Almonds & More at Mallorca’s Ametlla+

August 12, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Cafes and bars / Eat / Mallorcan produce

Artà, the hilltop town in the northeast of Mallorca, is home to an interesting shop/café specializing in almond products. Ametlla is the Mallorcan word for almond but, as the plus sign at the end of this business’s name suggests, there’s more to discover if you step through the doors.  Ametlla+ was founded as an initiative to make optimum use of the island’s almond crop.

Blossom time.

Almond blossom on Mallorca.

Almonds are an important part of Mallorca’s landscape, gastronomy, traditions, and even tourism. Visit Mallorca in late January/February and you’ll see the island decked in white and pale pink almond blossom. In the past, it was common for Mallorcans to burn discarded almond shells in stoves to heat their homes. When we bought our finca here, we inherited one of the small stoves specifically for that purpose – although it’s no longer connected to a chimney.

Try a delicious version of Mallorca’s almond cake

Visiting Artà with friends, we had a very good cup of coffee sitting on the front terrace at Ametlla+, watching people come and go along this mainly pedestrianized street (C/ Ciutat). We also tried their Mallorcan almond cake, known as gató. This traditional cake is on the menu of restaurants and cafés all over the Mallorca and sold in many bakeries. It should be made with almond flour, which makes it suitable for coeliacs and those with a gluten intolerance. I always make one for my dad (a coeliac) when he visits.

Almonds are expensive and we have found examples of almond cakes that have had a little wheat flour incorporated into the mix so, if you suffer gluten problems, do check before buying or ordering in a restaurant or café. Gató is traditionally served with almond ice cream, which may seem like an almond overload – but it works.

The owner of Ametlla+ told us they have slightly adapted the recipe for their almond-flour-only cake, adding a little of one of their almond mixes to the recipe. If you’ve never tried gató, it’s well worth ordering this gluten-free version here.

A range of Mallorcan products

Even if you come only for a drink and something to eat, it’s worth browsing the shelves of this attractive modern shop/café. As well as three types of their own-brand Ametlla+ mixes (which can be used to season dishes, add to marinades or dressings, among other things), the shop sells jars of roasted Mallorcan almonds with different flavourings, and almond oil.

It’s not all about the almond though: we bought a bottle of tomato Ketchup de Forqueta made from the Mallorcan tomatoes known as ‘ramellet’ (no more Heinz for us now!), a small wooden dish and spoon for salt and, of course, each of the Ametlla+ almond seasoning mixes.

Attractive interior.
Anyone for almonds?
Gourmet products from Mallorca.
Mallorcan tomato sauce.
Turron – made from almonds on Mallorca.
Roasted almonds from Mallorca.

What began as a stop for a coffee with our good friends visiting Mallorca from Oxfordshire, ended up as a bit of a feast – and a shopping fest!

©Jan Edwards 2017

Tapas at Their Best at Mallorca’s Peccata Minuta

July 21, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Cafes and bars / Drink / Eat / Events for foodies / tapas

Spain’s emblematic snacks are taken to a higher level at Mallorca’s Peccata Minuta gourmet tapas events. Organised by the Balearic gastronomic association Chefs(in), they take place two or three times a year and we love to attend. There’s usually one around the time of Balearics Day (March 1st) and another in summer; we’ve also attended an indoor one in the theatre in Lloseta, and an autumn one in an atmospheric cloister in Inca. As you may have gathered, we are big fans!

The idea is that you buy a ‘passport’ in advance (numbers are limited to ensure the event runs smoothly) containing tear-out tokens which you exchange for the tapas and drinks, moving from stall to stall – rather than bar to bar, as in a traditional Spanish tapeo.

Peccata Minuta locations

Locations have included indoor markets (Mercat de l’Olivar and Mercat de Santa Catalina), the Museum of the Juan March Foundation and, last year, Son Vida Golf. Last night we attended this summer’s Peccata Minuta at Golf Son Muntaner on the outskirts of Palma. It proved to be good venue: plenty of parking, spacious clubhouse terrace, and bucolic views all around.

