The young chef defines his cuisine as "restless gastronomy": he takes the product beyond itself through technique and imagination, often resorting to Southeast Asian contaminations. All at extraordinarily popular prices.
Cover photo: Olav
The story
Just celebrating its first anniversary, Sergi Palacin's restaurant Hiu in Cambrils, a Catalan town outside the usual gourmet circuits, is bustling. Here, the freeze dryer operates at full capacity, while fermentations slowly progress in the jars, and treasures from foraging fall onto the work surface from the baskets.
He calls it "restless gastronomy," as La Vanguardia reports, and it's the result of a relentless journey: before leading Alchemix in Barcelona with its advanced offering of experimental cuisine and mixology, he spent eight years as Gaggan Anand's right hand in the research and development department in Bangkok. So much so that to baptize his establishment, he chose the word "Hiu," which means "I'm hungry" in Thai.
Then the return to Cambrils, where he attended hotel school, and the transition to head chef and owner, for a full expression of his vision in a restaurant with an open kitchen, as he wanted. "It's been an impressive year; the project has been very well received in an area where sometimes breaking away from tradition costs dearly." Palacin achieves this by putting technique at the service of product expression, mostly local but often contaminated by Southeast Asian influences. Without a shadow of exhibitionism.
Here, everything that can be done in-house is done: liqueurs, ferments, curries, down to the collection of wild ingredients. For example, sea fennel, which is not commercially available and is therefore actively sought in the surroundings, to be served in tempura with fermented lemon and mussels in scapece. But there are also homemade vinegars, developed from kombucha, and dried fish eggs, which finish off a 100% sea bass dish. While the menu lowers the creative thermometer to cater to a different clientele. All at extraordinarily popular prices: the traditional 7-course menu costs 40 euros, while the longer tasting menu, which includes 12 courses, is just 65.
His dream? "To continue doing this job without losing authenticity, without losing direct contact with the customer. I hope to continue in the kitchen of Hiu for many years," he confides in caternewsdigital.com.
