joan roca

Top chefs reflect on the gastronomical revolution that, coupled with a rich culinary tradition, catapulted Catalan restaurants to stardom

Catalonia's best restaurant invites world leaders to reflect on global crisis with conscientious offering

El Celler de Can Roca and Disfrutar restaurants win three prizes, with their cooks among the five best in the world

Gastronomy experts vote for the best culinary talents in the world at third edition of annual prizes

Restaurant Magazine to honor culinary accomplishments at Singapore gala

The two-day celebration of cooking will include a gala awards evening and a conference on the convergence of food and science

Catalan cook recognized as number 1 at 'The Best Chef Awards'

Catalan cook recognized as number 1 at 'The Best Chef Awards'

Six Catalan locales joined a list of 55 appearing in the 2018 Michelin Guide

Girona’s ‘El Celler de Can Roca’ is considered the world’s second-best restaurant by ‘Restaurant’ magazine. Thus, the establishment run by the three Roca brothers has ceded its crown, which it obtained in 2015 and 2013, to the Italian restaurant ‘Osteria Franciscana’. The gala event, moved from London to New York for the first time, also awarded chef Joan Roca as best chef. “This is very important, because it represents mutual understanding and recognition from chefs that I truly admire” stated Roca. Catalan restaurant ‘Tickets’, by Albert Adrià climbed from the 42^nd position it occupied last year to 29^th this year. Adrià was dessert chef at El Bulli, which was run by his brother Ferran Adrià and was recognised as the best restaurant in the world on five occasions.

Catalan cuisine is continuing to gather top international distinctions and the restaurant run by the 3 Roca brothers, El Celler de Can Roca, is the flagship of this trend, following the path opened by Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in the 1990s and 2000s. Each year the London-based ‘Restaurant’ magazine compiles a ranking of the world’s 50 best restaurants. El Celler de Can Roca tops the prestigious list for the second time, after already doing so in 2013. In fact, since 2011, the Girona restaurant has been either the world’s best or second-best establishment, competing with the Danish restaurant Noma, which falls to 3^rd position this year. As well as this, Catalan Albert Adrià, who is the younger brother of Ferran Adrià, has been recognised as the World’s Best Pastry Chef, an award created last year. In 2014, the World’s Best Pastry Chef was Jordi Roca, the youngest brother of El Celler de Can Roca trio. In addition, Adrià’s restaurant Tickets, which is located in Barcelona, is included among the top 50 for the first time.

The Province of Girona, in the north eastern part of Catalonia, contains 13 restaurants which among them have 17 Michelin stars, thus making it home to some of the best restaurants in the world. In fact, Girona is the area with the highest Michelin star to population ratio (one star for every 44,000 inhabitants), in the world, ahead of Paris, Rome or London. On top of this, Girona hosts what was awarded Best Restaurant in the world in 2013 by the English magazine 'Restaurant Magazine' and it has been among the top 3 for the last decade: El Celler de Can Roca. In an attempt to raise awareness of its culinary success, all establishments in Girona have united under the brand "Girona Territori d'Estrelles" (Girona Land of Stars).

A new and surprising temporary restaurant, named El Vol Espai Gastronòmic, has opened in Girona, in north-eastern Catalonia, to host some of the best Catalan chefs, such as Joan Roca, whose establishment was named the world's best restaurant in 2013. El Vol is partly suspended over the Onyar River and is a glass and iron structure, transparent and white, which is 20 meters long, weighs 28 tons and is situated in Girona's historic neighbourhood. After just 10 days running, and despite the fact that it only serves lunch and dinner to small groups of 18 customers, it already has 1,100 reservations and some 20 top chefs confirmed to be working there for a few days each during the next year. The new venue is expected to showcase the best of Girona's cuisine and has already sparked much international interest amongst journalists, culinary experts and tour operators from all over the world.