Brothers scour globe for lost family flavours
THE Michelin-starred Roca brothers have told of the difficulties they faced when asked by their elderly mother to recreate the food of her childhood.
“Some of the ingredients she told us about were not on the market anymore. In fact, they don’t exist,” said Joan Roca, founder and head chef at El Celler de Can Roca, twice named the best restaurant in the world.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, 75 per cent of crop varieties were lost in the 20th century.
Joan, and his younger brothers Josep and Jordi, had heard Montserrat Fontané, 86, tell an interviewer how she wanted to revisit the dishes she grew up on in Catalonia’s La Garrotxa region.
Their search to relocate old varieties is recorded in a documentary called Sowing the Future, released online today.
They visited seed banks in northeastern Spain and even the Crop Trust vault in Svalbard, Norway. The brothers managed to source about a dozen varieties and developed dishes for two occasions. The food was a hit with Ms Fontané. “She loved it,” said Josep.