Familia Torres wants to show that brandy, even if it doesn't seem like it, goes with everything. No need to think that it can only be enjoyed in a good glass and that's it. For two years now, Juan Torres Master Distillers, the historic brand founded by Juan Torres in 1928, has been mixing its spirits with the creations of young chefs eager to try new things. After the chef of Arrels restaurant in Sagunto, Vicky Sevilla, and chefs Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo of Cebo restaurant in Madrid, this year's choice could be none other than the head chef of Les Cols, Martina Puigvert Puigdevall, named Young Chef 2024 by the Michelin guide.
This summer, the delicate and powerful dishes of the Olot restaurant, with two Michelin stars and a thousand eyes on the surrounding environment, are accompanied by cocktails made with traditional Torres 20. A proposal not suitable for all palates that allows one to delight in flavors one never thought they would try, such as laurel or nettle, discoveries paired with the Penedès winery's brandy mixed with mint leaves, lemon juice, and sugar syrup.
However, the sunflower seeds are the showstopper. It's no longer just the bite one takes, but the act of discovering what a sunflower full of seeds looks like and being able to touch it. That's much of the meaning that Les Cols, led by chef Fina Puigdevall, mother of the head chef, but also of Carlota (head pastry chef) and Clara (head of dining room and sommelier), wants to imbue everything with. It's about looking back at that nature, the one that is closest, and doing so with different eyes to see if we can learn to treat it better. "We like to cook our landscape and territory," summarizes Martina Puigvert Puigdevall, always focused on everything she does without losing her smile.
It can be seen in the restaurant's nearby garden, just a few minutes away, where they cultivate native seeds from the region. From there come some of the products that are later seen on the plate. If someone gets distracted and doesn't get the message, they won't be able to ignore the chickens roaming freely right in front of the window of one of the dining rooms. They are the ones above, situated on a level slightly higher than the diners.
And all this is just the appetizers. Then come the starters and, in a good while, the main courses will arrive, in a list where it's easy to lose count. At all times, guided by the father of the successful family clan, Manel Puigvert. For the starters, the cocktail gets more intense, with Torres 20 combined with Casals Vermouth, orange bitter, and a little honey to sweeten. Following the previous narrative, it starts with a salad in the shape of a bouquet, so that, yes, the photo uploaded on social media is, exactly that, a salad.
Then comes the caviar, with the label "de la Garrotxa", that is, Santa Pau beans ---protected designation of origin--- with pig's trotters and turnips. The content does not decline, neither does the presentation, and, without a doubt, one of the stars is the fresh egg of the day, with perrechicos and asparagus. A constant return to the roots without ceasing to innovate that intertwines with the interior design. By RCR Arquitectes, Pritzker Prize in 2018, the farmhouse where the matriarch was born is transformed into a golden and dystopian setting, almost taken from a James Bond movie.
Some may not be able to take any more, but the main courses still remain, as one detects when the bartender changes the glass for a clearer one, with more brandy, this time, with ginger beer and lemon juice. The grand finale has three phases: lamb shoulder and sweetbreads ---they also raise them---, loin, brandade and cod tripe, and the final one, duck with pears, with its own jam.
You always have to leave room for desserts, whether you want to or not, because they also end up arriving. Here the nod to the sunflower returns, now transformed into a honey and cottage cheese flower. Because at Les Cols, content matters, but, at no time, is the form forgotten. And, without a doubt, the homemade chocolate bar closes the story with a flourish.