culture and the people. Everyone here feels part of it.”
Indeed, the people of the city are hugely proud of the
Rocas’ hard-won, home-grown success.
To fully understand how important this family is to
the cultural fabric of the area, we should recap on that
aforementioned journey. In the mid-sixties, Josep Roca
senior and his wife, Montserrat, opened a simple local
restaurant in the suburb of Taialà-Germans Sàbat, well
outside the historic medieval centre of Girona. Having
grown up steeped in the business, their eldest son, Joan,
and his brother Josep, two years junior, opened their own
place next door in 1986, naming it El Celler de Can Roca.
Fast forward 21 years and,
having first built a strong local
name and then gradually seen
their reputation spread further
afield, they relocated the
restaurant to the current, largely
purpose-built premises a few
hundred yards up the road. By then Joan, a hugely
accomplished chef, and wine aficionado Josep had been
joined by their much younger sibling, Jordi, who was
forging his own stellar career as a pastry chef.
Seven years on, the three brothers take all the key
decisions together in apparent harmony. “It’s not that
we always agree – there is passionate discussion – but
there is never a problem,” says Joan. Their mum still
cooks lunch at her place down the road, feeding the
restaurant’s staff as well as her regular patrons.
Diners approach El Celler via a tranquil courtyard
before entering a minimalist white-walled reception
area, fromwhich they descend one of two gently sloping
passages into the triangular 55-seat dining room itself.
In the centre of the restaurant is a glass-walled tree
garden, which serves to emphasise the direct link
between the menu, the seasons and nature itself.
MASTER CHEFS
07
El Celler de Can
Roca's glass walls
allow the outside in
08
A team of 35 chefs
work in the kitchen
»
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08
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W O R L D ' S B E S T F O O D
R O C A B R O T H E R S
DINERS APPROACH VIA A TRANQUIL COURTYARD
BEFORE ENTERING
A MINIMALIST WHITE-WALLED
RECEPTION AREA FROM WHERE THEY DESCEND
INTO THE DINING ROOM ITSELF
