Can Spanish restaurants actually deliver a memorable pudding? Something to please even the sweetest tooth? Not around my way they can’t. Andalucia has a woeful record when it comes to ‘afters.’ Too often restaurant owners see postres only as an opportunity to make profit on something that comes out of the freezer. I shall go to my grave reciting the list of ubiquitous sweets on offer as recited by a waiter. Helado? Natilla? Flan? etc etc. Call me fussy but i don’t want to end my meal with an ice cream or frozen solid pudding that has come out of a packet. Surely there is a market for home made, imaginative puddings in Spain.

As ever, chefs in the north of  Spain show more imagination than their southern counterparts. A fact acknowledged by one of the best chefs in Andalucia. Kevin Richardson of Mirador Cerro Gordo at La Herradura says:- “Andalucia is simply not cuisine orientated and that applies to postres every bit as much as main meals. Spanish customers automatically ask for flan, creme caramel etc. I have to gently tell them that we don’t serve such puddings but that we do offer dishes created on site and that, perhaps, they might like to try something new. Sadly, the answer is often ‘no’; but those who do try our puddings are every bit as happy as our north European customers.”

And he’s right. If you are serving the British in Spain you don’t have to be as predictable as offering something smothered in custard or strawberries with fake cream. Likewise Spanish chefs down south should be bolder and stop thrusting an ice cream on a diner wanting to complete a meal out with a stand out postre.

My plea to restaurants all over Spain is to step outside of their comfort zone. As Kevin Richardson told me: “Many restaurant owners are resting on their laurels. They say: ‘This is the way we have always done it, and this is the way we will always do it’; “that’s what i hear so often.”

Nobody has more of a sweet tooth than the Spanish. So those who cater should realise that were they to deliver attractive puddings, some people will visit their restaurant purely because of that fact. 

Create them and they will come. After all, the proof of the pudding is in just how many people want to eat it.

There are many good restaurants across Spain offering memorable views. One is Mirador de Moraymar in Granada. The Spanish dishes it serves are consistenly good and, from your table, the direct view of the Alhambra Palace is the only thing likely to distract you from your meal.

Moraymar was the wife of the last Nasrid King of Spain, Boabdil. She became Queen at the age of 15. Days after the wedding her father in law jailed his own son, Boabdil, and confined Morayma in this carmen, set in the Albayzin barrio of Granada. From this place, Mirador de la Esperanza (Lookout of Hope), Morayma spent many hours staring at the Alhambra Palace. A place where, for a few brief moments, she lived as Queen of Spain.

Today you can also gaze out at the Alhambra from that same carmen – from your dining table. Now called Mirador de Moraymar this ever popular restaurant serves fine examples of Spanish food. On my last visit i enjoyed a Habas con Jamon and Hojaldre Esparragos. The problem with this restaurant is concentrating on the food. When, providing you have reserved a table in the right rooms, you have the best possible view of most visited tourist attraction in Spain. In the summer months you can dine outside in the garden of the restaurant and, in the evenings, look upon the illuminated Alhambra Palace.

The food, the price and the view make this restaurant one of the best in Andalucia. A good starting place for you to taste some classic Spanish food.

I was alarmed on a recent visit to a favourite restaurant of mine. I asked for its superb hot and spicy fish soup. The chef came out to warn me: “Sorry, but we’ve had to reduce the quantity of spice in the soup. The Spanish customers just don’t like it that spicy.”

I was tempted to suggest that he didn’t make concessions for the indeginous population. I like my food spicy. So why don’t the Spanish?

After all, some of the finest spices in the world originate in Spain. Saffron (azafrán) is used widely in Spain, despite being the most costly spice to produce. For just 1 kilo of saffron you would have to use 85.000 crocus sativus flowers. Arabs brought saffron to Spain in the 16th century and its bright red stamens have been valued since long before that. It is one spice that the Spanish do use freely, especially in paella, where saffron gives the rice its yellow colour.  It is also used often in stews and the aforementioned fish soup.

