A memorable experience, in which the territoriality of the menu comes out in many different nuances. Elegance and taste together at the table of Luis Valls, Quique Dacosta's right-hand man for 20 years.
It is so beautiful Valencia, a city to leave one's heart, a place worth exploring, as much for its magnificent historic center as for its surroundings: the Albufera, for example, Spain's largest natural park, an aquatic paradise in which, among rice paddies and forests, hundreds of species of birds nest.
You also go back to Valencia to eat: a paella quite different from the ones we are used to, with their improbable variations. To be sure to find it at its best and in a strict traditional interpretation, just go to Llisa Negra, where Sara Martín and her boys prepare it in the only restaurant in the center with a wood-fired paellero, perhaps on Wednesdays when they also serve the mouth-watering socarrat. So like Llisa Negra, Vuelve Carolina, where you can eat pop dishes with an international flair, is also a Quique Dacosta restaurant. Right next to this sign, in the same building, is the entrance to El Poblet, another of the creatures of this great Spanish chef who has his three-starred restaurant in Dénia.
El Poblet
Of Michelin stars El Poblet, warm, modern, and elegant, has two as of 2019, and the kitchen is ruled by Luis Valls Rozalén. But what does El Poblet represent for Dacosta? He himself answers, “Some people might say that it's just another project of mine or that it doesn't have much gastronomic value because it's a second brand or something like that, but I understand that these are preconceived ideas, because great chefs often do things like that. However, the case of El Poblet has a decisive peculiarity, which is already starting to occur with other great professionals who create a top-level gastronomic project that has 2 or 3 Michelin stars: the chefs behind that project end up giving it a different imprint and DNA, so much so that even though they are “their parents' children,” they leave a different mark, one that goes beyond what even the creators could have imagined.
My culinary involvement at El Poblet is very limited, because there is Luis Valls, a very talented chef, who has earned two Michelin stars. So, at El Poblet, I play the role of consultant or artistic director, so to speak, helping the kitchen, the dining room, the pastry, the sommeliers, in short, everyone who makes up the restaurant. It is true that it is Quique Dacosta's restaurant, it is true that it has two stars, it is also true, however, that it has absolute creative autonomy to develop and build a story that on the other hand is quite different, not only from mine, but from the trends that predominate in Spanish cuisines. It is a place that I would 1000% recommend to anyone coming to Valencia." And we add that it is a restaurant where territory is not a word, as is often the case, part of a slogan, because Valls believes in it and was born here, breathing the air of the Albufera.
About the chef
“I had a 'productive' childhood, because from an early age I experienced and learned from my grandparents aspects of gastronomy that I consider wonderful today, such as the tradition of charcuterie production, fishing and farming, things I still do in moments of creativity." So the passion has accompanied him practically from the beginning: "When I was young I was part of the scouts and was already interested in cooking for the rest of my friends. At first I had other professional inclinations, but I also really liked helping around the house, so I gave it a try. When I was 17 I enrolled in the dining class, because to take the cooking class I would have had to be of age. I took both courses, but it was clear that cooking was what I wanted, although studying dining service helped me to better understand and consider the dynamics of a restaurant."
The main stages of Valls' gastronomic career have developed mainly in Quique Dacosta's group: “In these almost two decades of work, I can distinguish at least a couple of significant moments. The first is when I joined the Group, with the opening of the restaurant Vuelve Carolina in 2011. I had already been to several restaurants and when I arrived I found a place where things are done properly, where I felt at home. The second was in 2018, when we started flying solo and I started creating my own dishes, embodying what our philosophy is, with the arrival of the second star. Now everything is much more consolidated, everything is in place, and I enjoy the work more and more."
Luis Valls describes his cuisine as “rich and flavorful, I think it reflects an identity based on our territory. I like to explore the environment, discover ingredients, learn about the seasons and give a new perspective to traditions. I like to think that my dishes appeal to taste memory or discover new registers and the culture that distinguishes them, depending on where the diner who tastes them comes from.” Ours, indeed, was a memorable dinner, in which the territoriality of the menu came out in many different shades. So much elegance and so much taste together, especially in the use of citrus fruits that came from the collaboration with an entity that would deserve a lengthy study on its own.
It is Todolí Citrus Fundació, a project of the eclectic Vicente Todolí, a professional who for years was curator of the TateModern in London and in parallel with his work in the art world is involved in the management of a place where there are about 500 varieties of citrus fruits from every part of the planet. Luis tells us, “By now it is part of the backbone of our menu, our way of thinking, our way of building. The most important thing is people, and to be able to have one like Vicente by my side is a privilege, because I feel it enriches me and all of us."
The Dishes
The 'Ciutat Vella' (old town) menu begins with a remarkable selection of local artisanal cured meats, then moves on to beach cuttlefish and squash, a dish in which mollusk and vegetable create a marriage of great finesse. Time, Territory and Season is a very fresh composition that precedes the large, legendary, exquisite Denia red shrimp.
Eel cooked in giant lemon citron (citrus limonimedica) is a small masterpiece in which the sweetness of the meat is balanced by the fresh note of the citrus. Again, distant from our concept of risotto but with a decidedly charming taste and texture that is both creamy and crunchy, the allipebrat rice with pickled lemons. Wonderful is the Collaret peanut stew with broth and mallard, whose meat, fragrant and irresistibly textured, also arrives in a second service ripened in rice.
Prima dei dolci è la volta del “formaggio” di pecora allo zafferano. Buonissima la torrija, classico dolce spagnolo con la crosta croccante a bilanciare una sorta di budino di pane, così come la carruba sacher. Si termina felicemente con i petit fours, va da sé agrumati.
Special note goes to the service, conducted with great professionalism by young and very young people, such as sommelier Hernán Menno, skilled at juggling the local labels on a wine list of considerable depth. Running the room is a woman , Delia Claure, a passionate gourmet who has traveled halfway around the world to learn about haute cuisine. A place to return to, soon.
Contact
El Poblet
C/ de Correus, 8, Ciutat Vella, 46002 València, Valencia, Spain
Phone: +34 961 11 11 06
