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Tasting the wines of Mallorca

Seen at the Fira del Vi 2017 and probably a sentiment shared by many visitors.
Thirty-nine wineries from Mallorca offered tastings at this year´s Pollença Wine Fair – in its 14th year in 2017. It was good to see five Mallorcan bodegas that had not previously exhibited at this popular annual fair – and to discover some wines we hadn´t tried before.
We took along friends visiting from Oxfordshire who really appreciate Mallorca´s wines. They are always disappointed that they can´t find the island´s wines for sale back in the UK – although Marks & Spencer does sell a wine from the bodega Macia Batle, and I have recently spotted one (A/N2 from Ànima Negra) on Selfridges’ website. I´ve been told that the import duty that would have to be paid would make wines from Mallorca seem too expensive in the UK. Do you know otherwise?
Taste all you want for 10 euros
For an entrance fee of just 10 euros we were able to taste as many wines as we wanted. That may sound like an invitation to excess but, believe me, there´s a limit to how many tastings you want in the middle of a rather warm day, as it was when we visited! Our entry fees also entitled each of us to a discount of three euros on a wine purchase. Our wine rack is now looking a little more interesting…
Below are some photos I took at this year´s Pollença Wine Fair – or Fira del Vi as it is known here.
If you´re planning a visit to Mallorca in spring 2019 and would like to visit this annual wine event in Pollensa town, the dates are May 11th and 12th, 2019.
Jan Edwards ©2017
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Protur Chef 2017 was a great success
On March 18th I had the great pleasure of being one of the non-chef judges for Protur Chef 2017 on Mallorca. The main judges for the competition – which was on from March 16th-19th – were the chefs Tomeu Caldentey, Marc Fosh, Fran López, and the famous twins Javier and Sergio Torres. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the twins’ names were embroidered on their chef jackets, I’d not have been able to tell one from the other! Chef and gastronomy consultant Koldo Royo acted as Master of Ceremonies.
My stint was just for the Saturday morning, as other food writers, bloggers, and broadcasters also took turns on the panel for different stages of the cooking contest. When I entered the auditorium of the Protur Biomar Gran Hotel & Spa in Sa Coma I was instantly impressed by the professional set-up awaiting the young chefs who would be cooking on stage later.

The stage set for young chefs from across Spain
10 cooking schools, 20 student chefs
The 20 student chefs each had to create a dish costing no more than seven euros and based on Mallorca’s famous black pork. They’d come from 10 different cooking schools all over Spain to take part. We were able to observe the young chefs on stage with the aid of video cameras that projected live images onto what I was told was the largest screen on Mallorca. Then we were able to see and taste the finished dishes and give our comments.

The pork dishes tried during my stint on the panel

The audience could also see the action on the giant screen
Participating cookery schools:
Mallorca:
- Escola d’Hosteleria de les Illes Balears (EHIB)
- IES Puig de Sa Font
- Amadip Esment Escola de Mallorca
- IES Juniper Serra
- IES Alcúdia
Tenerife:
- Hotel Escuela SC de Canarias HECANSA
Barcelona:
- EUHT de Sant Pol de Mar
Mérida:
- Escuela Superior de Hostelería y Agroturismo ESHAEX
Pontevedra:
- CIFP Carlos Aroza
Madrid:
- Centro Superior de Hostelería Mediterráneo
I was unable to attend the final, on the Sunday, but imagine the atmosphere was incredible as the results were announced afterwards:
José Antonio Rodríguez, pupil of EUHT of Sant Pol de Mar, was the proud winner of the First Edition of the National School Cooking Contest ‘PROTUR CHEF 2017’. Second place went to Tenerife, represented by Javier Jiménez of Hotel Escuela SC of the Canaries HECANSA, and third place to Toni Riera from Mallorca – a pupil of IES Puig de Sa Font.
Chef KIDS
I didn’t learn to cook until I’d left home and, as a result, believe that every child should have some basic cooking lessons. This contest for keen budding chefs of the future – aged between 8 and 12 – took place over the same weekend.

Waiting for the start

It must have been a great thrill for the kids to see these TV chefs waiting to judge their salads
During my stint on the judging panel we watched the first nine (of 18) youngsters preparing a salad, after they’d had three minutes to select their ingredients from a market-stall-type display. At a later stage, they would be decorating cakes. Anxious parents sat in the audience, willing their offspring to do well.
At the end of the contest, the winners were:
- Antònia Roser Sitges – 1st prize
- Marina Vaquer – 2nd
- Aurelio Ucendo – 3rd
Well done to all the contestants and to everyone involved in the organisation of the competition. I’m sure I’m not the only person looking forward to Protur Chef 2018…I just hope they invite me back as a judge!
©Jan Edwards 2017
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Mallorca hosts first national competition for culinary school chefs

