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Innovative tapas with a view over the Bay of Palma
When I was a lot younger, I came to Mallorca for the first time and had a holiday romance with a local guy. It was all quite innocent, because the friend I’d gone on the holiday with was always around. But I had also fallen in love with the island and had the urge to return to live and work here.
A commanding position for this castle hotel.
Confession time. My Spanish then was almost non-existent, but it didn’t stop me writing to the majestic Castillo Hotel Son Vida (in English!) to offer my services as a secretary. What was I thinking? Needless to say, I didn’t get a job.
Castle (nearly) in the sky
I was aiming high: Castillo Hotel Son Vida is the grande dame of Palma’s hotels, boasting five stars and an impressive history and guest list. Hugh Laurie stayed here during the filming of the series The Night Manager.
It’s not called Castillo for nothing: it was a 13th-century castle, located high amongst the hills of Son Vida – now a decidedly upmarket residential area on the outskirts of Palma. The hotel’s huge terrace offers unbeatable panoramic views over Palma and right around the Bay of Palma. Although I’ve never stayed overnight, I’ve attended quite a few functions here and the view always takes my breath away.
A balcony over the island.
Impressive views even on a hazy day.
Tapas restaurant at Castillo Hotel Son Vida
Rafael (third from left) and the Es Vi team.
Es Ví – one of the hotel’s restaurants – is open for dinner only and serves innovative tapas from chef Rafael Dengra, who has worked his way up the ladder over his 18 years at the hotel. The smart restaurant has a mix of seating (we sat on tall chairs at a high table) and a lovely terrace for alfresco dining.
As well as the à la carte tapas menu, Rafael offers a tasting menu of five innovative tapas of his selection (47€ including VAT). If you love the surprise of tasting menus, I’d recommend this. The à la carte menu includes a couple of vegetarian dishes.
Rafael’s new menu for this season includes some very tasty dishes, of which these are a few:
A clever carpaccio of tuna and monkfish, with tapenade, cashew nuts and cherry tomato confit.
L-R Crunchy sole roll with tomato and ginger sauce; crunchy ravioli of pork cheek with mango and sweet chilli sauce, and goat’s cheese and walnut ‘croqueta’.
Mini chicken burger with Mediterranean dressing, quail egg and mustard sauce with pineapple and coconut.
‘Pincho’ of rabbit stuffed with prawns and with fish and meat sauce.
Instant smoked
Instant smoked turbot, revealed from underneath a glass cloche.
Apple strudel with vanilla Calvados ice cream.The Castillo Hotel Son Vida is also the venue for the series of summer Son Vida Café Concerts. If you’ve never ventured up to the Castillo, it’s a great opportunity to discover the place … and maybe enjoy a tapas supper too at Es Ví.
Text & pictures ©Jan Edwards 2016
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A visit to Mallorca’s Son Campaner winery
Mallorca’s wines – particularly the reds – are often a little hefty in their alcohol content. Delicious they may be, but there are times when a lighter wine is called for, such as the hotter months of summer, for lunchtime drinking, or when you’re trying to negotiate your way around a yacht out at sea. Some friends who own a yacht-charter business were looking for lighter wines to offer with lunch to their clients, and invited us to join them on a visit to the winery Son Campaner, near Sencelles. The bodega produces wines in the category Vi de la terra Mallorca and has become known for their lighter wines.
A German-owned and run Mallorcan bodega
The land surrounding the modern stone-built bodega has been used to grow vines for some time, although the property’s previous owner didn’t make wine himself and used to sell the grapes. When the current German owner bought the property in 2009, it had been his dream to have his own vineyard. It took until 2014 for him to obtain planning permission to build the superb recently opened winery that sits amid the five hectares of vines today and, in the meantime, Son Campaner wines were made in an industrial unit in Binissalem.
In April 2011, owner Ralf Hämmerling appointed Stefan Winterling and Eva Gómez to run the winery. Oenologist Stefan is from a German wine-making family and worked for well-known companies in Germany and California before coming to Mallorca, where’s he worked as a vintner since 2008. He told us he loves making wine and that became obvious the more he talked about his work.
Eva and Stefan
A tour and tastings
Interior detail in tasting room.
