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Spain adds two new three Michelin star restaurants

The prestige of Spain's food scene has been reflected once again as two more of the country's restaurants were awarded three Michelin stars – the highest accolade handed out by the Michelin Guide.

Published: 23 November 2017 12:07 CET
Spain adds two new three Michelin star restaurants
ABaC in Barcelona was one of the restaurants to be awarded the Michelin Guide's highest honour. Photo: Marc Pastori/ABaC

ABaC in Barcelona and Aponiente near Cadiz were given the honours at an event in Tenerife on Wednesday. That takes Spain's total count of three Michelin star restaurants to 11: the aforementioned pair along with Akelaŕe, Arzak, Azurmendi, El Celler de Can Roca, DiverXO, Lasarte, Martín Berasategui, Quique Dacosta and Sant Pau

 

Ante todo agradecer a @michelinguide por reconocer con estas tres estrellas nuestro trabajo y dedicación. Como bien sabéis esto que nos acaba de pasar no sería posible sin la tripulación de Aponiente: camareros, jefes de rango, maitres, cocineros, sumilleres, artesanos, stagiers, personal de recepción y oficina, limpiadoras… GRACIAS POR EL ESFUERZO CONTINUO Y DIARIO. También agradecer a Juan Ruiz y a Jorge Ponce por su dedicación eterna y constancia insaciable hacia este proyecto y por hacer bailar a la sala en cada servicio. A Luiti, el jefe de cocina de esta casa, el mago de los sabores siempre acompañado de Alan, un pilar fundamental en los fogones. Y como no, a nuestro capitán Angel León, el realizador de los sueños imposibles, la persona que creó Aponiente y el que nos hace seguir esta filosofía de vida. Gracias por crear este equipo de almas marineras y por tu confianza en nosotros! Seguiremos trabajando duro por la excelencia para que nuestros clientes disfruten al máximo de esta experiencia. La suma de muchos esfuerzos hacen realidad este sueño. GRACIAS POR CREER EN NOSOTROS! #aponiente #michelinstar #gastronomy #spain #andalucia #cadiz

A post shared by Restaurante Aponiente (@aponiente_) on Nov 22, 2017 at 12:57pm PST

Five more two Michelin restaurants were also revealed at the event: Dos Cielos, Disfrutar, Coque, Cabaña Buenavista and Maralba, while a total of 17 Spanish restaurants were awarded their first star.

The full list of Michelin star restaurants in Spain can be found here.

READ ALSO: These are 2017's 10 best fine dining restaurants in Spain

READ ALSO: Immigrant goes from dishwasher to Michelin chef in Spain

FOOD AND DRINK

Why do they pour cider like that in Spain’s Asturias?

The green northern region’s drink of choice is cider but it’s the method waiters have of pouring it from a great height that catches the attention of ‘out-ciders’.

Published: 29 February 2024 15:40 CET
Why do they pour cider like that in Spain's Asturias?

They say Asturian blood is 50 percent water and 50 percent cider, and given the 40 million bottles produced every year in the region, it doesn’t seem too hard to believe.

However, it’s the method of serving cider in Asturias which really captures the imagination. 

The bottle will either come attached to a contraption which sucks up the cider and splurts it into a wide but thin-rimmed glass.

Or the waiter will come out every few minutes to grab your bottle and glass, lift the former high up with one arm and the latter down low around waist height before pouring some of the cider into the glass from at an arm’s length. 

There’s even a verb for this action – escanciar – to decant.  

The objective is for the cider to be shaken and aerated so that its natural carbon dioxide ‘awakens’.

When it is poured from above and hits the glass, carbon dioxide bubbles are produced that make the aroma of the cider come alive.

It’s good and normal for there to be splashback when pouring Asturian cider, but the aim is still to get most of it in the glass. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)

These bubbles go away quickly so once served, the customer should quickly drink the culín (small bottom) up in one swig. 

The action of escanciar imitates how cider would be traditionally served when it went directly from big oak barrels to the glass, as cider has been the drink of choice in Asturians since before Roman times. 

READ ALSO: Why Spaniards’ habit of drinking alcohol every day is surprisingly healthy

This is after all natural cider which doesn’t come with the sugar, additives and pre-carbonated mixes of brands such as Strongbow, Magners or Kopparberg.

“It took me some time to get the hang of pouring cider, I missed the mark a lot, and my arm used to get very tired at first,” a Latin American waitress at a bar in Gijón told The Local Spain. 

Many sidrerías (cider houses) and restaurants have cylindrical tubes on wheels where escanciadores (the waiters in charge of pouring cider) can put the glass in to avoid making a mess on the floor or splashing customers, as there is always some splatter even if they don’t completely miss the mark. 

A waiter pours cider for customers at a cider bar in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo (Photo by RAFA RIVAS / AFP)

The more old-school chigres (cider house in Asturian) prefer to have sawdust all over the floor to absorb the spilt cider.

To pour, tirar (throw) or escanciar (decant) cider like an Asturian, you should tilt the bottle slowly from above and aim for the cider to hit the top part of the inside side of the glass, which has to be held at a 45-degree angle. It’s this that brings out the effervescence out in la sidra natural.  

So when you visit the beautiful region of Asturias and you tuck into their famously ample servings of fabada asturiana (Asturian bean stew) or cachopo (meat, cheese and ham all together in breadcrumbs), washed down with one or two bottles of sidra, now you’ll understand what’s behind this eye-catching tradition.

READ ALSO: Eight fascinating facts about Spain’s Asturias region

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