Golf course Mallorca

The venue for the summer 2017 event: Golf Son Muntaner.

The Peccata Minuta of summer 2017

Last night’s Peccata Minuta featured eight chefs, master mixologist Rafa Martín of cocktail bar Brassclub in Palma, specialist wine store Vinamica, Marabans Coffee & Tea, and a Paulaner mobile bar, serving wheat beer. There were free bottles of Evian water and savoury Gori de Muro biscuits (a Mallorcan product worth seeking out in any good food store here) to dip into.

These were the participating chefs, with the name of their restaurant(s) and the tapa prepared for this edition of Peccata Minuta:

  • Marga Coll – Miceli (Selva) and Arrels (Illetes) Crunchy apricot ensaïmada with almond ice cream.
  • Rafa Sánchez – Port Blue Hotels & Resorts Prawns with coconut.
  • Juan Portillo – Hotel Blau Porto Petro Monkfish with mussels, lentils, and saffron.
  • Tomeu Martí – Arume (Palma) Thai-style butterfish (negrito).
  • Pep Lluís Mayol – Ca’n Ribes (Sóller) Watermelon with tuna.
  • Tomeu Lassio – Restaurante Tomeu Lassio (Lloseta)  Black rice with cuttlefish.
  • Andreu Genestra – One-Michelin-starred Andreu Genestra (Capdepera) & Aromata (Palma) Lamb tamale with spicy apricot.
  • Miquel Gelabert – Can March (Manacor) – Iberian pork cheek and ‘trinxat’ of potato with vanilla.
The main ingredient of Rafa’s cocktail Café, copa y puro (coffee, drink, and cigar).
Rafa’s dish – ready to eat.
Thai-style ‘negrito’.
Rafa puts the final touches to his dish.
Teixits Vicens from Pollensa had a stall of their products with the pattern known as ‘cloth of tongues.’
Ensaimada, apricot, almond – flavours combined in Marga’s dessert.
Part 2 of Andreu’s tapa: tamale of milk-fed lamb.
One part of Andreu Genestra’s tapa.
Rafa – the master mixologist at work.
Now that’s what I call a coffee maker! In the mobile Marabans vehicle.
Tomeu Marti – always smiling.
Eating on the golf course.
Cava from Vinamica for a welcome drink.
Watermelon with tuna from Pep Mayol.

DJ T-Mark (who presents a show on Mallorca Sunshine Radio played some cool tunes up on the clubhouse terrace up until midnight.

To find out more about Chefs(in), click here.

©Jan Edwards 2017

Mallorcan Dishes Star in Israeli TV Show

June 20, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Bakeries / Cafes and bars / Eat / Mallorcan produce

You know a place’s reputation as a gastronomic destination has spread when TV companies start flying in to record shows. And that’s exactly what’s happened here on Mallorca: both Rick Stein and Yotam Ottolenghi have been to the island in previous years with British TV production companies. In the past few days alone, the UK’s The Hairy Bikers – Dave Myers and Si King – have been on Mallorca filming for a new series. I’d hoped to interview them for my show on Mallorca Sunshine Radio but, alas, it wasn’t to be.

Hebrew TV comes to Palma

The popular Brit presenters weren’t the only ones making a food programme here. An Israeli company – Erez Dan Production – has also been on the island, filming for one of Israel’s most popular food programmes on a mainstream TV channel. Don’t ask me the Hebrew name of it, but the concept is to feature the top five dishes in major cities all around the world – as determined by social media.

The TV company was looking for a Mallorca food blogger to take part in the Palma edition of the programme and invited me to be involved in part of it. Quite a few years have passed since my time as a corporate video presenter, but the prospect of being back in the exciting world of filming for a little while was one I couldn’t resist.

