It seems that José Andrés cannot stop setting himself new challenges beyond his multiple restaurants and the solidarity work he coordinates in World Central Kitchen. Now he has just launched a virtual project together with his team called ‘The Chef’s List Map“the chef’s list map”, where you can share collaboratively the best places to eat and drink Worldwide.
The idea is to create a “pocket list of the world” and little by little fill the map of the five continents with all kinds of places recommended by the chef and his team, with knowledge of the facts, so that anyone traveling around the world have reliable references where to go to eat at any time or, as the chef says, “live experiences.”
It is actually a kind of wikimap for those who hope to have the collaboration from any lover of good food, with the confidence that you would have in a good friend who has discovered a place that is truly worth it. To be able to participate, however, you must first demonstrate, by email, that you have good taste and that the project interests you. And also pay for subscription exclusive.
But as an appetizer to this list, José Andrés has told us some of his favorite places in the world and has chosen one of his favorite places in Spain, specifically in Barcelonaa city to which he is so attached and knows well since his beginnings in the kitchen.
Its about Granja Elena restaurant barwhich we could rather define as a renovated restaurant both for the establishment itself and for the spirit of its cuisine and its menu.
As José Andrés describes, Granja Elena began its history in the 70s as a grocery one of the old ones, a family business where you could go and buy the best local ingredients from artisan producers, and after buying you could stay for a drink.
Three generations have passed through the business adapting to changing times, and now it is a cozy restaurant with the soul of a neighborhood bar in which chef Borja Sierra maintains the maxim of using top quality raw materials to present a menu based on traditional cuisine, with many Catalan references and where spoon plates They have a special role.
For José Andrés, it is “an incredible place to have breakfast and lunch”, where he highlights infallible references such as Iberian ham, croquettes, cod omelette and a hood “super rich and surprising.” Granja Elena has a Sol Repsol and its owners define their proposal as ‘neighborhood haute cuisine‘, with a great love for treating legumes, offal and stews with refinement.
The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope
*Some prices may have changed since the last review
Photos | José Andrés – Elena Farm
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