Stefan showed us around the winery, which has a light-filled and contemporary-style room for tastings and events. We sat at a table here, tasting the wines and enjoying views over the vineyards outside. It has been Stefan’s mission to make wines with a lighter alcohol content, and he’s now happy with the whites he’s producing. “The idea is to make subtle, easy-drinking wines that are elegant and more feminine,” he tells us. “To do this we harvest early, which is good for the acidity of the grapes and means the sugar content isn’t so high.”
Whites and a rosé
The three lighter wines (two white, one a pale rosé) are: Pálido (11.5% vol) – which had sold out; Blanc de Blancs (12% vol), and Blanc de Negres (11.5% vol). The latter is a pale rosé made by pressing the grapes with their skins still intact and then processing them as for a white wine; grapes used for this are Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and native variety Manto Negro. Typically, the Mallorcan rosé wines (known as rosados here) that we usually have in our rack at home are anything from 13% to 14.5% vol. Having tasted and liked the wine, we bought a case for those occasions when we want something lighter.
The Blanc de Negre we bought. And a bowl of Mallorcan Quely biscuits (made in Inca) – the essential ingredient of wine tasting events.
Red wines from Son Campaner
Stefan is still working to reduce the alcohol content of the red (tinto) wines. There are two coupages: Terra Rossa and Athos (named after the owner’s German tyre company – but, thankfully, with not a hint of rubber in its taste!). The third red is the single variety Merlot, which happens to be the owner’s favourite grape. “It’s an easy grape to work with, and is popular,” says Stefan. “Red wines should always be served chilled here in the summer,” Stefan reminds us, as he pours wine into our glasses.
Son Campaner wines are sold through three wholesalers on Mallorca and at the bodega itself. Visits to the winery are by appointment only, by phoning +34 618 596 233.
Where to eat in Sencelles
If you’re looking for lunch or dinner near to the bodega, I’d suggest the Sencelles village restaurant Sa Cuina de n’Aina, which has been serving customers since 1995. It’s an appealingly decorated family restaurant and offers Mallorcan and Mediterranean cuisine, with a side order of friendly service. We’d called here without a reservation once before, on a Sunday lunchtime, and found the place completely full.
During the week, they offer a lunch menu of three courses and one drink for 18 euros.
My goat’s cheese salad starter.
Perfectly cooked fillet of trout with vegetables.
We came here after our visit to Son Campaner and had a very good lunch. Bonus feature for warmer months is the rear garden. Oh, and we managed to park in the street right outside the restaurant entrance.
Jan Edwards©2016
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Palma hotel review: Hotel Born – a traditional place to stay
The peaceful courtyard of Hotel Born in Palma.
Despite having suggested Palma’s Hotel Born a few years ago to a friend, as a reasonably priced place to stay in Palma, we’d never spent a night there. Fortunately, said friend really liked it. The hotel has been on the must-try list for some time, along with plenty of other hotels on Mallorca I’d like to write about here.
A place to stay when attending Peccata Minuta
The recent Peccata Minuta event in Palma proved the perfect opportunity to put Hotel Born to the test. The tapas event didn’t start until 9pm and there would be wine. Which meant there should be no drinking for whichever one of us was going to drive. Although there’s a reliable, reasonably priced railway service linking Palma with our nearest town, the last train from the capital leaves at 10.15pm. So much for late nights out in Spain!
It made sense to find somewhere to lay our heads for the night so that we could enjoy the whole Peccata Minuta experience. If you missed it yourself, the organisers Chefs(in) made the following video of the event (in which we make a fleeting appearance). Eagle-eyed watchers of The Night Manager on BBC TV may recognise Palau March, the venue, as the exterior of the Istanbul hotel seen in episode four.
Anyway, we booked ourselves a room at Hotel Born for a little over 120 euros for the night, including tax and breakfast. A good price for a stay in the centre of Palma.
Tradition and history
Hotel Born is ideal for those who want a more traditional place to stay in Palma; it’s conveniently located for anyone wanting to be right in the heart of the Mallorcan capital’s shopping centre. It’s a few steps away from the Paseo del Borne and the colonnaded shopping street, Jaime III, but has only a narrow – mainly motor-traffic-free – lane outside its front doors.