Ensaïmada

The company’s online research had revealed that one of Palma’s five most social-media-featured dishes is the ensaimada – Mallorca’s best-known baked product – and we filmed at a place that’s famous for them.  Ca’n Joan de S’aigo is in C/ Sanç in Palma’s Old Town; the business was established in 1700 and is also renowned for its ice creams and hot chocolate. Ca’n Joan de S’aigo is one of the oldest ‘chocolatiers’ in Europe and it’s still a popular tradition to come here for hot chocolate and ensaimadas after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve – when the place stays open late especially.

Traditional décor, including chandelier from Mallorcan company Gordiola.

Nadav, the Israeli TV foodie programme’s presenter, and I were first filmed strolling around the Old Town, talking about ensaimadas. Then we arrived at Ca’n Joan de S’Aigo, where the charming manager Pedro took us through to the kitchen to film some ensaimada production with the baker.  Nadav even took a turn at rolling out the lardy dough and shaping it into a spiral, ready for proving.

The crew in Ca’n Joan de S’aigo’s kitchen: Nadav is wearing the white apron.

Pedro (left) with Nadav in the kitchen.

Finally Nadav and I sat down to eat a fresh-from-the-oven ensaimada, which we both agreed was delicious and as light as eating a cloud – even though the quantity of lard in them means they’re surely heavy in calories. Not that the slim Nadav – who must eat a lot of food in the course of his travels for this innovative TV show in Israel – has any problems on that score …

Text and photos Jan Edwards ©2017

Mallorca’s Best Apricots have a Fiesta

June 16, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Eat / Events for foodies

The best apricots on Mallorca undoubtedly come from Porreres. Before moving to live on rural Mallorca, I wasn’t too fussed about apricots but, when I tasted the delicious ones from this rural town, I became a fan.

In the 1960s and ’70s, apricots were an important part of the economy of Porreres and the fruits were even exported as far as America. To this day, the town still hosts an annual celebration of the fruit, La Fira de l’Albercoc, although far fewer apricots are cultivated than in the glory days of the last century.

A saintly reason to climb a ladder

If you’re on Mallorca in June, it’s worth a visit to this one-day event, which has a great ambience and seems to bring the entire population of Porreres into the streets to enjoy all-things-apricot. June has the saint’s day for Sant Antoni de Padua – sometimes known here as Sant Antoni of the Albercocs, because it’s a traditional date to climb that rickety old ladder and pick the ripened apricots, warmed by the sun, from the tree.

Says it all!
Luscious Mallorcan apricots from Porreres
Of course, we had to buy some fruit to take home…
Preparing apricots to be dried.
And the results of their labours, drying in the sun. Not a wasp in sight…
Artisan beer from Talaiotika – flavoured with, you guessed it, apricots!
Preserves galore
An old sign, on display in the exhibition.
We love old photos of Mallorca and these were part of the Fira’s exhibition.

At this year’s Fira, we visited stalls laden with heaps of fresh and dried apricots for sale; there were jars of preserves, baked goods, ice cream, juice, and even artisan beer – all made from the luscious fruits. My favourite variety has a rosy blush, which I believe is locally known as the rojo carlet.

We were also able to watch a group of people stoning apricots ready to be laid out to dry in the sun, and visit an interesting exhibition of artefacts and photos relating to apricot cultivation in Porreres in the past.

While there, we tried…

… a savoury tapa garnished with apricot, accompanied by a glass of artisan beer; a glass of apricot juice, and some delicious tartlets made with apple and apricot under a crumble topping. The latter were so good that we bought two more to take home for dessert the following day (with some home-made apricot and cardamom ice cream I had already made). After all that, we didn’t need dinner last Saturday evening…

Text and photos Jan Edwards ©2017

Tasting the wines of Mallorca

May 12, 2017
by Jan Edwards
comments 4
Drink / Wine

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.

Another sunny wine fair in Pollensa.
Wines from Finca Can Axartell – which took part in a recent wine-pairing dinner at Can March in Manacor.
Not the huge glass that it appears to be at first glance.
Count Fabrice de Suyrot of Bodega Conde de Suyrot.
L-R Javier Jara of Son Sureda Ric and Jaume Llabres of Son Prim.
Music too! A xeremia (Mallorcan bagpipe)slung over the player’s shoulder during a liquid refreshment break. No prizes for guessing what was in his glass…
We weren´t the only ones buying.
For some, it was all just too much.

