- 21 hours ago
Anthony explores the best of Spanish cuisine during World Cup celebrations with local dishes, including a Spanish stew, omelette, and a tapas twist.
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00:05Oh
00:06Holy look at this thing. It is a thing of beauty smell it
00:12And put it in your mouth
00:17Ridiculously good
00:24Message to Gwyneth Paltrow, what the is the matter with you?
00:30How can you drive across Spain and not eat ham?
00:33Mario, I love you, but why do you bring along the one in the world who can't eat ham?
00:40I'm pretty sure God's against that
00:45I'm Anthony Bourdain
00:47I write
00:48I travel
00:49I eat
00:51And I'm hungry for more
00:53Ooh
00:54You got it
00:58Yeah
00:59No reservations
01:14So
01:15Spain is not a monolith by any way of thinking
01:17Its language, culture, and politics remain largely divided
01:23But Madrid is the political, geographical, and now cultural center of Spain
01:28It's a vibrant, international city
01:30A place full of life
01:32A melting pot
01:33It's where you'll find people and foods from all over Spain and beyond
01:40On the day I arrived in Madrid for the first time
01:42A new chapter in Spain's history was being written
01:46Everything started to change
01:47Or it did change for a while
01:49Or forever
01:57Spain's team won the World Cup on July 11th, 2010
02:06But this win was bigger than sports
02:11It seems all of a sudden that for the first time in recent memory
02:14This large, diverse country is kind of coming together
02:19This is a big deal
02:27Cheers
02:28Thank you
02:29And congratulations champions of the world
02:31Thank you
02:32You were talking about how significant this World Cup victory is
02:35As far as sort of post-Franco politics
02:37What do you mean by that?
02:40The happiness of this country goes far beyond soccer and sports
02:43For the first time in 40 years since Franco died in 75
02:47Everybody has been using the flag, the colors, red, yellow
02:52And without making a political statement
02:54I mean that's a significant thing because the flag had bad connotations
02:58Because you were supporting a dictatorship that was here for 40 years
03:02So in 100 years people are going to talk at this moment
03:05Like the moment that Spain recovered his patriotism
03:08That Spain looked at the mirror and wasn't ashamed of himself
03:12Everybody of Guillermo's generation and older remembers the past here
03:16The 20th century was rough for Spain and especially for Madrid
03:20A devastating civil war in the 30s that gave Madrid the dubious distinction
03:25Of being the first city in Europe to be bombed by airplanes
03:28From pre-World War II until the 70s
03:31Francisco Franco's Spain and Madrid his seat of power
03:34Was a fascist police state
03:37His regime finally ending a mere generation ago
03:42Mercado de San Miguel is emblematic of Madrid's continued rebirth
03:47Markets are always so beautiful in this country and this is a particularly pretty one
03:50It's colorful, right?
03:52A lot of good-looking food here
03:54The century-old market was dilapidated and on the verge of being demolished
03:58When Guillermo Fesser and a group of civic-minded investors got together
04:02And found a way to make it live again
04:04We're supporting little fishermen in the northwest side of the country, Galicia
04:08Mostly from Galicia, you see?
04:10Yeah, that's one of the best seafood in the world
04:12Madrileños are used to the good stuff, wherever it's best
04:15Spectacular seafood from Galicia
04:18Pornographically delicious jamón from Extremadura
04:21Wines from Rioja
04:22It all comes here
04:24One of the things that I love about this country is, you know, places that you can eat the food
04:27right next to the places that sell the food
04:29And chefs come here too
04:31Traditional or forward-thinking
04:33The new breed of cutting-edge Spanish chefs have made this country the focus of so much attention worldwide
04:38Oh, this is beautiful
04:39Oh, very nice
04:40There is a fried octopus
04:42That's a respectable meal
04:44Madrid is Spain's largest city
04:46It's capital
04:47And already, we're talking politics
04:49Because Madrid doesn't have an identity
04:51And that's our identities
04:52We don't have an identity
04:54While other places are trying to preserve the traditions
04:57Madrid is always trying to find her own tradition
05:01And what's new now?