The hotel was originally built in the 16th century as a palace for the Marquis of Ferrandell. It still has features such as the large wrought-iron gates and patio, or courtyard, that are typical of the traditional Mallorcan noble properties that can be seen in Palma’s old town.
Part of Hotel Born’s spacious tiled foyer.
Another area of the foyer of Hotel Born.
The family-owned Hotel Born was completed renovated in 1993, prior to which it had been a hostel. As we were checking out and paying the bill, the receptionist told us that it had originally had 90 simply furnished bedrooms, with one bathroom to every 10 bedrooms. Today it has 30 much more spacious rooms, thankfully all with en suite bathroom.
Our room
The style is traditional Mallorcan, with antique-style furnishings. Our room (303) was spotlessly clean, comfortable and neat and, although the bathroom was a bit small and old-fashioned in style, it too was clean and perfectly adequate. The room and bathroom were both comfortably warm (there’s also air conditioning for the summer months). Our room overlooked the courtyard and was very quiet. I’d recommend asking for an inner-facing room if you book to stay here. The free high-speed Wi-Fi worked very well in our room.
The hotel does not have a lift (elevator), so ask for a room on a lower floor if a lot of stairs are a problem. Neither does it have a restaurant, but Palma is full of great places to eat (several in the same little lane as the hotel). If you’d rather eat in, sushi from the nearby Japonice restaurant can be delivered to your room.
The morning after the night before
The breakfast buffet offers a decent enough choice (including Mallorcan offerings) and our coffee was made to order. Supplies at the buffet were regularly replenished. In warmer weather you can enjoy breakfast at a table in the courtyard but, in winter, this isn’t an option. My only tiny gripe was that, even at the end of February, the breakfast room is too small for the number of guests. When we arrived for our breakfast, the room was full and another person was already waiting for a table. Shortly after we were seated (at a table for four), we were joined by a German couple. I always enjoy meeting new people but am not at my most sociable over breakfast!
Part of the breakfast buffet
When we were checking out, the receptionist told us that quite a few people from the north of Mallorca stay here after a day’s shopping or a night on the town. Hotel Born is certainly a great affordable option if you want to be in the centre of Palma, and don’t mind sacrificing the fluffy robes, slippers, minibars with designer crisps and chocolates, and other little extras provided in more expensive hotels.
A bonus: we were pleased to be given a small discount because we paid our hotel bill in cash, rather than by card.
©Jan Edwards 2016
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Mallorca is one of the star locations of ‘The Night Manager’
The current BBC mini-series ‘The Night Manager’ – based on the book by John le Carré – is revealing a side of Mallorca that’s different to the Spanish island’s more usual portrayal in the British tabloid press.
The scenes of Mallorca in the second episode must have been a revelation to those whose perception of the island has been coloured by images of ‘over-refreshed’ and possibly over-sexed holidaymakers, seen in some newspaper reports and voyeuristic reality TV programmes.
Actor Hugh Laurie – who plays Richard Roper – must have seen a great deal of Mallorca during his stay. Not only was he travelling around the various island locations, he also stayed at the 5-star Castillo Hotel Son Vida for the duration of the shooting. Located on the Son Vida hill, a short drive from the heart of Palma, the elevated position of this historical hotel (a renovated 13th-century castle) would have given Hugh panoramic views of Palma and the Bay of Palma. Lucky Hugh.
Puerto Pollensa
‘The Night Manager’ features the spectacular British-owned 17th-century La Fortaleza estate at Puerto Pollensa – playing the island home of bad-boy arms dealer Roper. The fortress was originally built to defend the peninsula on which it sits. The estate covers 232 acres, and has more than 15,000 sq ft of terraces and nearly 12,000 sq ft of gardens.
La Fortaleza in the distance from Puerto Pollensa’s Pine Walk.
Argentinian artist Roberto Raumagé bought the property in 1919 and renovated the ruined buildings. The estate was sold by his family to a British owner in the late ’80s. Another British buyer became the owner of La Fortaleza in 2011, for a sum reported to be between 30 and 35 million euros. The estate had originally been put on the market by the real estate agent for 100 million euros.
