The new edition of the Plató i taula snacks organized by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition (ACGN) has featured the participation of pharmacist, businessman, and patron Antoni Vila Casas. Journalist Mònica Terribas was in charge of moderating the talk, broadcast from the Old Estrella Damm Factory. The president of the ACGN, Carles Vilarrubí, and its general secretary, Joan Font, also participated.
The snack reviewed his contribution to the world of art from the Vila Casas Foundation, of which he is president. He, who has remarked that he is not a professional, likes works that produce "a pleasant sensation" in him. Vila Casas confessed that he has very varied paintings at home, which he has been making his own over time. From his grandparents, parents, friends... And, without a doubt, his favorite painter is Joan Miró. "He is the best Catalan artist we have ever had. He is extraordinary," he defended.
As it could not be otherwise, in the informal chat between Vila Casas, Terribas, Vilarrubí, and Font, gastronomy was discussed. Vila Casas is a "simple eater." In fact, what he likes to cook most when he is alone is sopa de pagès made with broth ---it has to be Aneto---, chickpeas, boiled potatoes, noodles, and sausages. And he doesn't drink wine, but he does have gin and tonics from time to time.
The meeting was also full of anecdotes, both from artists the patron has known and some personal ones. For example, Vila Casas explained that Agustí Puig from Sabadell was the one who taught actress Penélope Cruz to paint in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
On a personal level, the snack served to discover that Vila Casas once participated as an extra in Nissaga de poder. If at the beginning of the talk there were doubts about whether Vila Casas was better known as a businessman or a patron, with this detail of his life, Font did not hesitate to say that he is better known for his appearance in the TV3 soap opera. Specifically, he appeared as an extra in one of the most famous bars in the series and, after having a drink, he even managed to say a phrase ---"Tingui"---, while making the gesture of paying for the drink.