05:03Where are we right now?
05:04But as you'll see, Madrid is not Barcelona
05:07It's not San Sebastian
05:09It's very hard to nail down what it means to be a madrileño
05:19Casa Salvador is just the kind of place I love
05:22Frozen in time, confused a bit by what's going on outside its walls
05:26But inside, confident of what it does well and has always done well
05:31I've been a lot of places
05:32This is one of those restaurants
05:34I already know I'm going to eat really, really well
05:36I already know I'm going to like this food
05:38I haven't even looked at the menu
05:39Had my gin and tonic
05:42F***ing know that this is going to be a good meal
05:45Who's eating here?
05:46People who are eating here are mostly old people
05:49Because they don't want to cook at home and they're having a break
05:51They want to eat the same thing they eat at home
05:52They want to eat meatballs, Spanish Amelette
05:54They want to eat cakes
05:55This is a home restaurant, Spanish style
05:59And guess what? It's disappearing
06:01Back in the 50s, Casa Salvador was the place to be for madrileño society
06:06Where American movie stars like Horse and Wells, Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner
06:10Writers like Ernest Hemingway would hang out with the bullfighters
06:14Who were the rock stars of their time
06:16Ava Gardner had a thing for bullfighters
06:19Basically, best I could understand
06:20This was a place for the cream of the bullfighting elite
06:23And the women who like to f*** them
06:26Gracias, señor
06:27You know, I knew
06:29It's the surgeon curing vinegar, yeah
06:31Mmm, it's delicious
06:34Casa Salvador is a casa de comidas
06:36Mom's cooking, but without mom
06:39Because she probably wouldn't have approved of all these women getting f***ed by bullfighters
06:43What is that?
06:45Zucchini?
06:45Mostly zucchini
06:46Mmm, beautiful
06:48Pepe, now in his 70s, left his hometown in Andalusia to work for his uncle Salvador at the age of
06:5313
06:54He started out as a busboy and eventually worked his way up to the kitchen
06:58Which he took over after his uncle's death
07:01You're talking about old school cake is fundamental
07:04Right, it's fundamental
07:05When I was growing up, every other night we have cake at home growing up
07:09Mmm, so good, can't beat it
07:11Aren't the new Spaniards, aren't they sentimental about this?
07:15It's very difficult to pass the line between old and antique
07:19The old is automatically bad for a lot of people
07:21Yeah, definitely, yeah
07:22In 10 years, I think this country will understand that this is a jewel and we should
07:26We can afford to lose it
07:28It's like the market
07:29I hope that it's not too late
07:31Some things it's nice when they stay the same
07:32What has stayed the same is the specialty of the house, the braised oxtail
07:38Originally made from the loser of a bullfight, it takes hours to prepare
07:41Who would not love this?
07:43Oh man, it's cooked perfectly
07:44Look at it, it just falls right off
07:49Wow
07:50Now I'm looking at all the bullfighting pictures on the wall
07:52Yeah
07:52What do they do with a bull after they kill it?
07:54It's food, right?
07:55You eat it, yeah
07:56Yeah
07:57Realistically, what would happen to the landscape of Spain, for instance?
08:02If tomorrow, boom, okay, no more
08:04If you remove the bullfighting from Spain, you remove the bull
08:08The bull needs a lot of space to live
08:12Acres, hundreds of acres
08:13So it's bullfighting or condos, that's what you're saying?
08:15Yeah, exactly
08:16It's a little more complex than people would like to, however you believe
08:24Recently, Catalonia passed a ban on bullfighting
08:26And one would suspect, it's symptomatic of a lot of things that are going away forever around here
08:32Pepe is the last of his family with any interest in running a restaurant
08:37People have loved his sons, he's got four and not a single one wanted to do it
08:43Well, here's a really important question
08:44Who was hotter?
08:47David Gardner or Rita Hayworth?
08:48Who was the best? Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner?
08:50I think that Ava Gardner was sexually...
