We started the day with a short walk from the hotel to the plaza mayor of Valladolid. This small plaza was the model for the plaza mayor in Madrid. It’s completely surrounded by buildings with only very narrow streets allowing access primarily to pedestrians. One of the buildings that served as a “wall” was the town hall, where we were to go to meet the mayor of Valladolid.
The mayor was, in nearly every possible way, the perfect model of a politician. First of all, he has been holding the office for thirteen years. Each question we asked in our round table (literally) discussion was answered in a lengthy and roundabout way. We all sat, relatively motionless, waiting for chef to finish his translation of the mayor’s speech…ignoring the breakfast pastries they had set out for us. We were given a short tour and then we moved on to a famous bakery and sugar piece museum across the plaza. This bakery is home to a sugar piece museum, but the museum was currently closed for repairs. There were a few pieces inside the bakery, like this recreation of the University of Salamanca.
From there we piled onto the bus and headed to Entrepinares, a large cheese producer whose factory is on the outskirts of Valladolid. Much to my dismay, we donned paper jackets, hairnets, and plastic booties that allowed us to actually tour the factory. Ugh. I felt all icky…but I didn’t want to hurt the cheese I spose. We saw the rooms where the cheese aged, and I was fascinated by the large flats where mold was beginning to form on the rind of the cheese.
We followed the factory through packaging, and distribution, and then had a quick but delicious tasting of five varieties of their product, my favorite of which was the goat cheese. From there, our appetites were perked up and it was time to go to yet another amazing lunch…today at Ramiro’s, home to the youngest chef in Spain to gain a Michelin star. (Consequently, it was also the last place the mayor said he would want to eat before he died…) We arrived at the restaurant, which was at the top of a tall building. We took turns taking the elevator up to the demo room, which was tiny. We all squeezed in and waited for the arrival of Chef Ramiro.
His first demo was his olive oil “ice” that he serves with his gazpacho. He sprays the olive oil through a squirt bottle into a tub of liquid nitrogen, which freezes the oil in separate flakes…
…which he can then scoop out and quenelle into the bowl for the gazpacho.
He also demonstrated his olive oil “butter” which was smooth and creamy, with all the flavor and even picante of olive oil. His sous chef also showed us a few things, including a thin sugar spiral that they make for one of their desserts.
After several amazing demonstrations, we thanked Ramiro and his sous, and headed to the dining room one more floor up in the building. When we landed on the tenth floor, we were greeted with huge picture windows that displayed Valladolid and the smell of warm bread from waiter’s swooping trays wafting through the air.
Waiting for us when we sat down was a beautiful amuse. At first glance, it looked like apple chips. A second look proved that they were not apples, and that the “seeds” inside were actually fresh herbs, sandwiched inside two pieces of very thinly sliced potatoes. It was served with a dollop of aioli.
The waiters soon brought out an incredible plate that appeared to be painted with toppings: red pepper puree, olives, pine nuts, and a mushroom puree. We were ready to dig in until the waiter began to pour olive oil over the plate.
…which pretty much made it even more appealing.
Our first course was a trio of appetizers: a pancetta muffin-like bite of bread. It was smokey, crisp, and textural like it had been made with a coarse flour of some sort. Next was a simple and refreshing tartar, to be taken all in one bite off of the spoon. Finally, a shot of seafood chowder. It was warm and smooth, with a perfect hint of saltiness as it slid down my throat.
Next was a carpaccio dish with the olive oil butter mentioned before along with grated parmesan cheese. What was unique was a second cold element that was introduced in the form of a sorbet. It was creamy and nutty, and was an excellent complement to the carpaccio.
The next dish was Ramiro’s “gazpacho”. It wasn’t a cold soup, however. The plate was first presented with the cold elements, including the olive oil ice that had been demonstrated to us earlier. Then, our waiters served us the warm tomato soup table side, allowing the olive oil ice to theoretically melt and emulsify itself with the soup. The dish was supposed to combine itself with the tableside service.
The next dish was just plain odd…and delicious. It was delicious because it was a squid ink risotto that was deliciously salty and a little fishy. It was odd because of the garnish, which can only be described as being like fish food. It was thin flakes that were scattered on the top of the rice. As steam and heat was released from the hot rice, the flakes moved slowly and subtly. It couldn’t be captured in a picture, but it was a little freaky.
Next was a simple fish dish whose flavors were all well balanced and pulled together. Took my mind off of the fish food, to say the very least.
Last was the meat course…equally simple and again introducing the cold element: the sorbet over a crunchy base. It introduced not only new flavors but new textures as well.
One last table side preparation came in the form of a “pre-dessert” (in the words of Chef Ramiro). A chocolate mousse was “cooked” in liquid nitrogen, freezing the outside but maintaining a soft, fluffy center.
After the waiter finished, it was served on a skewer.
But that was only the pre dessert, so our next and final course came out of the kitchen…we made a little more room in our stomachs for a deliciously light mousse cake.
And so ended another meal at yet another Michelin star restaurant.
