The taste of origins: the archaeology of taste in the menu at Nueva Santuca.
Cover photo: Javier Paradelo, EFE
The news
While some people are studying insects, lab-grown meat, and advanced plant proteins with interest, considering them the food of the future, in Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, chef Ruben Alvarez celebrates Paleolithic cuisine and the nearby Altamira Cave, rich in rock engravings dating back over 13,000 years. The Spanish chef was intrigued by a documentary about the life and habits of the cave's inhabitants: he was so fascinated that he decided to create a six-course menu to rediscover the flavors and techniques of a distant past. Gathering, hunting, and fishing were the main activities of the people of that time, practices that Álvarez has translated into gastronomic terms, evoking them in every recipe at the Nueva Santuca restaurant.
Thus, the fish dish made with scallops, periwinkles, and clams, with Albariño foam, recalls the abundance of shellfish and bivalves that have always populated the coast of Cantabria; smoked fish and meat sausages symbolize preservation without refrigeration; salmon ceviche or trout marinated according to ancient methods is a tribute to the freshwater fish that populated the region's rivers; smoked venison loin, served with chestnut purée and spicy gooseberry sauce in memory of the hunting expeditions near Altamira, and almond mousse with hazelnut brittle, red fruit coulis and ice cream is a clear reference to the spontaneous gathering of berries and fruit.
Six courses spanning 13,000 years, complemented by a selection of wines from Cantabria, designed to accompany this sensory and cultural journey. Chef Alvarez's menu is a gastronomic celebration of the age of origins; a look at the roots of human nourishment and creativity: “We have forgotten how complex simplicity can be,” explains the chef to La Vanguardia. And perhaps he is right!
