Barcelona chef and sommelier Jordi Joan has worked for 26 years at Ca l’Isidre, the restaurant his parents opened in 1970, and worked with Alain Ducasse at the Louis XV in Monaco.
My name is Jordi Joan. I have worked at the restaurant Ca l’Isidre since 1988, so for 26 years, which, as I’ve just realized, is most of my life.
I was born in Barcelona, a sunny city with fabulous gastronomic possibilities. I never had the thoughts most people around me had: to become a bank employee, a company director or, say, a museum worker.
The restaurant business is our family business. And what matters is that it’s a business the whole family truly loves. My parents opened Ca l’Isidre in 1970, when I was 2 years old.
Watching the way they lived their work and enjoyed everything happening in the restaurant or connected with it, I found it completely natural to want to continue what they did. Perhaps I never saw any other path for myself.
From the age of 3, my father took me with him to the market. We spent a long time choosing the best products for the restaurant, and it was never dull: it definitely had its magic. Perhaps it was even better than if he had taught me to surf.
I really loved food. Noticing my passion, my father helped me get internships in restaurants in Europe, where I could develop my skills with the best experts and gourmets. One of them was Alain Ducasse, a talented chef and restaurateur (you can even find him on Wikipedia), who now has a network of 27 restaurants around the world, which is just amazing!
Then I worked with him at the Louis XV in Monaco; I learned a lot and am incredibly grateful for a great time. Now my parents still work at Ca l’Isidre: my father goes to the market every day, and my mother decorates the restaurant.
My favorite cuisine? A pretty boring answer: Catalan! My favorite food is also quite typical, one of the gifts of the Mediterranean, though a tricky one. I like grilled gambas, the big sea prawns from the Spanish town of Palamós, the heart of the Costa Brava.
And in contrast to our cuisine, I like fried kidneys. There are plenty of recipes for them in Chinese, Uzbek and even English cuisine.
I think my interests and hobbies are linked to my main love, food. You could say I love wine professionally, so much that I became a sommelier. I also like travel and art, and good food on my trips.
I can give you one piece of advice: look to food for fun, as well as for a way to satisfy your hunger! Food is one of the simplest and most accessible entertainments in this world. A glass of wine and your favorite delicacy can work wonders. And when simple gastronomic delights start to feel like too little, I’ll always be glad to see you at my restaurant!
The dish you see in the photograph is “Porcini in papillote with foie gras and black truffle”, one of those cases when the dish is even tastier than its name. We are famous for our mushroom dishes, so I immediately thought of preparing this recipe. It really is one of our guests’ favorite gastronomic wonders; perhaps it has even become a cult dish.
