FIVE-STAR SENSES
Natasha Kraal embarks on a culinary journey through the Mediterranean, in the heart of Berlin.
In the veritable melting pot that is Berlin, cuisine really is the culture. Armed with @berlinfoodstories and Google Maps, we had the best currywurst (Curry 36), döner kebab (Imren, “the döner kebab unicorn”), and gelato (Rosa Canina’s Raspberry with Basil) we could say “in the world”. After perusing the Top 10 of street food, we were ready for some serious dining. Of course, in this anomalous German city, you’d have the best Spanish food in the former Royal Danish embassy, now the fabulous designer hotel Das Stue, of uber-cool Patricia Urquiola interiors and animal-themed accoutrements, inspired by its neighbour, the famous Berlin Zoo. So diversely melting pot that the feature décor at Cinco by Paco Pérez is a magnificent ceiling of just that ... Catalan chef Paco Pérez named his gorgeous German outpost after his fifth Michelin star, combined with his two-Michelin-starred family-owned seaside restaurant Miramar that dates back to 1939, at Llanca off the coast of Girona, and the two-Michelin-starred Enoteca at Hotel Arts Barcelona. Cinco got the trademark star of approval for its progressive Mediterranean cuisine in November 2013. “It belongs to all of us,” he says humbly of his success, citing his team, “my family”, whose passionate collaborations create his extraordinary cuisine of “beautiful things”. Pérez’s nine-course Gran Viaje, he says, “is a journey through the Mediterranean Sea” within another journey that is Berlin. “We wanted to show our point of view of the Mediterranean in displacement to Berlin, and concretely to the Das Stue hotel,” he defines. We opened this adventure with molecular-inspired snacks that ranged from hydrogenated vegetarian sandwiches to a liquidated Caesar salad, and fresh razor clams versus hot fried octopus, each abstracted from the track of traditional tapas. Within the unconventional textures and Catalan play of colour-and-light, was a sea of deliciousness: marinated tuna in roasted juice freshened up with neon balls of salmon roe; peas prepared three ways as a twist on the classic; sweetly pungent calamari tartar and truffle shavings floating about a consommé of button mushrooms. Fans of the ubiquitous uni pasta would behold Pérez’s nouvelle sea cucumber carbonara, dramatically illuminated with bright egg yolk from a Miró canvas, which altogether fumed with umami-ness. My favourite? The sweetest red carabinero prawns served on a bed of creamy arroz meloso. The wines were inspired accompaniments, where sommelier Janine Woltaire captured the story of each composition, from our favourite, the Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling 2010, a lively bouquet with the marinated tuna, to the complex Envinate T. Amarela Parcela Valdemedel that was served with exquisite pigeon and mole. “I always look for elegant, pure wines,” says Woltaire, who regaled each pairing with its story. “Often, they show a Mediterranean side with a salty, mineral finish, to represent Paco’s cuisine and his connection to the sea.” Every dish roused our curiosity and awakened our senses, and yet were not so avant-garde that we had to “encounter” rather than enjoy them. There was acuity in technique and art in the plating, but always with underlying clean tastes, and a dash of familiarity. Comfort dessert was composed with whimsy. A slice of the best brie in a hydrogenated sandwich. Red fruits, some fresh, some dehydrated sheets, with smoked sheep milk ice cream. “We always play with our imagination, like a child, and translate that into a dish. But we think when we cook,” says Pérez. This “grand journey” could only come from the imagination and intelligence, right through the heart, with the artist’s spirit. Cinco by Paco Pérez, Drakestraße 1, Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 30 311 7220. www.das-stue.com