Long before moving to Mallorca, I worked in the small press and publicity department of Crest Hotels, then owned by brewing giant Bass and comprising more than 40 hotels in the UK and on the Continent.
One of the many things I loved about my job was involvement in the chain’s annual UK Young Chef of the Year competition, for chefs aged under 22. Each year we invited a well-known chef to join the judging panel for the competition final – an exciting event for all involved.
Brian Turner, Bruno Loubet, and David Chambers were among the top chefs who kindly agreed to be that famous chef on the jury. Apart from tasting some delicious creations at the finals, what I remember most is how excited the finalists were to have such successful and well-respected chefs judging their food.
Protur Chef Mallorca 2017
Fast forward to March 16th-19th, 2017: 20 young chefs from cookery schools all over Spain will be similarly impressed to have a panel of well-known professionals judging their work at Protur Chef. This event is the first national culinary schools competition and takes place at the 5-star Protur Biomar Gran Hotel & Spa in Sa Coma, on Mallorca’s east coast.
The Protur Chef judging panel includes (among others) chefs with a sprinkling of Michelin stars between them who are sure to impress the young contestants: Koldo Royo, Tomeu Caldentey (Bou), and Marc Fosh (Marc Fosh) from Mallorca, and Fran López and twins Javier and Sergio Torres, from the Peninsula. A mighty line-up!
Unlike the Crest competition, Protur Chef welcomes the public. You could be seeing Spain’s foremost chefs of the future and enjoying some of the add-on events happening at the same time. These include gastronomy workshops, a cooking competition for children aged 8-12 (Protur Chef Kids), gourmet products market, tastings, and food trucks offering tasty street food.
Read about the day itself here and look out for the dates of Protur Chef Mallorca 2018.
©Jan Edwards 2016
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Menorcan Pop-up in Mallorca
A taste of Menorca has come to Mallorca this weekend, courtesy of Chefs(in) – which promotes the gastronomy of the Balearics – and Purohotel in Palma. Menorcan chef Sílvia Anglada – whose restaurant Es Tast de na Sílvia is in Ciutadella – is cooking for a series of Chefs(in) pop-ups in Purohotel’s Private Wing. The chef’s restaurant is the only one in the Balearics that is certified Slow Food and 0KM – which means that all the ingredients she uses are locally sourced.

Silvia Anglada at work in Purohotel Private Wing’s kitchen
A dozen of us sat down last night to eat Sílvia’s seven-course dinner of Menorcan dishes, which were accompanied by carefully-chosen wines from Mallorcan bodega Vins Nadal. Sílvia’s partner Toni Tarragó (who is front of house at their Menorca restaurant) looked after service.
As each dish was served, Sílvia came over to explain its elements and preparation. Her cuisine is inspired by dishes she ate in her childhood; her lovingly made food evokes happy memories of family meals at home.
The food
My personal highlights (quite a few) were her crispy ‘coca’ with sardine; red rock mullet with capers, ‘xeixa’ wheat flakes and a marine praline (made with ‘xeixa’ wheat and pulverised fish bones – surprisingly tasty); cabbage-wrapped pork (a simple combination, but delicious), and the three different Menorcan cheeses with their accompanying chutneys. The dessert of warm ‘coca bamba’ with ice cream was a comfort-food treat that is something of a speciality of Sílvia’s.

‘Menjar blanc de la edad media hasta ahora’

Red rock mullet dish

Pork wrapped in cabbage with a cauliflower puree
If you’re on Mallorca this weekend and would like to enjoy a taste of Menorca, in an exclusive Palma setting, how about lunch tomorrow? As I write, there are places available for lunch at 2pm, priced at 65€, including wines. Book your place(s) here.
Text & photos Jan Edwards©2017
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Pop-up dining on Mallorca
Mallorca has numerous restaurants – many of them excellent – but I find a pop-up dining event particularly appealing. For me, it’s the chance to eat in a location that’s not usually accessible to the public; being part of an event with a limited number of people I probably haven’t met before, and sitting down to a meal where each course is a surprise – and not chosen from a presented menu.
Pop-up dining is common in many large cities, but doesn’t seem to have become a hot trend yet on Mallorca. Perhaps it’s because the island is blessed with so many independently owned good restaurants, rather than franchised chain establishments.
American-style pop-up dining

A table set for Thanksgiving
We have enjoyed a few pop-up dining events though on Mallorca. These have included three Thanksgiving Dinners arranged by talented Texan private chef Ross Hutchison and his New Yorker wife Joanna Cybulski, who live on Mallorca. The 2016 dinner was held in a surprisingly spacious private villa in Palma’s Son Espanyolet and began with drinks and Ross’s delicious canapés in the courtyard garden, where the final touches to the feast were being done in the outdoor kitchen. We ate our succulent turkey dinner indoors, where Joanna had taken a lot of trouble over the decoration of the dining table. Read about their special Thanksgiving Dinner in a winery here.
Charlie’s Kitchen
A fortnight before Christmas, The Boss and I went to Sóller – quite a drive from our home on the other side of Mallorca – for a Charlie’s Kitchen pop-up dinner. It was my second experience of Piers Dawson‘s exciting cuisine, as I’d had to write an article about it a year ago. The location was the same stunning private house (not the couple’s own) in the heart of Sóller, with a contemporary interior and spacious dining room-cum-kitchen, where we and our fellow foodies sat at the table, watching the culinary magic unfold.

Piers’s wife Holly helps him at these pop-up dinners and her table arrangements and personal attention are impeccable. Over a welcome glass of cava, we had time to introduce ourselves to the other guests in the small group, before taking our allocated seats for dinner. Diners are invited to take their own wine (no corkage fee), but water is provided.
Every dish was a delightful surprise because all we knew from the provided menu were the main ingredients of each one. I fell in love – again – with Piers’s sourdough bread and home-made butter, served during the dinner. I can’t help but wonder how Holly stays so slim, when he bakes bread as tempting as this…
Find out more here about Piers Dawson Private Chef on Mallorca
Here are a few photos from the night:


A mouthful of succulent BBQ port

Blue cheese and quince

Chicken oyster

Trout, beetroot, and apples
Piers Dawson is an extraordinarily creative and dedicated chef whose food is certainly worth travelling across Mallorca for. Charlie’s Kitchen takes its name from the couple’s gorgeous little boy; being able to spend more time with his family was one of the reasons Piers left top UK catering company Alison Price to move to Mallorca and work as a private chef.
Text & photos ©Jan Edwards 2017