Cala Deià
The not-easily-reached waterfront restaurant Ca’s Patro March in Cala Deià was the location for the fake attempted kidnap of young Master Roper. Both places are breathtakingly beautiful and I know I’m not the only writer whose blog has come up in searches for ‘Mallorca locations + The Night Manager’!
Sa Drassana
In the fourth episode, when Angela had a meeting in a restaurant in Madrid, the location was the Palma restaurant Sa Drassana. It’s located in the area known as La Lonja, in a square packed with bars and eateries (and close to the President’s office).
Palau March
In the 4th episode, Roper et al checked into a hotel in Istanbul. The exterior of the hotel – seen briefly as the party arrived – was actually the beautiful Palau March in the centre of Palma (close to the Cathedral). It’s a museum – with some notable sculptures – and the home of the March Foundation. Interestingly, Palau March’s courtyard was the location of the last Peccata Minuta tapas event on February 29th.
Mallorca not Monaco
Staying at La Fortaleza isn’t possible for we ordinary mortals, but one of the third episode’s Mallorca locations does open its doors to guests. Playing the role of a hotel restaurant in Monaco, the 5-star Hospes Maricel hotel is a beautiful coastal property which I first visited in 2008, after I was commissioned to write an article about it for a glossy interiors and design magazine.
The hotel was used again in the fourth episode screened on March 13th – the one where Jonathan and Jed have a passionate quickie up against a hotel bedroom wall, while Jed’s boyfriend Richard Roper is sitting at night by the pool having a meeting.
The hotel is part of the Hospes group, and located in the area of Cas Català, just southwest of Mallorca’s capital Palma. Barcelona-based company ADD+Arquitectura Xavier Claramunt was responsible for this luxurious property’s interior design and the renovation of a late-1940s-built hotel, with stately 16th-and-17th-century influences.
The place is gorgeous: ultra-chic, light, spacious, airy, and luxurious, with a long sea-facing terrace. Unfortunately we’ve not yet stayed there, although I had a memorable dinner on the restaurant’s terrace a few years ago.
The world’s best breakfast. Photo is the property of Hospes Maricel.
World’s best breakfast
Hospes Maricel is probably best known for its award-winning breakfast – named ‘The best breakfast in the world’ by gastronomy critics at the second Madrid Fusion summit. This three-hour gastronomic adventure in the hotel’s Maricel Restaurant offers an innovative and seemingly endless tasting menu of seasonal dishes, and costs 48€ a head. I’d love to tell you all about it but I’ve yet to try the world’s best breakfast. Had I known that Hugh Laurie was visiting, I’d have been there by now.
UPDATE: In August 2017, this special breakfast will be relaunched. Having tried it in advance, I can recommend it.
You don’t have to stay overnight to breakfast here, but you do need to reserve your place a day in advance (up to 3pm). Even if your name is Richard Roper . . .
Jan Edwards©2016
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Presentation of Mallorcan olive oils from the 2015-2016 harvest
Presentation of the latest olive oils from Mallorca at the Aljub, Es Baluard.
Mallorca offers a huge choice of delicious olive oils from different producers – 23 of which attended a presentation last night of oils produced from the latest harvest. The event took place in the Aljub at Es Baluard Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Palma. The Aljub was once an underground water storage facility but is now an attractive and spacious venue for events – and proved ideal for this one, which attracted a lot of visitors (including some well-known chefs on the island).
Chef/patron Marc Fosh of Michelin-starred Marc Fosh in Palma, with Iris – his restaurant manager and wife.
Tables were set up around the walls of the space and each producer set out their wares for visitors to see and try. We were able to taste the oils – and an item of food made from olive oil, which each producer had provided. The tasty morsels ranged from simple bread and oil (and salt, of course) to silky chocolates and desserts. Wine and soft drinks were available for visitors – although, as I was driving, I opted for water (which was also probably better for a spot of serious olive oil tasting).
The most colourful culinary creations were those above, from Cases de Son Barbassa in Capdepera,
All the featured oils were designated (DO) Oli de Mallorca – a mark of quality introduced on Mallorca in 2002. I didn’t taste them all, but enough passed my lips for me to make kissing The Boss on my return home a slippery encounter!
