Basque in the glow of good eating

Marti Buckley offers insider’s view on one of Europe’s great food cultures

For many food lovers, the Basque Country holds a special sway. From bartops brimming with pintxos (small bites) to legendary Michelin-starred restaurants, the region is known the world over for its innovative, ingredient-driven cuisine.

But for a true glimpse into the Basque “cult of good eating,” it’s time to look past the exquisite tasting menus and bustling bars, author and cook Marti Buckley says. Unlike the standard home cooking restaurant divide that exists in food cultures around the world, cooks in this small area spanning the France-Spain border exercise their culinary creativity in distinct ways.

A category of “other restaurants,” chief among them the dining society (txoko), “are even more foundational than restaurants,” Buckley writes. These centrally located private clubs are outfitted with professional kitchens and long, communal tables where members can cook meals for their friends. Traditionally restricted to men, more and more txokos have started admitting female members.

“You have all of these other places where food is at the forefront, like dining societies and cooking competitions that happen at festivals,” she says. “It helps cement traditional recipes but also this love and constant conversation about food that keeps it alive.”

The Alabama native has been living in Donostia (San Sebastián in Spanish) for close to a decade. When it came to writing her debut cookbook, Basque Country (Artisan, 2018), Buckley says it was important for her to offer a faithful representation of the most traditional recipes from across the greater region’s seven provinces.

“It’s a real honour to write about a topic that is so authentic and so historical and so interesting,” she says. “The longer I live there, the more I really get excited about the traditions. When you first move there you’re wowed by the pintxos and the Michelin stars but what I really love now is going to a village that I’ve never visited before. And if it’s on the coast, seeing the fishing boats come in and then seeing those fish going up the street to the restaurant or bar that I’m going to have lunch at.”

SIMON BAJADA