08:54Super hot, yeah
08:55She was danger with two legs
08:59Danger with two legs
09:01Yeah, she loved men
09:02She was dancing on top of the tables here
09:04Really?
09:05Yeah, showing the legs with a skirt up on the air
09:09Really?
09:10She loved ham, she killed for ham
09:12She's just getting hotter and hotter
09:14She didn't eat a lot, she drank a lot
09:16Ham and liquor
09:17Yes, yes
09:19Speaking of ham and liquor
09:26Yeah, look at that
09:27You know you want it
09:28Rub it on your lips
09:30Mmm
09:42Day 2 of a continuing party all across Madrid
09:50Flags hang everywhere symbolizing the new Spain
09:55Let me ask you a question about football
09:58Really off topic
09:59Soccer?
10:00Yeah
10:00Right
10:01Do you care?
10:02I don't give a damn
10:03You don't
10:04I'm asking this because
10:05Someone said
10:06That this was the first time
10:08That the flag has taken on a less evil
10:12Implication
10:12It's true
10:14It's bloody true
10:14In a place now in Spain
10:17And this flag on the back of you
10:19Would be a shock to myself
10:20Because I see you now
10:22Framed with a
10:23Spanish flag
10:24So right away
10:26That said something about you
10:27And your political beliefs
10:28And your affiliations
10:29And where you came from
10:30And all of those things
10:30But
10:31For the first time in history
10:33A silly sport has
10:35To some extent
10:36Oh yeah, right
10:38Changed that
10:39But this bloody truth
10:40Cheers
10:43My new friend Gaspar
10:44A former war correspondent
10:46Turned food writer
10:46Has brought me to San Mames
10:48San Mames
10:49So what do they do here?
10:50Here they make it
10:51A very typical Madrid callos
10:53And it's known
10:55San Mames is without any question
10:58The place for the original soul food classic
11:00The mom's meatloaf of Madrid
11:04I'm talking about
11:05Callos a la madrileña
11:07Or trite
11:07The stomach lining of a cow
11:09It's a dish that it takes a long time to cook
11:11And when you first start cooking
11:13It tastes like
11:13You know
11:15But you walk away
11:16You come back
11:17Something magical has happened
11:18It's the magic of kitchen, huh?
11:20Very simple place
11:21Serving traditional poor people food
11:23But I see
11:23Well, there's Ferran, of course
11:24Very young
11:25And there's
11:26Who's who
11:27Of the greatest cooks in...
11:28Yes, that's it
11:29Because all of them
11:30They come here
11:31This is a sort of
11:33Mythologic place
11:34Where you come to enjoy food
11:36So, why does tripe
11:37Have such a hold on the imagination?
11:39If you belong to a poor class
11:42Right
11:42You will be eating
11:44Tripe at home
11:45Not too long ago
11:47Living for the majority of madrileños anyway
11:49Was hard
11:50How often a week?
11:51Every day
11:52Every day
11:53Almost
11:54Because it was the cheapest for you
11:55It's a dish
11:57Everyone here knows how to make
11:58You got your tripe
12:00A few pieces of chorizo
12:01Some morcia
12:02Mostly for flavor
12:03Some pork fat
12:05Then you stew until tender
12:06Add pimenton
12:07And the rich red sauce reduces
12:09And thickens up real nice
12:12It's something that
12:13It's a slow eating dish
12:16You're gonna go quick
12:17Right
12:18It's something that you have
12:19A bottle of wine
12:21Nyack
12:22And now a chorizo
12:24And now a piece
12:25And chat with your friend
12:26Mm-hmm
12:27Because you see
12:28It's a very complex dish
12:29Jelly
12:30Meat
12:31Pork
12:32Saucison
12:32Chorizo
12:34Whichever
12:35Uh-huh
12:36Oh yeah
12:37That's too
12:38Very Madrid type
12:39Muchas gracias
12:40So it's
12:41It's a
12:41Oat ripe
12:43And a little chorizo
12:43This is morcilla
12:45Oh nice
12:46It's a different one
12:47Chorizo is the red one
12:50Good
12:50Mm
12:53That's just wonderful
12:55Mm
12:56The jelly is great
12:57Exactly
12:59Wow
13:00How long ago
13:02Were people in this area eating tripe
13:04Four, five, six times a week?