Biniagual is one of several wineries also producing olive oil and, like their wines, it’s very good.
Ecological Oli Novembre, used with the llonguets served at Lorien ale house in Palma.
The only Demeter olive oil produced on Mallorca.
Tiffany Blackman with Aubocassa’s new L’Amo olive oil – presented for the first time, in Madrid this week.
Finca hotel Cases de Son Barbassa also has its own oil.
Olive oil – for health and great taste
With so many luscious and varied oils on offer on Mallorca, it’s hard to believe that when I was a little girl living in the UK, olive oil was usually sold at chemist’s shops, in small bottles for medicinal purposes. My father used to have a measure of olive oil stirred into his daily breakfast porridge for the health benefits…and he’s certainly in great shape as a result.
On this island, and throughout the Mediterranean, the benefits of olive oil have been known for much longer. And having such a great choice of Mallorcan olive oils has been one of the many benefits we enjoy about living here. A peep in my kitchen would usually reveal three or four bottles of different oils on the go. Several friends who have visited for lunch have brought us a bottle of interesting Mallorcan olive oil, instead of a bottle of wine – and what a great gift to bring.
Keep drizzling Mallorca’s liquid gold…you know it’s good for you.
©Jan Edwards 2016
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Palma palace venue for Peccata Minuta tapas event February 2016
Tapas galore at Peccata Minuta
We love tapas – and we love the Peccata Minuta tapas events that local gastronomy business Chefs(in) organizes on Mallorca. Our tickets for the next one are booked. Once again Peccata Minuta will take place simultaneously on Mallorca and its smaller sister island Menorca, on Monday, February 29th – the eve of Dia de les Illes Balears – Balearics Day (a public holiday on March 1st).
The venue for the Mallorca event is the impressive central Palma palace, Palau March (a museum), where seven chefs from Mallorca and Menorca will offer their creative tapas. Previous venues for this event have been Palma’s Santa Catalina and Olivar markets, Parc de la Mar (Palma), and the cloister of Santo Domingo in Inca.
Tomeu Martí working at the February 2015 Peccata Minuta
The chefs at this year’s Palma event are:
- Miquel Gelabert (Can March, Manacor)
- Víctor García (La Fortaleza, Cap Rocat Hotel, Cala Blava)
- Tomeu Martí (Arume, Palma)
- Marga Coll (Miceli, Selva)
- Joan Marc (Joan Marc Restaurant, Inca)
- Patrick James (Pan y Vino, Sant Lluís, Menorca)
- Miquel Sánchez (Smoix, Ciutadella)
Wines selected by Vinamica and artisan beer from Boscana will be on offer.
Tickets cost 30 euros, for seven tapas and two drinks.
To avoid a crush, places are limited for this event. So if you fancy tapas from some top chefs, served in a Mallorcan palace setting, book now for Peccata Minuta in Palma this February 29th at 21:00h.
©Jan Edwards 2016
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A Beer Lover’s must-visit in Palma
A warm welcome from Pep at
LórienAccording to an interesting article published in El Pais last October, beer is the favourite tipple of the Spanish. Apparently 50% of Spain’s population drink beer, whereas only 20% drink wine.
Back in the day, when I first came to Spain on holiday, a local told me it was safer to drink the beer than the tap water. A glass of ice-cold cerveza certainly hits the spot on a hot summer’s day, without leaving you feeling sleepy – but my own tipple of preference is wine; we do, after all, live on Mallorca . . . where there are more than 70 wineries, or bodegas.
Craft Beers on Mallorca
At an Olive Fair in the village of Caimari, we met Belgian, Michel Campioni, at a stall selling his Toutatis artisan beer. His brewery is in a hamlet just outside Sencelles. He now also has a bar in Palma.
Artisan Belgian brewer Michel Campioni, Toutatis
The Toutatis brewery at Cas Canar, Sencelles
An Ace Ale House
Toutatis’s La Blonde beer was one of the guest barrel beers on offer at Lórien when we first visited this Palma ale house. I’d only recently heard of the place, so was a tad surprised to learn that it has been open for 26 years!
