Roca Brothers Go on Roca and Roll Tour

The three sibling masterminds behind El Celler de Can Roca, the famed 3-Star Michelin restaurant in the Catalan city of Girona, have hit the road for a months-long culinary expedition. Sponsored by BBVA Compass and commencing in Houston, Texas, the playfully titled "Roca and Roll World Tour 2014" will have the brothers cooking and consulting with some of the best chefs in the U.S. Additionally, each stop on the tour will end with the brothers selecting a crop of young culinary students as apprentices.

Having grown up in their parents' restaurant, the Roca brothers – Joan, Josep, and Jordi – were groomed for the culinary world from an early age. It's understandable that their restaurant rose to such amazing heights. In 2009, El Celler de Can Roca recieved its third Michelin star, and in 2013, after consecutive years in the 2nd place spot, the Roca kitchen was also named Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant Magazine. 

Their prize-winning Catalan and Mediterranean dishes serve as love songs to their heritage. A recent article by The New York Times quotes Joan: “We’re deeply connected, not just as a family but to this very special part of the earth. We’ve got around here a diversity of landscapes and ingredients that would be hard to get elsewhere.”

Interestingly, however, on their culinary world tour that begun just days ago in Houston, they leave their signature El Celler dishes behind and instead “…start from zero and use what we find [at each location on the tour], somehow imagine what El Celler de Can Roca would be like if we had been growing up and living in a place like Mexico City, instead.” At each stop on their tour the Rocas will work with local ingredients and critically acclaimed chefs in an attempt to honor the culture and traditions of the host city.

Jordi, youngest of the brothers and pastry chef extraordinaire, sat down with Latina's Food Content Director Amanda Cargill, just prior to the tour's kickoff to discuss its agenda and his many culinary influences.

Click through to hear what he had to say…

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Spain is well-represented within the culinary world’s favorite restaurants, with three in Restaurant Magazine’s Top 10, and seven in the top 50. Why is that?

Well, Spain has a great culinary tradition. We have great produce and great ingredients at our disposal, and also there’s been a culinary revolution that has taken off in recent years. Ferran [Adria] started it, and a few others continued it. That's why Spain is at the forefront of the culinary world.

Speaking of Ferran, your restaurant is often looked upon as an extension of his concept. What do you think of this comparison?

I think our restaurants are completely different even though they both have roots in avant garde cuisine. We work with modern techniques, but also with the traditional techniques used in Catalan cuisine. We think of it as a reinterpretation. We also have three completely different points of view at our restaurant. I do the pasty, and then there is Joan, who is to me the best chef in the world, and Josep who is the best sommelier in the world…and each of us brings something to the conversation.

Between your parent’s restaurant and you now working side by side with your two brothers, there’s a long restaurant history in the Roca family. Can you share your thoughts on tradition and familial collaboration and how each impacts your business and your food?

Well, [tradition] a theme in our restaurant. We want cuisine to be very natural, as a daily routine, something you would do with your family. We experienced this from the beginning, in my parents’ restaurant early on; we would be upstairs. The dining room was the playroom. Nothing was closed to us which is why we view family togetherness as normal and something that happens on a daily basis. Also, we don’t accept short-term goals in the sense that we work very hard to achieve longevity. We have been in this business for many years and we don’t want to be the first straight away. We have gotten to where we are thanks to hard work and the courage of the entire family.