13:0620, 30 years
13:09It's not that long
13:10I'm gonna guess that
13:11Well, I don't know about these guys
13:13But people of that generation
13:14They remember those days
13:16Oh yeah
13:16Of course
13:18But do you think your average new Spaniard
13:20Is sentimental about tripe?
13:22Oh yeah
13:22If you see that I am enjoying something
13:25Yeah
13:25Your curiosity will come up
13:27Wise words
13:29In general
13:30In general
13:30It's an act of seduction
13:32There's no convincing somebody
13:34Who has an aversion to kidneys
13:35To eat kidneys
13:36They have to watch other people
13:38Enjoy
13:39Oh man, that's good
13:40Oh
13:40That's good
13:41Blaliquete
13:42Look, blaliquete
13:43It was really fantastic
13:44As you guys
13:45Smash it
13:47Tripe
13:47Delicious to me at least
13:49But for many
13:49It wasn't a choice
13:51It was a necessity
13:54And as is often the case
13:56The young generation rebels against the old
13:58It's not an anomaly then
14:00That Madrid has become a place
14:02A place where the new and fiercely innovative is nurtured and celebrated
14:05At Deverso
14:06Chef David Muñoz is trying and succeeding
14:09To do something exciting and new
14:14It's a smoked skate
14:16And it's coming with we call it exo sauce
14:19And the exo sauce is the most important sauce in Asia
14:22We put botarga
14:24Botarga is the tuna
14:25Then we have these baby shrimp heads
14:28And this is the compoi
14:30Compoi is the base of the exo
14:32Compoi is a dry scallop
14:34If we put this one in the steemit
14:36It becomes soft
14:37So what we do is we separate all the streams or the muscles of the scallop
14:41And we do the red part of the sauce
14:43And this is the most important part of the exo
14:46Without this, the exo doesn't exist
14:49Wow, this is complicated
14:50It's a lot of work
14:52Yeah, a lot
14:52Angela and David Muñoz are Diverso
14:57She's supervising service and David in the kitchen
15:00Combining his love of traditional Spanish dishes with Asian
15:04Mostly Chinese ingredients and techniques
15:07Cheers
15:08Cheers
15:09I'm trying to think of another chef who's as influenced by the Chinese as you are
15:13Why China for you?
15:15For me, the Chinese food in Spain was a great discovery
15:18David's 30, young for being the preeminent new hotshot in town
15:22He's already received a slew of awards
15:25His first Michelin star, you know, like that
15:30David's ingenuity is paying off
15:32He's made this dining room one of the hardest to get reservations in Europe
15:36So hard to get in this book-solid place
15:39That David and Angela, who got married about 10 minutes ago, today, really
15:44Are opening up just for, well, me
15:47You got married today?