We arrived early (almost the first customers after it had opened at 6pm) and met bearded owner Pep, who opened Lórien in 1990, when he was only 20. He told us he was a llonguet – explaining this was a colloquial name for someone born in Palma. And there I was thinking it was a type of Mallorcan bread roll . . .
![IMG_2902[1]](https://eatdrinksleepmallorca.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/img_29021.jpg?w=300)
Beer as decoration!
The ale house takes its name from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and offers some 150 different bottled beers from around the world, as well as guest beers from the barrel. The Boss couldn’t resist the opportunity to try a decent British brew, and chose the guest Red Point, an IPA (7.5°) from Buxton Brewery – which certainly hit the spot for him.
As duty driver, I opted for a beer sin alcohol from Aragon, called Aigua de Moritz; it was new to me and I found the flavour much more enjoyable than some alcohol-free beers I’ve tried. I enjoyed it enough to have a second, while The Boss tried another guest ale . . .
What’s in a Name
We perched on stools at the bar, chatting to the affable Pep. The place has a sociable ambience and is popular with locals and visiting beer fans. We’d not been there long before regulars started to drift in, giving us a chance to study the lengthy list of bottled beers – which includes nine artisan offerings from Mallorca. Others come from the Peninsula, Austria, Norway, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, England, Belgium, Germany, and Ireland.
Don’t you just love the quirky names of some beers? Here are some that caught my attention from Lórien’s list:
- Marina Devil’s PA
- Torpedo
- Raging Bitch
- Brutal IPA
- Dead Pony Club
- Liquid Mistress
I don’t know if the Vikings drank beer but, if they did, I bet it wasn’t as strong as the two Danish bottled beers that top Lórien’s list for strength:
Blossom Directors Cut (13.5°) is a wheat ale by To Øl. Friends Tobias Emil Jensen and Tore Gynther founded this gypsy brewery in 2010. (Apparently it’s known as a gypsy brewery because they don’t have their own brewing premises and use capacity at other breweries to make their own liquid magic). Tobias and Tore had begun brewing beer while still at school – in the school kitchen! – along with their teacher Mikkel Borg Bjergsø.
Black Imperial Stout (16.7°). This staggeringly strong brew is from Mikkeller – the brewery founded by Tobias’ and Tore’s teacher (who had assisted them in their school brewing adventures).
Whilst the story that links these two beers is a good one, it’s probably best not to try them both on the same night . . .
Something to Eat
If you’re going to have a beer or two at Lórien, you may want something to eat with it. The place offers a menu of 17 different filled llonguets (the bread rolls, not people born in Palma). Pep started serving these small rolls only four years ago and they seem incredibly good value, ranging from 1,60-2,10€ each.
Lórien is on Facebook and Pep posts regular updates about his guest beers, so check out his pubs’s page if you’re a beer fan. And pay a visit to this little gem of an ale house in the back streets of Palma (near the Caputxines convent), if you’re a fan of artisan beers.
Lórien, C/ de les Caputxines, 5A, Palma
Tel 971 723 202
©Jan Edwards 2016.
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Balearic gastronomy writers’ awards 2015
Every one a winner. Photo courtesy of the Balearic gastronomic journalists association.
It hardly seems possible that a year has gone by since I wrote about two of the winners of the 2014 awards made by the Balearic gastronomy journalists and writers or, to give it its local name, l’Associació de Periodistes i Escriptors Gastronòmics de Balears. The time has probably flown by because so many interesting and exciting things have been happening on the Mallorcan gastronomic scene.
The Association presented their awards for 2015 on February 8th to those they believe have raised the quality standards of Balearic gastronomy. This year the eight award categories included two new ones and prizes were awarded for best bar/gastrobar and best restaurant for local cuisine. Prizes were awarded in Mallorca and, at a separate ceremony (today), in Menorca. The following are the awards for Mallorca, the focus of this blog:
Chef of the year
Fernando Arellano when he was my guest on Mallorca Sunshine Radio show
This wasn’t too much of a surprise. The winner, 37-year-old Fernando P Arellano, is chef/patron of Zaranda – one of only two restaurants in Spain to be awarded a second Michelin star for 2016. Zaranda is within the 5-star Castell Son Claret hotel in southwest Mallorca.