Cinnamon (canela) is used in many a Spanish desert, such as arroz con leche (rice pudding). Paprika (pimentón) is used widely in potato based dishes and in soups. I can never get enough of cinamon or paprika. I go to one excellent bar and restaurant in Granada, Bodega La Antonio, where a favourite dish of mine Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician octopus) is served with a generous amount of paprika. It is spicy enough for me, but the owner admits that Spanish customers could not take it the way i like it.

When it comes to using more powerful spices, Spanish chefs have to be more conservative. And that doesn’t stop with Spanish food. Chinese restaurants are very popular with the Spanish. But any north European entering a Chinese restaurant throughout Spain will be taken back by how bland the food is. Spicy Chinese food is also toned down in Spain.

Spanish food historian and author, Luis Benavides Barajas, tells me: “I’m afraid my fellow Spaniards cannot take hot spices. None would eat a spicy curry, the likes of which British people enjoy. If a dish of any kind is too spicy, Spanish diners will send it back to the kitchen and complain. It makes life difficult for restaurant chefs who have to cater for both Spanish and British customers. I know that when i ran restaurants in London I had to up the level of spices used in, for example, paella and hot and spicy prawn dishes such as prawns with garlic and chilli” (gambas pilpil).

It seems that when it comes to sampling spicy food in Spain, some do like it hot. But very few of them were born and bred in Spain.

El Bon Plat was probably already in the pipeline nearly 20 years ago shortly after Husband and wife Mark Cox and Mayte Beltran first met.

Mark says “Even back then I knew that Mayte’s cooking would be popular but it took 15 years and a move back to the UK to actually start the business, we have now been trading for 3 years.”

After moving back to the UK in 2006 and setting up home in Dorset we made some good friends and started cooking for them every now and then, it soon became clear that the food we were producing had not been seen here before at least not in the local area and by word of mouth we started getting calls asking if we could prepare meals to order, it wasn’t until Mark was involved in a traffic accident and consequently had to leave his job that we actually decided to start the business and make a living from it.

We run a local home delivery service every Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a full lunchtime and dinner menu.

We run a stall every Friday Morning at the famous Wimborne Farmers Market selling hand made pasteleria and bolleria.

We also run a daily local service delivering our pastries and pre prepared meals to our local customers.

We hope to be able to offer delivery of certain products nationally in the near future.

Mark holds regular classes teaching Artisan pastry and bread making techniques along with basic Spanish cooking concentrating on typical dishes from Castellon and the Valencian region.

We are very proud of our products and fiercely defend the older more traditional ways of food preparation and cooking. Our signature dish would probably be the “Paella” as Mayte is from the region where it originated and her recipe is very old and very very good, but our own personal favourite would probably be “Potaje de Espinacas” or “Lentejas” as this type of dish is very common in the Levante and we would eat either at least once a week at home.

You can contact Mark or Mayte
by phone during normal business hours on 01202 46 95 91
E-mail:         elbonplat@live.com
Website:      www.elbonplat.com

Our friends at Tapas Tapas in Liverpool are running a fantastic 50% offer. Read on for full details…

¡Feliz año nuevo / Happy New Year from everybody here at Tapas Tapas! Although we can´t help you to get rid of the ice in your driveway, or transport you to Spain, we think that we can help to cheer you up during this cold winter… and save you money too!

When you print out the voucher, you can save a mammoth 50% from your tapas bill when you come to our restaurants!* Just bring it with you on your next visit to Tapas Tapas, show it to a member of staff before ordering & 50% will be deducted from the tapas that you order!

To download your voucher, simply click on this link: DOWNLOAD VOUCHER

Saludos,

The Tapas Tapas Team

*Please download & read our voucher for further details

Tapas Tapas were also nominated as a favorite local restaurant for Gordon Ramsey’s ‘F-Word’:

Everyone at Tapas Tapas would like to thank you for nominating us as your favourite local restaurant in Gordon Ramsey´s “F-Word”.

We were nominated in the category of “Best Local Spanish Restaurant.” Although we did not appear on the TV show, we were touched that so many of you voted for us.

