Local gastronomic
archeology
Gastronomic archaeology represents my working style over all these years. A journalist defined my work and my quest to recover original traditional recipes using this term.
On a daily basis I look through notebooks full of recipes which I come across at flea-markets, books which are now out of print, and ethnological, anthropological and cultural documents – anything which can shed more light on how our ancestors used to eat, connected as they were mimetically and in an fraternal attitude with their surroundings. My search has led me to conduct field-work in cloistered monasteries, at ancient stately homes, and in popular kitchens, unearthing oral information to corroborate the certainty of my findings. This path may seem like a step backwards and it is, but it is a positive regression in search of a lost path in a specific context. In a place like the Balearic Islands, where a significant disconnection with our own geography took place after the rise of tourism which caused a great deal of damage to our gastronomic heritage, I believe we have to recognise the presence of our territory within these lost or hidden recipes, and expose them on the counter at Fornet de la Soca with the dignity such a valuable cultural asset deserves. One could say that our concept is driven by this reconciliation with our landscape and history, one which provides creativity to original recipes from a cultural point of view and not from a folkloric one, commercialised and sold to cultural predators.
Understanding the flavours and valuing the indigenous varieties of produce, has driven me to buy the products which represent us and provide us with ancestral flavours directly from the producers themselves. Flour made from rediscovered Mallorcan wheat is the basis of our bread and our bread-making process – we have brought a bygone process back to life, one which allows for a slow fermentation as well as the necessary care and affection.
Understanding how our Jewish, Muslim and Christian ancestors used to eat, as well as those of other cultures, helps us to understand how we eat in the present and forms the basis for the future. A far cry from the cold technical procedures of food production, it extols a table where diners sit to eat with each other upholding values of respect, hospitality, friendship and fellowship. In this way, we can enjoy our food as a moment of happiness which regenerates our instinct for life.