Revelation restaurant
Winner Adrían Quetglas opened his eponymous restaurant in Palma’s Passeig Mallorca last year, after a successful decade working in Russia. Quetglas once worked at Read’s Hotel with British chef Marc Fosh, but has also worked in Paris and in London, with the famous Marco Pierre White.
Patissier of the Year
Jaume Oliver from Forn Can Salem in the town of Algaida. This bakery/patisserie is not easy to find if driving; arrive too late and you’ll find almost everything already sold (speaking from personal experience here). Forn Can Salem – founded by Jaume’s father in 1967 – is worth seeking out. The artisan was attending Europain, the world bakery and patisserie exhibition, in Paris, but his daughter represented him at the award ceremony.
Sommelier
Roberto Duran is now working in London at 67 Pall Mall, the private members’ club for wine connoisseurs. He’s building on experience that has already seen him win the title of Spain’s Best Sommelier in 2015. Roberto returned to Mallorca to receive his award. British Airways is now doing cheap weekly flights between Palma and Stansted…just saying.
Professional career award
Josef Sauerschell has worked on Mallorca for more than 30 years and is the chef/patron of one-Michelin-starred Es Racó d’es Teix in Deià, which he opened in 2000 with his wife at front of house. The Michelin star was awarded in 2003.
Promotion of local products
Ecological farmer Biel Torrens, whose farm is in the hamlet of Ruberts in central Mallorca, was recognised for his role in the recuperation of the ancient local wheat variety known as xeixa and the native red pepper tap de cortí. Many top restaurants on Mallorca source produce from him.
Best bar/gastrobar
Brassclub in Passeig Mallorca (try it for a cocktail before or after a visit to nearby Adrían Quetglas) is a must-visit in Palma. Master mixologist Rafa Martín – who won the bronze medal in the world cocktail championships in Peking in 2012 – has 3,000 bottles from which to choose, in a stylish ambience that’s reminiscent of great classic bars you’d find in cities like Manhattan, Madrid, or Barcelona.
The Caty Juan de Corral prize for best local cuisine restaurant
Can March Restaurant in Manacor won this prize. Opened as a cafeteria in 1925, this restaurant is now something of a gastronomic temple, located in a side street off the Felanitx road in the town. Brothers Toni, Tolo, and Miquel Gelabert (not the Miquel Gelabert who makes wine!) run their family’s restaurant, where Miquel is in charge of the kitchen.
©Jan Edwards 2016
67 Pall Mall, Adrían Quetglas, Bakery Can Salem, Brassclub, Can March restaurant Manacor, cocktail bar Palma, eco farmer Biel Torrens, Es Raco d’es Teix restaurant, Fernando P Arellano, Forn Can Salem, Jaume Oliver, Josef Sauerschell, l’Associació de Periodistes i Escriptors Gastronòmics de Balears, Majorca, Mallorca, Michelin-starred restaurants Mallorca, Miquel Gelabert, Rafa Martin, Roberto Duran, sommeliers Mallorca, Spain, tap de corti spice, xeixa wheat, Zaranda -
Private chef Ross Hutchison cooks up Thanksgiving on Mallorca
The courtyard haven at Ribas.
Last Thursday we attended our second Thanksgiving Dinner on Mallorca. Like the previous one we went to, it was organised by Mallorca-based private chef Ross Hutchison and his wife Joanna Cybulski. This year’s event was designed to be slightly smaller than the last one, with around 20 people of us sitting down to the traditional roast turkey and all the Thanksgiving trimmings. And the numbers were kept lower because of the intimate location for the event: Bodega Ribas, in the village of Consell.
Mallorca’s oldest winery
Ribas has been here since 1711, making it Mallorca’s oldest winery – and the third oldest in the whole of Spain. It’s located in the heart of Consell, in a listed manor that still has many 18th-century architectural features. We had the privilege of dining in a wonderful room in the old house, sitting at a long table. Joanna had applied her designer’s eye and deft touch to the table decorations and there probably wasn’t a single guest who wasn’t taking photographs of the beautiful setting and surroundings.
