Arzak + Arzak by Juan Mari Arzak and Elena Arzak (2020, Grub Street Cookery)
Restaurante Arzak in San Sebastian is legendary. The
family eatery started in the same building over 120 years ago and the
restaurant has had three Michelin stars since 1989.
I’ve never been to Spain, San Sebastian, or Arzak. But
I am fascinated by San Sebastian and Restaurante Arzak since I watched an
episode of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain when he visits Arzak and
tours San Sebastian with Juan Mari. Juan Mari is the third generation of chefs
at his family's eponymous restaurant. His daughter Elena joined him 20 years
ago and is poised to take over.
Arzak + Arzak
is a gorgeous new book celebrating New Basque Cuisine, the Arzak family, and
Restaurante Arzak. It tells the story of Juan Mari, who earned his first
Michelin star in 1972. Juan Mari has been a cutting-edge chef since then,
focusing on fresh, local ingredients in innovative, even avant garde
presentations. He put San Sebastian on the map and inspired generations of young
chefs. The book also follows Elena Arzak's career from her training in other
famous kitchens to co-chef with her father as Restaurante Arzak looks to the
future.
The first half of the book is narrative, broken into
five chapters, set off by striking, behind-the-scenes, black and white
photographs, most of them full page. The first chapter, "Arzak-Enea: A
father, a daughter and a Basque restaurant," describes the building that
has housed the restaurant since 1897 and describes a day in the life of Restaurante
Arzak.
Chapter two, "The Dining Room: Juan Mari and the
history or Arzak," describes Juan Mari's typical day at the restaurant and
gives a biography of his fascinating career. Juan Mari was one of the founders
of the New Basque Cuisine movement, which took root in the 1970s, around the
same time Alice Waters pioneered a new "California cuisine" and Nouvelle
Cuisine was taking off in France. He has always held onto the familiar flavors
of Basque cooking, but with inventive twists.
The third chapter is called "The Laboratory: A
recipe for creativity" and takes the readers inside El Laboratorio,
the creative center of Arzak. Part test
kitchen, part science lab, it is here where Arzak comes up with more than 50
new dishes every year, to keep its cuisine evolving.
Chapter four, "The Chef's Table: The Extended
Family," is my favorite chapter because it describes the beating heart of
the restaurant – the big table nearest the open kitchen:
The long marble chef's
table is, in effect, the control centre where the daily business of the
restaurant is orchestrated and played out.
The staff eats breakfast at this table; family members
like Elena's husband and two kids stop by for lunch; old friends, journalists,
and visiting chefs linger here in the afternoon. It is also where Elena and
Juan Mari hold meetings with purveyors, their sommelier, and staff. But in the
evening, the Chef's Table is set for guests because it is the most requested
table in the house.
The last of the narrative chapters is "The
Kitchen: Elena Arzak and the future." Elena has gradually taken over from
her father as she worked with him over the past 20 years. Not yet 50, the
future of Arzak is in her talented hands. This chapter gives her culinary
biography and vision for the restaurant.
The recipe section is gorgeous and certainly beguiling, even if daunting to all but the most ambitious of home chefs. Each of the 64 recipes is accompanied by a dramatic color photo, most of them full page. While extraordinarily complicated, reading the recipes drives home what Arzak is all about. The laborious effort that goes into each dish is extraordinary, which is why Restaurante Arzak exists and keeps its three stars year in and year out.
For those diners lucky enough to enjoy Arzak in
person, the Arzak + Arzak book would be a perfect keepsake. Even for
readers like me who have never been there, the story of Arzak and its
father/daughter chefs is absorbing. It is exciting to learn about running a
famous restaurant with a history tied so deeply to a particular region.
NOTES
Arzak + Arzak now has pride of place in my Cookbook Library, even if I will never cook any of the recipes from it. I'll probably display it as a coffee table book instead - it's beautiful enough.
so cool that a tv episode got you to read the book. i used to watch anthony's show all the time too, though i rarely cook anything any more. thank goodness for chef fundin
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Yes! It was watching the show that made me want to read this book!
DeleteThese kind of cookbooks should come with "don't try this at home" stickers. You simply can't cook at home like they do in a restaurant like the Arzak's. Same applies to way more simple basque food like grilled turbot. It's done perfectly in specialized places like Elkano in Getaria, top fresh fish totally a point. Grills are manned by folks who do it for years, even decades on the same grill. You need a lot of experience to handle bacalao, a staple of basque food, too. Yet your description sounds good. I have so many cookbooks and with recipes galore online I love those which are not strictly cookbooks,but contain further info on culture,history et al and/or tell a story best meanwhile.
ReplyDeleteWithout Corona I would have gone to Basque Country again in September. Hopefully I can make it at least to Madrid in a few weeks (sigh).
Frank (rebibbia66 on insta)
Hi Frank! Nice to see you here! You are so right about good restaurant cooking. When I go to a restaurant, I want to eat something I can't make at home -- either because it is super fancy or because it is simple, but specialized. Now I hardly use cookbooks to cook from, except to bake a cake or something. But I like to read them if they have more than recipes in them. I hope you get to travel to Basque Country soon!
Delete