El Celler de Can Roca: What I ate at the World’s 2nd Best Restaurant

Once upon a time there were three brothers. Together the brothers owned a restaurant in the Spanish city of Girona, in the heart of the Costa Brava region. Joan, the oldest among them, was the chef, Josep the expert in wines and Jordi, the youngest of them all, made the most delicious desserts in the whole of the country. In spring of the year 2011 the family business was awarded the second best restaurant in the world by S.Pellegrino (only outreached by Noma in Copenhagen).

It so happened, that only a week after the brothers learned about their success in the world’s best restaurant ranking, a group of 16 international travel bloggers came to visit the Celler de Can Roca. Exactly 25 years had gone by since the restaurant first opened its doors to hungry customers and it was the day Josep, the second born would be given an award for being the best European sommelier.

There were blue skies and sunshine over the Costa Brava when 16 smiling faces in their best attire got off the bus. They were warmly welcomed by Joan, the head chef of the kitchen. The bloggers were hungry and high on adrenalin, after having just competed a sky dive over the near by town of Empuriabrava.

Joan Roca i Fontané, welcoming the 16 bloggers

16 courses where served by the three brothers to the 16 bloggers, who soon had to pinch themselves to reassure they hadn’t all died in the sky jump and arrived in heaven. The heavenly delicious tasting small dishes were accompanied by a fine selection of champagne, red and white wines. And because they where all travel bloggers by heart none of the dishes was eaten before being photographed at least once. Everything was documented for those that couldn’t be there and those who are curious to find out what eating at the world’s second best restaurant is about.

Jordi Roca i Fontané, in charge of desserts

For those of you wanting to follow me on my journey through the culinary land of milk & honey may now scroll down through the menu, step by step.

Caramelized Olives (filled with Anchovies)

A fine selection of champagne and wines

Campari Bonbon (fragile white chocolate shell)

Anchovy Bones

Chicken cracker

Ring Calamar Adaption

St. Georg’s mushroom truffled brioche and pot au feu broth

Warm vegetable salad

Artichockes with foi gras

European lopster parmentier with black trumpet mushrooms

Sole with olive oil, fennel, bergamot, orange, pine nuts and green olives

Cod pot-au-feu, potato gnocchi, cabbage and brandade terrine, cod tripe

SierraMayor Iberian suckling pig, grilled baby onions, melon and beetroot

Green colourology

Vanilla, Caramel, Liquorice, dried and caramelised black olives with Tahitian-vanilla condensed ice-cream

Chocolate and cacoa bean, vanilla & coconut, peach, honey & rose and melon & orange blossom

And if they haven’t died skydiving and gone straight to heaven, they are still feating happily ever after at the Celler de Can Roca.

Note: I was invited by the Costa Brava tourismboard to come on the #incostabrava blog trip. However, all opinions are my own. Can’t thank the team of the Costa Brava and Arantxa Ros enough for all their efforts during my stay there! Jaume, Gemma and Dunia of Costa Brava Tourismus, spotted with Juan Roca i Fontané.