15:49Yeah, today
15:49So, congratulations on the award, by the way
15:53Congratulations on World Cup
15:55And congratulations on your wedding
15:56It's a good week, what we're just saying
15:57It's a good week
15:58It's a very hard moment
16:02One of the things I love best about David's cooking is the fact that it sounds, to me anyway
16:06Like something that should probably suck
16:08But it does not suck, my friends
16:11Oh, no
16:11Wow, that looks good
16:14Correctly
16:16Looks like soft shell crab
16:17Normally they do it with this huge crab that they are like, they are called mud crabs
16:22Yeah, it's a big hard shell crab
16:23Yeah, that's it
16:23And they put this sauce with tomato, chili and eggs
16:26Here in the middle of the dish we have the changurro
16:29Changurro is the best crab that we have in Spain
16:31Then we have the sauce, and we do it with tomato and with chili
16:35But we use pimenton de la vera from Spain
16:37And chile chipotle from Mexico
16:39And then we have the egg, which is a pigeon egg
16:42Very cool
16:43Thank you
16:44All right, I'm gonna watch how you do this
16:45Because I like spicy, I don't mix it too much
16:47Oh, look at that, that's just so cute
16:55When you need to mop the sauce with bread, that's a good dish
17:00Wow
17:02I'll tell you right now, if you had like a shop, a tiny little shop with a counter in New
17:07York
17:07And you sold just this, just this
17:09You'd have people lined up for blocks and blocks
17:11Or out of the back of a truck
17:13People would go absolutely bad
17:15I mean, this is really one of the world's great ideas
17:19It's... wow
17:21As you might imagine, David's a driven guy, focused
17:27One of his more creative dishes, X with puntilla
17:30Black pudding dim sum with quail egg
17:32And in a steamer, pig's ear in sweet and sour sauce
17:39Oh man, this is gorgeous
17:42I haven't eaten this dish, I love this dish already, like a son
17:50That's just the greatest gun I can ever
17:59That's awesome, that's brilliant
18:01Yeah, I love my wife, I love my daughter, and then I love this
18:05There's everything I love all in one dish
18:07Anything with an egg in it, first of all
18:09A can of pigs here?
18:11Oh
18:12It's really Spanish
18:13This should be the national dish
18:17Hello
18:18Hello, those gambas
18:18Back in the kitchen, a dazzling procession of startling, inventive, and always delicious dishes
18:24Bok choy
18:25There was a dim sum of braised oxtail
18:27Dumplings with bok choy and red palamos prawns
18:31Wok-seared monkfish with lotus root
18:35Cured beef and bun with black trumpet mushroom filling injected with chili oil
18:39Ah
18:40It's only fun until someone loses an eye
18:43Galician beef with Nikke mojo sauce and wheat lacoche quesadilla
18:49I don't know if I'm gonna be hungry after this
18:53And an awesome dish referred to as Spanish suckling pig, Pekingese style
19:00You gonna make it? All the food?
19:02He wants to kill me, and we just married, you know
19:05Yeah, yeah, that's...
19:10And a little shabu-shabu, perhaps
19:13I wouldn't put so much coca in
19:15It was for free, you know
19:17See, now that's a winning presentation
19:20Now that I'm like a weird kind of, uh, flashback here
19:25I'm glad I don't do that anymore
19:28Chef
19:30An extraordinary, extraordinary meal
19:32I mean, it was really, really remarkable
19:34Thank you
19:36This was still a very, very Spanish meal
19:38Yeah
19:38But some of the influences, techniques, are...
19:42Yeah
19:42I just don't see this elsewhere
19:44I'm really suspicious when people talk about authentic food
19:47Like, what does authentic mean?
19:49Do you give a s*** about that kind of thing at all?
19:52Uh, no
19:53Very, very cool
19:54It was an amazing, amazing meal
19:56Thank you so much
19:57And once again, congratulations
19:58Thank you
19:59Very happy for you guys
20:00Thank you
20:00Thanks
20:01After a brief commercial interruption
20:04This was put together by a psychologist
20:06If I'm a serial killer or something, will that be revealed?
20:10More good food and good time
20:12Would you describe yourself as angry or victimized?
20:20No reservation
20:27Day 3 of post-World Cup celebration, all across Madrid
20:31The revelers finally starting to crash
20:33Catch up on their sleep
20:35Nurse titanic hangovers
20:38But these madrileños like to party and stay up real late
20:41They eat really late here too
20:43Like 10pm late
20:44And later, by the way
20:46So Lucy, good to see you again
20:47Congratulations on your glorious victory in the World Cup
20:50Everybody's gone absolutely crazy
20:52The hangover's over now
20:53The hangover's dying out
20:55The sentiment, the feeling, and the emotion
20:57Will linger for a long time
20:59So where have you brought me this time?
21:01Where am I?