We had been asked to arrive at 4pm, when Araceli Servera Ribas gave us an informative tour of the winery – after a look at the property’s large walled garden. Araceli and her brother Xavier are 13th generation members of the founding family, and now undertake the day-to-day running of the bodega.
Araceli Servera Ribas – interviewed on my show Table Talk in August 2019
Architectural features . . .
18th-century steps at Ribas
When ‘rejas’ were made of wood!
Traditional Mallorcan grape varieties
We learned that Araceli’s mother had, in the 1980s, updated the winery’s concept from selling only vino a granel (when customers brought their own containers to be filled at the winery) to high-quality bottled wine. However, those who prefer the old way of buying wine here can still do so, maintaining a tradition that many producers have abandoned over the decades. The traditional grapes grown in the Ribas vineyards are mainly the Mallorcan varieties Mantonegro and Prensal Blanc, although they have also recovered some other native varieties that were on the verge of extinction.
The original kitchen at Ribas
Home, home on the range . . .
If only they could talk . . .
Our appetizer, cooked over an open wood fire.
Our Thanksgiving Dinner began in the old kitchen of the house, where chef Ross was bravely cooking oysters over a small open fire on the floor. Thankfully there was an enormous chimney above to remove some of the resulting smoke – and a more modern kitchen next door where everything else was cooked.
The old kitchen’s copper pots and pans and other decorative features added to the homely atmosphere. While standing in the cosy kitchen we ate the delicious oysters served in the half-shell, accompanied by one of several Ribas wines we tried: Soma – made from 100% Viognier grape. This delicate and fruity but refreshing wine was a perfect match for the oysters (and also goes well with white fish, other seafood, and Asian cuisine).
100% Viognier grape.
Oysters ready to eat.
The main event of any traditional Thanksgiving Dinner is the turkey – complete with all the trimmings. The turkey was – as you’d expect from an experienced private chef – juicy, flavourful, and abundant! Ross told us he’d bought his free-range bird from Comercial Vera in Palma. We had two wines with this course: the powerful yet balanced Ribas Negre (50% Mantonegro) and Sió Negre (named after Araceli’s grandmother Sió).
Ross and his bird.
. . . and red wines from Ribas.
We ended our Thanksgiving Dinner with traditional pecan pie and small pumpkin tartlets, accompanied by Sioneta – a low-yield wine made from Muscat grapes left to over-ripen for an additional 30 days past the usual harvest time. It was luscious with the sweet conclusions to the meal.
100% Muscat grape.
Pecan pie.
Couldn’t resist a little pumpkin tartlet too . . .
We had a guided winery tour, and enjoyed an excellent dinner accompanied by four Ribas wines, in a historical location. For this we paid 55 euros a head, which we felt was a good price for such a pleasurable few hours. Ross tells me he plans some more pop-up events in 2016 – and we’ll be keeping an eye out for details on the Private Chef Mallorca Facebook page and Ross’s website.
Our hosts
Ross and Joanna at the dinner table.
Joanna keeping her guests topped up with wine.
©Jan Edwards 2015
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Eight Michelin stars on Mallorca for 2016
The name is Spanish for sieve.
Tonight in Santiago de Compostela, Michelin announced the restaurants in Spain and Portugal awarded stars for 2016.
Mallorca did well: it still has the same seven restaurants recognised by the famous red book – but Zaranda, at the 5-star Castell Son Claret, has become one of only 23 restaurants in Spain and Portugal to be awarded two stars. Congratulations go to Fernando Pérez Arellano, Claire Hutchings, Itziar Rodriguez, and all the team for this well-deserved accolade.
I was also pleased to see that the following deserving restaurants have again been awarded one star:
- Andreu Genestra
- Bou (for the 13th consecutive year) – formerly known as Es Molí d’en Bou
- Es Racó d’es Teix
- Simply Fosh
- Es Fum
- Jardín
I imagine there’ll be a little partying on Mallorca tonight . . .
©Jan Edwards 2015
![IMG_2902[1]](https://eatdrinksleepmallorca.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/img_29021.jpg)
Eat Drink Sleep Mallorca 