Emotions will come to life during a visit to the Catalonian masterpiece El Celler de Can Roca. Few other restaurants manage to move you as this restaurant with its sophisticated, inventive and intelligent cuisine. Every bite you take from whatever wonderful you will be served will affect you and it is impossible for you not to be involved and engaged. A dinner at El Celler de Can Roca is emotional – you will feel it – not just around your taste buds, no, every chew you take will touch your soul and wellness in the most gentle and fantastic way.

The figure three appears a lot around El Celler de Can Roca, three brothers and the third generation of a family that started dedicating themselves to hospitality already in 1929. Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca’s grandparents opened an inn in the Catalonian Sant Marti de Llemana in the late 1920’s and the brothers’ parents later on opened El restaurant de Can Roca in Girona in 1967. All three Roca brothers studied at catering school and early started to get acquainted with the kitchen in their parents’ restaurant. 1986 was the opening year for El Celler de Can Roca which was originally opened just next to the brothers parents’ restaurant. In 2007 the restaurant moved to a modern and stylish building just about 100 metres from the original restaurant. The new location was custom-built for the restaurant and works excellent.

The oldest of the three brothers, Joan Roca, is the chef and he started to assist in his parents’ restaurant when he was only eleven years old. He learnt about the traditional Catalan cuisine, but eventually moved more into technically advanced, evocative and inventive cuisine without losing touch with the traditional flavours. The second oldest brother, Josep Roca, is the Restaurant Manager and Head Sommelier. He is responsible for one of the world’s most amazing wine cellars with various sensory areas, divided into separate rooms of the cellar depending on wine region. The focus is not on a specific brand, it is on specific regions and their soil characteristics depending on your mood or what food you will have. Josep’s wife Encarna Tirado has been working at the restaurant since its opening and she mostly works with the different events held. The youngest of the three brothers, Jordi Roca, is more than 20 years younger than his elder brothers, and he has found himself the perfect role as the restaurant’s Pastry Chef. His inventive dessert creations using adapted fragrances, smoke and blown sugar among several other things are amazing.

It is impressive how the three brothers constantly manage to complement each other, different roles at their restaurant without interfering with each other’s field of expertise. The love and respect between the brothers is impressive and their talents and skills give you one of the absolutely most amazing dinner experiences in the world!

Written by Andy