21:02This is a fun place in Madrid
21:04And it's a kind of new concept
21:05It's like the equivalent of the gastropubs in England
21:08But it's a gastro bar
21:09It's a modern tapas concept
21:13Lucy Garcia is an old friend
21:15Welcome to Madrid
21:16Maybe you know her from such shows as
21:18Okay, you get the point
21:19She's brought me to Gabito Teca
21:21So Tony, this is Nino
21:23Tony
21:23The chef and owner
21:24A pleasure, thanks for having us
21:26Nino, who comes from a long line of restaurateurs
21:28Is the mastermind behind Gabito Teca
21:30This is our first topper
21:31This is Stilton with lavender
21:34Stilton smoked with lavender
21:35Paired nicely with whiskey
21:36Two of my favorite things
21:38Good whiskey and Stilton
21:39And Stilton
21:40It's my favorite cheese
21:41It's in my top three
21:42It's good
21:43Yummy
21:44I mean
21:44Whiskey makes me feel better about myself
21:46And however low I may be emotionally
21:48Medicinal
21:49Yeah, it has its place
21:50Next up
21:51I love this dish
21:52Foie with a sweet crispy crust of caramelized pineapple
21:55So there's my foie
21:57Mm-hmm
22:02It's good, huh?
22:03Yeah
22:04It's not shishi
22:05It's not up its own ass
22:06It's a place you can get really creative, really good food at a reasonable price
22:11While you get drunk with friends
22:13Excellent, right?
22:16Ooh, I love hot dogs
22:17Cigarito con pedigree
22:18Hot dog with a pedigree
22:20Homemade sausage of prime Galician veal
22:22Mmm
22:23Topped with homemade ketchup
22:24A special cheddar cheese sauce
22:26And crispy fried onions
22:28Oh, that's way too good for me
22:29I don't deserve this
22:31Mmm, beautiful
22:32Another of Nino's signature dishes
22:35Gambas al ajillo
22:36A riff on a classic
22:38Fresh prawns are pounded and flattened into a thin crepe
22:41Placed on a stone
22:43And quickly, quickly broiled
22:45Garnished with olive oil, marinated garlic, chili, lemon rind
22:49And finely topped with mullet rum
22:51Wow, now that's quite beautiful
22:53Gambas al ajillo
22:54And plan fino
22:56Sophisticated
22:57Because the traditional gambas al ajillo
22:59You have to eat with your hands
23:00Plan fino means also thin
23:03Right
23:03Very thin
23:04It's a joke
23:05It's a play on the world
23:06Strong flavors here, I love that
23:08Bold
23:09I think we have probably some of the world's best bold
23:13The best
23:13Okay, Tony
23:14You still hungry?
23:16Yeah
23:16Before we eat it, you gotta smell it
23:18So
23:18We have the what?
23:19Smell
23:19Yeah
23:21Ugh
23:23See, as the world's number one egg whore
23:26That's
23:27That's already guaranteed a good time
23:30Pureed potato
23:31Truffle
23:31Oh yes, thank you
23:33Thank you God
23:34And egg coddled in a jar
23:36Can I mix this?
23:38Yeah
23:38So that all the ingredients blend
23:41When I was a little boy, I had a bad day
23:43My mom would make me soft-boiled eggs and toast
23:45Well, this is like little kids food, but for grown-ups
23:49Right
23:50And I like that
23:52And since Gabinoteca is all about making you feel right at home
23:55Whoa, that's nice
23:56Chicken wings
23:57Chicken wings?
23:58I love chicken wings
23:59Close
24:00Oh yeah, close
24:01Awesome
24:03I usually don't do this until later in the evening
24:06The chicken wings are marinated in lime, soy sauce, honey, and fresh ginger, then roasted
24:11This is good
24:12See, I'm down with the working now
24:14Eating the chicken wings at the bar
24:16I'd be a little weirded out like if I walked into like TGI Fridays at like 5.30 and saw
24:21all these men sitting around with gloves on their hands
24:24I would find that threatening
24:26I would be afraid to go to the bathroom alone, let's put it that way
24:29For dessert, something really special
24:31A buzz
24:32Is that nitrous oxide in there?