Jan Edwards ©2017

Cocktails? Sip some of the best in Palma

May 11, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Drink

I can’t say I remember my first kiss, but I certainly remember my first cocktail. I was in my early 20s and on my first visit to the States, staying in a Holiday Inn hotel near Philadelphia, which had a smart piano bar and impressive drinks list. For my first-ever cocktail I chose a Grasshopper – a pale-green minty creamy concoction that made me feel rather sophisticated (and just a teeny bit queasy, to be honest).

For me, cocktails are drinks to be enjoyed in a sophisticated setting. I rarely have a cocktail but on the occasions when I do, it’s in a proper cocktail bar, rather than a restaurant or regular bar – and usually with family or friends who are visiting Mallorca.

Cocktails in Palma

This week, as our friends from Oxfordshire were coming to the end of their annual holiday with us, we spent a day in Palma – ending it with the customary cocktail.

Palma has no shortage of cocktail bars, including the famous over-the-top Abaco in the area of La Lonja. Tourists make a beeline for this place, which is unlike any other I’d ever seen before – all fruit, flowers, and loud opera music. There are signs forbidding photography indoors but you’ll find plenty of images on Instagram (Bar Abaco). Clandestine social media photo opportunities aside, Abaco is worth experiencing for the setting and ambience, but the cocktails are pretty expensive…

Save some brass and go to Brassclub

Our choice this time was the cocktail bar Brassclub – owned by Rafa Martín, an award-winning mixologist who entered his first cocktail-making competition at the tender age of 16.

Brassclub’s stylish interior

Brassclub has terrace seating at the front, so you can watch the world go by but, if it’s your first time at this bar, I recommend going inside to soak up the smart interior – which wouldn’t look out of place in any major capital city, but manages to exude the ambience of the Mediterranean. Check out that ceiling! More than 3,000 bottles, positioned to resemble the waves of the sea, are hanging up there. It looks amazing, but imagine having to dust that lot…

Glass bottle ceiling

If the ceiling looks wavy it’s nothing to do with the cocktails!

The cocktails here are creative, delicious, and definitely Instagram-worthy. We chose Coco Mademoiselle (not pictured), Frida Mule, El Manierista and, for me (designated driver), the alcohol-free La Niña Prodigio. Nuts and popcorn were served with our drinks, so there was something to help soak up the alcohol for my companions.

Brassclub

Creating our cocktails

Tequila cocktail at Brassclub

Frida Mule – Jose Curevo tequila, aloja syrup, citrus fruits and apple soda – 10 euros

Cocktail

El Manierista: white and dark rum, elderflower, cinnamon, citrus fruits and thyme soda. All tied up in a glass wrapped in paper for 9 euros 50 cents.

Brassclub non-alcoholic cocktail

La Nina Prodigio: orange, grapefruit, lemon, ginger syrup, and sour apple – 9 euros, delicious and topped with two jelly bear sweets!

If cocktails aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other drinks you can have at Brassclub.

Text and photos Jan Edwards ©2017

Protur Chef 2017 was a great success

March 28, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Eat

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

Mallorca hosts first national competition for culinary school chefs

March 7, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Chefs / Eat / Hotels / Sleep

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

Menorcan Pop-up in Mallorca

February 4, 2017
by Jan Edwards
comments 2
Chefs / Eat / Restaurants

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

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'

‘Menjar blanc de la edad media hasta ahora’

Red rock mullet dish

Red rock mullet dish

Pork wrapped in cabbage with a cauliflower puree

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

Pop-up dining on Mallorca

January 11, 2017
by Jan Edwards
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Chefs / Eat

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

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.

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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:

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A mouthful of succulent BBQ port

Blue cheese and quince

Blue cheese and quince

Chicken oyster

Chicken oyster

Trout, beetroot, and apples

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