The second edition of the 'Sopar Esperit Fòrum' brought together on Tuesday night fourteen Michelin-starred restaurants from the province of Girona and the restaurant Disfrutar from Barcelona at the Esperit Roca in Sant Julià de Ramis. A total of 55 diners attended the gastronomic event promoted by the Fòrum Gastronòmic de Girona
A choral menu with fifteen unique proposals
The tasting menu included fifteen dishes, one for each participating restaurant. The dinner started with a mushroom and sheep cheese dish prepared by Divinum. Les Cols d'Olot opted for sweet onion from the Croscat volcano accompanied by Olot tortell and breadcrumbs. Marc Gascons, from Els Tinars, presented a salad of pickled partridge with herbs and vegetables.
The restaurant Disfrutar from Barcelona surprised with its version of the calçotada, using freeze-dried calçot and romesco miso. El Voramar served anchovy with saffron milk cap mushrooms and sweet and sour onion, while Empòrium opted for partridge hen egg with cod brandade, cauliflower, black trumpets and buckwheat. La Massana prepared escudella with pot roast terrine and Paco Pérez proposed a chicken with scampi surf and turf.
Peralada cooked noodles in a casserole with a stew of tendons and red shrimp. Les Magnòlies added another surf and turf with tripe, langoustine, and Arbúcies ganxet beans. L'Aliança d'Anglès presented veal with mushrooms and Ca l'Enric closed the savory menu with a classic hare à la Royal. The desserts arrived from Fonda Xesc, which prepared quince in white wine, tangerine, lemon, and lemon verbena
Coordination and joint work between the chefs
The proposals were presented by each restaurant months before the event. A team from Celler de Can Roca was in charge of balancing the set to maintain the coherence of the menu. The event was held again in the Esperit Roca space in Sant Julià de Ramis, lent by the Roca brothers for the second consecutive year.
"For us it is an honor to host this dinner at Esperit Roca, a space in Sant Julià de Ramis that seeks to escape being just a restaurant to show that many things can be done, like this dinner now" - Josep Roca, Celler de Can Roca
Jordi Juncà, chef of Ca l'Enric, underlined the diversity of the province and the importance of local products in each proposal. He also highlighted the union between the Michelin-starred restaurants of Girona and the joint work carried out for this event
"Girona is very diverse and has many microclimates that allow each restaurant to be different with original proposals and local products to highlight every corner of the demarcation" - Jordi Juncà, Ca l'Enric
An event that reinforces Girona's gastronomic identity
Marc Gascons valued the privilege of working as a team and the richness of nuances that each chef contributed. The menu, according to Gascons, faithfully reflected the gastronomic variety of the demarcation
"Working together was a privilege that has generated a somewhat crazy menu because everyone wanted to contribute their most characteristic values, but which at the same time has created a very accurate snapshot of the variety and gastronomic richness of the Girona region" - Marc Gascons, Els Tinars
Salvador Garcia-Arbós, director of content for the Fòrum Gastronòmic, thanked the collaboration of the Roca brothers and the involvement of all participants in an event that, for the second year, has positioned Sant Julià de Ramis as a meeting point for Catalan haute cuisine