for himself.

At a time before the “gastronomic tapas” became the vogue, he opened Tapa 2 Gastonomic in the Carmen.  It served   “small plates of lovely food.” It was very successful but after 2 years he sold the business.   His next venture was the 80-seat Tahine near the Mercado Moissén Sorréll.   The business was going well and he began working on opening the smaller restaurant.  Unfortunately Tahine was closed down due to license problems in 2009.

In 2011 he opened La Comisaría with  very personal style Mediterranean food.  He is clearly achieving his goal to create a place that consistently delivers “perfect service and the perfect cuisine.” Watching Eddie and his small staff work only 85 cm from your table, you can feel the love and passion that they have for the food and their desire to create a memorable guest  experience.   Watching Eddie prepare a plate is watching an artist at work.  As they begin their 2nd year, they are planning to revamp the menu and the image, always attempting to reach perfection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As our conversation ended, I asked how he came up with such an unusual name for the restaurant. He explained that on the night he put down the deposit for the restaurant, he went out for drinks with a few of his police buddies .  As the evening progressed, they started suggesting names for the restaurant. They came up with La Comisaría- Tapas and Copas Ilegales.  It seemed to stick.  Eddie hopes to brand the concept and open another in the future.

Plaza del Arbol 5, (por calle Baja) Barrio del Carmen, Valencia www.restaurantelacomisaria.com

Someone’s in the Kitchen with …..Mike and Santi

I firmly believe that you learn something new every day.  The day, several years ago, when our friend Pepe Monfort invited us for a gin and tonic at The Ginger Loft was no exception.  It was a lovely evening and we chose an outside table.  We were soon approached by Santi Noce, waiter and mixologist extraordinare.  I ordered a Tanqueray and Tonic.  Santi very kindly informed me that they only had very exceptional gins, some sixty brands, and simple Tanqueray was not one of them.  I am a big fan of gin and tonics but had no idea of the range of choices that existed.  Santi then asked if I liked my gin dry, floral, botanical or with a hint of citrus.  I settled on a Tanqueray Rangpur and was soon served the best gin and tonic I had ever had.  This was the first of many wonderful cocktails I was to enjoy over the next few years.  As we headed home, Pepe mentioned that it was also a great place to eat.  We returned a few days later and were not disappointed.  We have been eating there nearly every week since then.

So,  it only seemed right that I should learn a bit more about  Santi Nose, from Peru and Mike Gray, from Scotland and how they ended up with a delightful restaurant with an Asian flair in Valencia Spain

I met Mike at the restaurant as he arrived from the Mercado Central with the day’s meat and vegetables.  We chatted as he set up the work area and checked all his equipment.  The “kitchen,” if you could call it that, is a very small workspace behind the bar with a convection oven, induction plate and two small burners.  It amazes me what Mike can produce with such limited equipment.

 

 

 

 

 

Mike, who grew up in the kitchens of restaurants where his mom worked as a waitress, says he knew he wanted to cook from early age.  In spite of his parents’ attempt to convince him to follow other career paths, Mike was clear about what he wanted to do.  He took a year of general culinary training at Aberdeen Technical College.  This was followed by 2 years of more intensive classical culinary training  with a emphasis on French cooking.  He also took additional courses in the business side of running a restaurant.  He began his career cooking for a small privately owned hotel group, working in the smaller  of the 3 that had a fine dining restaurant.  When they opened a small Country House Hotel, Mike moved there, later working in various restaurants throughout the UK.  He spent 3 years a the famous London French restaurant, L’Escargot .

For Mike, things had gotten a bit repetitive and he decided to go back to school and go into food manufacturing. He spent 2 years as a development chef and 2 more year in processing for a large multi-national company.  Mike described food processing as “attempting to make massive quantities of food that taste like it came out of your grandmother’s little sauce pan. “

A friend ,working in Japan at an English Garden in Nagano, encouraged  Mike to come to Japan . A Modern British Café featuring “restaurant style” plated pastry was opened next to a department store carrying a line of English design clothing .  Mike had just the skill set they needed and he soon found himself in Japan.   After a  one and a half years, Mike took a position at an American Restaurant in Tokyo where he remained for two and a half years.

Santi, with a Peruvian mother and Japanese father, followed a different route.  His studies were in fashion design. A family move to Japan did not offer him an opportunity to continue in fashion and he found himself working in a car factory in Nagoya.  It was in Nagoya where Mike and Santi crossed paths.  It was at Mike’s suggestion that Santi applied for work at the Aichi Expo 2005 as they were looking for someone who spoke English, Spanish and Japanese. Santi was fluent in all three.  After an initial rejection, Santi was offered a job where he continued until he moved to Tokyo.

In Tokyo, Santi took a job at a Latin restaurant that he describes as “the worst job of my life.”  He later accepted a position at the restaurant where Mike worked, beginning as a busser, then server and then host.  Always curious and asking questions, Santi spent time “shadowing” the bartender. When the restaurant needed a bartender, Santi was asked to step in. Never one to pass up a new opportunity, Santi  said “yes.”

One evening a regular customer who worked in PR  at the Four Seasons Hotel gave him his card and suggested he come work for the hotel.  He was offered the job.  When he told his boss at the restaurant,  she made him an offer he couldn’t refuse – more money, more hours and a promotion to Assistant Manager.    While working in the restaurant, Santi began to work at Ralph Lauren as a personal shopper and sales assistant.  This eventually led to a full time job at Ralph Lauren.

After several years in Japan both Mike and Santi felt it was time for a change. They settled on Spain because at least one of them spoke the language of the country. A friend at the Spanish Embassy encouraged them to consider Valencia.  After three visits the decision was made and The Ginger Loft was born.

The Ginger Loft is an informal space with an Asian feel to it. The menu, while varied, leans toward Asian and Middle Eastern dishes.

 

 

 

 

The food is fresh, well seasoned and the tastes are authentic.  Mike even makes his own English Muffins for the Eggs Benedict for Sunday Brunch – a treat you shouldn’t miss if you are in Valencia.The soups vary according to the season and are always a wonderful way to start your meal.

The cocktails are amazingly good and Santi doesn’t hesitate to create something original for you.

When I asked Mike how they had arrived at this concept,  he said, “The stuff we do here is what we like.  We love Asian décor, good cocktails and Asian flavors and spices.¨  The good news is that their customers love it too.

 

 

As Mike and I finished the interview,  my husband and I decided to stay for lunch.  I asked for the apple, carrot and garbanzo soup I had watched Mike make.

 

 

“Hot or cold?” he asked.  It was a warm day so I said cold and he promptly chilled it for me.   We then decided to share an order of Moroccan meatballs with couscous and Thai pork with rice.

 

 

 

 

 

Both were perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of heat and absolutely delicious.   We lingered over coffee and dessert and then left, feeling, once again, that we’d enjoyed a great meal with old friends.

 ¡Aquí se come bien!

the ginger loft
Calle Vitoria #4, by c/san vicente martir and c/moratin, 46002
Valencia, Spain (34) 963 523 243
ginger@thegingerloft.com