24:34It's cream, yeah
24:35No, no, the gas
24:36Yeah
24:37It's nitrous oxide?
24:38Oh yeah
24:39I have a plan
24:43It's like make your own sundae
24:45It's very 80s
24:46Awesome
24:46Even better while impaired
24:48This is a legal substance, by the way
24:51This is part of the place, this is obligated to me
24:54Huh?
24:56Ooh, that was good
24:57After the break, guess who's coming to dinner?
25:00Don't kill me
25:04No reservation
25:10Outside Madrid, the Mesa
25:12A vast flat land that stretches out seemingly forever
25:24For centuries in the Middle Ages, when sheep raising for wool was Spain's only real industry
25:29Shepherds practiced the Trasumanthia, a pilgrimage of sorts
25:33Leading their sheep to different parts of the country to graze depending on the season
25:39Several hours from town, I meet up with Alberto and shepherd owner Ricardo Quintana
25:44Who are nearing the end of the Trasumanthia
25:46When and where did this long march start?
25:53They began in La Serena, 650 kilometers
25:56650 kilometers
25:58More or less, they walk 20 kilometers by day, moving with the seasons
26:02So you're following the grass, basically?
26:04Yeah, yeah, they are following the grass
26:05With the advent of modern transportation alternatives, this tradition pretty much died out a long time ago
26:11But one group is taking it up this year
26:14The head guy, Maillard, used to travel the Trasumanthia with his family when he was just a kid
26:20He said that the change from when he was a child until now, changed totally
26:25He said that 50 years ago, 100,000 sheep passed from this area
26:32Now, there are not too many sheep
26:34And the people are surprising because they think that this is lost
26:37It's not just nostalgia
26:40The sheep clear brush, fertilize the land and spread seeds as they go
26:45The journey lasts for weeks, which means timing is important
26:49When are they slaughtered?
26:51When do they...
26:52Ah, yeah
26:52The sheep have the lamb
26:55And it's 40 days with the lamb, with the small baby
26:58Then it's 30 days eating cereals and grass
27:02For a second
27:03And then they sacrifice
27:04The meat is fantastic, full of flavor
27:06Because he's eating...
27:08Still eating the mother's milk
27:09Yeah, during 40 days
27:10Right
27:11Meat is only one of the benefits of this tradition
27:13You get your wool, you get your cheese
27:16And a never-ending source for jokes about helping sheep through the fence
27:20It's worth noting for any lonely farm boys out there
27:23That female sheep genitals are shockingly similar to human ones
27:26But then, you knew that already, right?
27:29Back to cheese
27:30When you make the cheese
27:32It's only produced when the sheep eat grass
27:34You can smell the aromas of the grass
27:37Romero, tomillo
27:39And all the aromatic herbs
27:40The cheese has this flavor
27:53Mm-hmm
27:54Moving 2,000 sheep across the mesa works up an appetite
27:58So, what better than caldereta?
28:00A traditional shepherd's stew
28:03Okay, some of the ingredients did come from the market
28:06This is 2010, after all
28:08But others, like the wild thyme
28:09Came right from this hillside
28:12Do you like lamb?
28:13I like lamb
28:14I like lamb
28:15And I like cheese
28:16Can we open the cheese, yeah?
28:17Yeah
28:18Let's go
28:19Torta de Serena
28:20At its best, it's a very liquidy and pungent cheese
28:24A special cheese, made from these sheep, in fact
28:28The cheese is inspired to sit up and coagulate with thistle
28:32And unlike most cheeses, the center never really solidifies
28:36Not too many cheeses in the world use this kind of coagulator
28:40Yeah, usually it's good
28:42Yeah
28:42You like it?
28:43Good
28:44Soft and powerful at the same time
28:46Mm-hmm
28:46You really taste the grass
28:47And the aroma persists
28:49Can't beat that
28:50We only need a glass of wine, right?
28:56Thanks
29:05Time to take a siesta
29:06Besides, these type of stews take a long time to get tender
29:13Here
29:13Pastores
29:16Do you have any grass stains on my back?
