First taste of Catalunya.

I’ll start this entry with a poem I wrote as I was leaving Florence, excerpt from my journal:

the sky caught crying.

like a dream upon waking, a wave, and the train doors close.

all the cities look the same from up here. the upper deck of the second-and-a-half train car.

the winds change and suddenly i’m drinking from a new coffee cup, one i’ll probably become attached to, on the terrace of Catalan hills. I anticipate springs breath on tomorrows horizon, and im ready for my heart to thaw.

the air is thick with warmth and hawthorn trees— Spanish clouds, sun, and stone, all familiar to me.

im embraced in my solitude. my sweet Catalunya has found me again

the winds change and the sun surrenders its early rest, and spring is here.

xx

I spent ten beautiful days in Florence in pursuit of love, a surprise for a lover I had taken in Italy last year. my intention was to only stay 3 days and carry on with my travels, but to no surprise, he very easily convinced me to stay in Florence for the remaining days leading up to my departure to Spain.

I was anxious with anticipation of reuniting with my sweet Catalunya, a place I had found a home in, a place where I knew I could flourish in my career at Tartana with Alberto, my maestro. I’ve never felt more inspired than the few days I spent with Alberto last year during my short trip to girona and figueres with previously stated Italian lover, stumbling into his restaurant by coincidence— I simply couldn’t choose where to eat that night and the Italian chose his restaurant on a whim, like throwing a dart one a map.

“how about this one?”

“sure, why not, i’m starving,” I replied

Next thing I know i’m having the most profound dining experience of my life, amazing ingredients, creative pairings, luscious wine, great service— I immediately knew something was different about this restaurant and had to meet the chef. Enter maestro, alberto, he handed me his card after relating to our shared concept of food and dining and told me to call him if I wanted a job. I was back the next week doing a weekend stage and stayed in his home. now i’m back again, interning for him out of pure passion for the craft.

tartana 2024

immediately being assigned to dinner as I arrived from the airport, I felt right at home. I made sweet potato gnocchi with a salad of pickled onions, mandarins, and red cabbage and we shared a beer and cigarettes while I cooked. gathered In the dining room we ate together and anticipated my first day back in the restaurant the next day.

Lunch service 30.03.25 | prep start 10:30 a.m.

something about alberto, he never knows his menu until moments before service. We arrive in the morning, open the kitchen, evaluate our stock of fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, and meat and begin our prep, coming up with things as we go. a couple minutes before service, Alberto recites a menu to replicate onto the kitchen glass for reference, this was the day one lunch service menu:

PESCADo

Salmonete + brócoli + salsa de cacabaza

Cococha + mole ajo

vigaro con mejilla + remolatxa mole

Carne

Chorizo + mabas

Terrina + pera asada

Tiraditos deternera + purre de xirivia + sacteado de apionabo

Because I don’t speak Catalan, I have to find a flow in the kitchen purely based off of vibes. all structure and organization of a normal kitchen in any restaurant flies out the window at Tartana, Alberto told me himself,

“you have to find a flow, there is no menu here so you must use your intuition and find your steps, like a dance, with myself and whoever else is in your environment. you’re a cook, you will learn during your time at tartana that you have an art.”

Although I think a little order is necessary for any functioning kitchen, I like the way this one works.

31.03.25 | Natural Wine Festival in Barcelona

Today was my day off, and I decided to spend it joining Estelle and Alberto to a wine tasting in the countryside of Barcelona in search for some natural additions to their wine list. There are many trade-offs to working in this industry, but there are many benefits to the sacrifices, like invitations to gastronomic events, wine tastings, private dinners, and lots of free food. There are certainly worse ways to spend a Monday afternoon, and there are most definitely less interesting ways to conduct research. A day under the sun sipping Spanish grapes for 6 hours to electronic music was exactly what I had in mind.

Cueva by Mariana, Joan rubio, and microbio were my top three wineries.

The wines were incredible and as was the food, but later that day I had an extremely tedious headache only curable with a fistful of aspirin and a very dark room.

After our wine-scapade we decided to drive closer into the city to have a coffee and a taste of the sea before heading back to our very demanding lives in Vilafant. Alberto and Estelle didn’t want to get in the water, so they sat on the steps near the beach and watched as I rolled up my pants, took off my shoes, and let the sun wash over me in a few moments of bliss.

We quickly took a coffee, ran some errands for the restaurant, and went home.

the best winery of the tasting, by far, was joan rubio