Gastronomy & Wine

Not all the drinks can boast of becoming a popular trend. But Vermouth certainly can. Locals are so fond of it, that they created a special verb “vermutear” to describe what you are doing on a weekend afternoon somewhere on a sunny terrace, in a good company of family or friends.
Most tourists who have tried vermouth for the first time with its accompanying snacks become addicted. A glass of “de la casa” – homemade vermouth -or the one of a certain brand, normally goes accompanied by tapas. Among them olives, hard cheese or jamon, anchovies, bravas potatoes or canned seafood.
Warning: there are cases when midday vermouth went straight into dinner.

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga

An idea for those who don’t mind getting up early for a gastronomic experience:
On April 23, the Hugas De Batlle winery and Chef Luis Ferna Fernández of the Quina del Vent culinary team will host a traditional breakfast among the vineyards.
Special menu was designed for the event. Naturally, it will be accompanied by a selection of wines.
Snacks. Spherical olives and wonton paste with celery salt.
Main dishes. Mediterranean tuna (bluefin tuna), wakame, tomato tartare and cansalada crab rice.
Dessert. Shuiso with cream and truffle.
Reservation is made by purchasing a ticket. For your convenience, we leave all links below.

vivid.koobin.com
cellerhugasdebatlle.cat

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga

On March 25, Jordi Roca, Head of Desserts at the famous El Celler de Can Roca restaurant, opened a new patisserie boutique in Girona. This is a family project with his wife Alejandra Rivas. Confiteria Rocambolesc is located in Santa Clara street.
The format of the new store is a sweets boutique under the famous Roca brand. According to the boutique creators, the star ingredient will be various “toppings” that have long been decorating Rocambolesc ice cream. The assortment also features biscuits, nougat, panettone, traditional mona pies, cakes, Christmas chocolate figurines, advent calendars, bambolesques and chocolate bars.
If you are getting ready for a celebration, you should definitely stop by the Confiteria.

https://rocambolesc.com/
@rrrocambolesc

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga

Costa Brava-specific gastronomy traditions.
Costa Brava gastronomy is a true international hit and it is only natural that people of the area prefer local food to any other cuisine.
One of the specific features of the local cuisine is mix of the seafood with a variety of other ingredients, such as meat. Local chefs have no problem mixing black rice with seafood and meat, as well as chicken with lobster or langoustines…And of course, all fish and sea food dishes like suquet, fish espadrilles, the famous shrimp of Blanes and Palamos or sea urchins – are absolute winners and favourites.
For outside guests we recommend visiting special events dedicated to local products, like “Cod Days” that this year are held in Sant Feliu de Guixols till April 14th .

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga

Well…although strawberries never disappear from supermarket shelves nowadays, April is the month when strawberry season officially starts in Spain and you can buy locally grown berries.
The Maresme coast is considered the berry orchard of Catalonia. Catalan strawberries are not usually found in hypermarkets. They are sold in smaller fruit shops that traditionally prefer local products, as well as in smaller chains (Bonpreu or Condis) where they command a higher price.
And Spanish strawberries grown under the bright Andalusian sun have long conquered the world: 90% are exported to Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy.

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga

Girona native Marc Fuyà is one of Hidenori Futami’s neighbours in the Pals area. Both settled here to fulfill their lifetime dreams. In the case of Marc Fuyà, this is the production of unfiltered cider that he makes under the brand name Sidra Serps.
In many ways, Marc is a person outside of mainstream. He quitted his designer career to persue a completely different path – to study and mix different varieties of apples and create a natural, healthy and environmentally friendly drink. Sidra Serps has all these qualities. Another of Marc´s goals is to restore local varieties of apples that were previously lost as a result of industrialization.
Interesting that Sidra Serps bottles have special labels explaining specific features of each of the varieties.

Photo: untappd.com & elnacional.cat

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga
Photo: festacatalunya.cat

The city of Mataró, near Barcelona, has its own gastronomic attraction: the annual Mataro gastronomic festival. This year it will be held until May 1. The main course, stewed cuttlefish with peas and potatoes, remains the same every year. It is perceived as a symbol of spring and is much loved by the locals.
It all started in 1997, when the city authorities approached the restaurateurs’ guild with the proposal of choosing a traditional dish, so that it would later become a gastronomic symbol of Mataró.
This year the stewed cuttlefish will be served in many restaurants in the city, among them: Caminetto, El Mundial, Europa, l’Harmonia, Iluro, Punt 6, Nou Daxana, Nuus, Som terra, Tapas & Más, Can Bruguera and Auto d ‘Ara.

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga
Photo: festacatalunya.cat

We have already mentioned that Empordà region has been known for its vineyards and wine production since ancient times, but it would be useful to add some facts. In 2021 a study was published on all 2318 vineyards registered in the DO Empordà. It turned out that one third of the vines were just over thirty years old, but 3% were over a century old.
The oldest vines are local varieties such as Carignan, Grenache or Macabeo. Those old-timers were planted at the end of the nineteenth century and occupy an area of nineteen hectares.
The share of local varieties is growing every year. Regional winemakers are eager to develop wines that reflect the character of the land where they are produced.

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga

Festival will be held on June 10th and 11th at the Palauet de Teià and will feature 12 live gastronomic shows made up of signature menus and wines. Guests will enjoy DJ sets and live music, inspiring talks on the future of nutrition, experiential workshops, signature cocktails and much more. All this on the background of a 17th century palace surrounded by vineyards, sea and mountains.
The focus of the Festival is promoting the idea of healthy food and cooking, use of local products and respect for the environment. These ideas will be promoted by innovative people committed to sustainability and traditional techniques. More details on this year protagonists and tickets you can find on https://festivalorigenes.com/ Location: Barcelona area, one hour drive from the hotel.

photo: https://www.vadegust.cat/
photo: https://www.eldiarioalerta.com/

Julia Chesnokova for Hotel Alabriga