Find Tapas Tapas restaurants at these locations:

Tapas Tapas Liverpool
14 Back Colquitt Street
Arthouse Square
Liverpool
L1 4DE
0151 709 0999

Tapas Tapas Waterloo
23 South Rd
Waterloo
Liverpool
L22 5PE
0151 949 1151

Visit the website at www.tapastapas.co.uk

Check out this review of Tapas Tapas in Liverpool City Centre by Dawn Collinson. “It’s hard to imagine that you could replicate a Spanish tapas bar on a freezing wet winter’s night in Liverpool city centre. Impossible, in fact,” says Dawn. “But somehow that’s exactly what Tapas Tapas does with the absolute minimum of fuss and pretension”.

Read the rest of the review here:

Liverpool Echo.co.uk – Lifestyles – Food & Drink News and Reviews – Mediterranean feeling that’s always on tapas.

Are you passionate about food? So are we.

What makes cafe cree so special? Quite simply… passion…

About the origin of our our food….the quality of our food….our customer service…about making enjoyment of our cafe fully inclusive….about knowing and empathising with our suppliers.

We are Regional finalist in the 2008 Gary RhodesLocal Food Heroes and are going through exciting times as we film for November transmission on the UK TV Food channel.

We have tried to incorporate all that we enjoy about informal dining into our café. We use fresh produce and quality ingredients, sourcing locally wherever possible. We endeavour to use and sell natural, organic and Fair Trade products and are able to offer wheat/gluten free and dairy free options.

We have now been recommended by customers and are listed on the gluten free- on the go website.

We feature award winning local products and take the time to make our own soups, salad dressings and mayonnaise etc. We are delighted to say our customers tell us they can taste the difference.

Café cree opened on 22 May 2006 and by September 2006, our customer’s were nominating us as a candidate for “Savour the Flavours of Dumfries and Galloway” favourite eating place. This year, we have been voted into the Scottish top 20 UK TV Food local food heroes.

We are very proud of those achievements and grateful for our customers support and glowing comments.

We are always happy to offer assistance to disabled customers who are pleased to find cafe cree is on one level (there are no steps) and we have a disabled toilet facility.

Cafe cree is family friendly, featuring healthy options for children on the menu. We have a high chair and provide books and crayons.

At café cree, we provide a take away service. Please visit, telephone or email for information and to order.

We know many people prefer to holiday in the region because they do not want to be parted from their pets and we are delighted to advise..

Well behaved dogs, on leads, are welcome in the café and we are listed on dog friendlybritain.co.uk.

We hope you will find time to visit café cree and enjoy our food and products. We welcome feedback and the opportunity to resolve any issues so that you leave the cafe with happy memories.

John Robbin, founder of JR Foods, talks about his paella catering business.

“I started my Paella Party business less than a year ago. Initially I was using my 100cm Paella pan for roasting pumpkin sesame and sunflower seeds, and it did a brilliant job! I have always had a passion for cooking, particulary Spanish/Italian/North African styles. Seeing the pan standing in front of me I thought – why not go for cooking Paellas?? That is how I started!

I have been surprised at how well things have gone in my first year – I have done Paellas for 20 people – up to 110. Here is some feedback from my last party in September:

‘Somewhat belatedly I want to thank you for your part in my party last weekend. It was just great and quite exceeded my expectations. The Paella itself looked fantastic
and tasted delicious, I have had many comments about it. But more than that your whole attitude and proffesionalism really made the party go with a swing, My guests
loved being able to chat to you whilst watching and learning what was going on. You seemed to be really part of the party and yet in the background as well, and your
clearing up was masterly dissapearing behind the marquee!! Last but not least was the way you brought the spanish weather with you!! after the summer we have had that
really was amazing and a boost for everyone. A big thank you, we have already told many peoople about you so hope some business will come your way. thinking
of that could you send me your curry menu and also tell me if your bags of nuts are available to purchase locally, they sound amazing.’

I am promoting Paellas during the winter months with the slogan – ‘ Bring a taste of summer into your winter’. I feel that with the poor summer we have had – what could be better than to bring summer back for a day for your anniversary, birthday, or to just celebrate Paella! I can provide a flamenco guitarist and probably dancers too if required!”

Contact John on
01798 344315 or
07968 861964 or
john-robbins@ukf.net

Please contact us at info@thetapaslunchcompany.co.uk or call us on 0845 680 2098.