29:18Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got it, you got it
29:19I look like I've been enjoying myself with the sheep a little too much
29:24For the sheep
29:26Arriba
29:31That'll work
29:32It's smelling good here
29:37It's a very basic recipe, right?
29:40It's onion, garlic, white wine, some herbs
29:44We have a little thyme from right over there, right?
29:46Yeah
29:47Honest food
29:49Stewn meat on a plate
29:50Got by the babbling brook
29:52Bottle of wine
29:54Life is good
29:54It is good
30:00Thank you
30:01A little more of the wine
30:01A little more of the wine
30:04That'll work
30:06Coming up
30:07Do you think Stalin knew how to eat well?
30:09No, I'm probably not
30:10Who knew binge drinking in a Michelin star restaurant could be so much fun?
30:14No reservation
30:20Halfway between Madrid and Toledo is the Escas
30:23A town situated in a bleak industrial landscape
30:28Where are we? What is this place?
30:31That's a good question
30:32We are here on the Madrid border
30:34It's an unlikely place to find a Michelin star restaurant
30:38But surrounded on either side by a bus stop and a gas station is El Mojillo
30:42An oasis of traditional Castilian specialties
30:46The restaurant is run by brothers Pepe and Diego
30:49Originally opened by their grandmother and great aunt during the Spanish Civil War
30:54Their cuisine consisted of cooking whatever was around
30:57To find somebody from the lower class as Pepe and his brother is amazing
31:04While Diego runs the front of the house Pepe runs the kitchen
31:08He spent time training at El Bulli among other restaurants
31:12This fellow has resumed all traditions around with a sort of a very new approach
31:19But without forgetting his roots
31:23He's deeply a Castilian fellow
31:25But what does it mean to be Castilian?
31:28For instance to use the products that are around here
31:31And that is basically what? Game?
31:33Game? You have small lamps
31:35The grass around here is very smelly
31:39Aromatic? Aromatic
31:40Smelly
31:41Smelly in a good way?
31:42Yeah
31:42It's about the grass
31:44Pepe puts a new twist on the old recipes
31:47Making them lighter and applying a modern aesthetic to the presentation
31:50Like his creative reinterpretation of one of grandma's dishes
31:56Mezcabeche de foie gras y perdiz
31:57Una terrina de foie gras con sardinas
31:59A terrina foie gras and sardines
32:01Fuie gras and sardines
32:02And this is with perdiz
32:05There's a small birthday hunting here on the aristocratics
32:08Cartridge
32:11Very tasty
32:12Beautiful
32:12Oh wow that's good
32:13This for me is one of the best dishes here
32:16That's a very classical thing
32:17It's one of those things, the first time you hear it
32:19Foie gras and sardines
32:20No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
32:23Salt versus fat
32:25Of course, it's good
32:26And what goes better with good Castilian food
32:30Than a great Castilian wine
32:32Aristocratic wine
32:33Aristocratic wine
32:34What does it mean in aristocratic wine?
32:36This is Marquesas Villan
32:38So, from aristocratic wine
32:40At least a very well-known fella
32:45Well, this plate is ropa vieja
32:48Con el caldo del cocido
32:49Ropa vieja
32:50No better example of fusing contemporary avant-garde interpretations
32:54With the traditional recipe
32:56It's made out with all the rest of other things
32:59All the rest
33:00But it's meat, stewed until it
33:03Try it
33:04The recipe picked up during a stint in Cuba
33:07But combined with classic Castilian ingredients
33:09Like the garbanzo bean
33:10That's the base of the dish
33:12Try that
33:13And
33:14Fricked out
33:16Mmm
33:17It's amazing
33:18So many of the great, great dishes
33:20Migrated from the tables of the poor
33:22To the tables of the rich
33:23Yeah, yeah
33:25And what's better than great Castilian wine?
33:28More of it
33:29Lots more of it
33:33So, you come back here
33:34You've been a war correspondent
33:35Foreign correspondent
33:36You wash up back here
33:37Yeah, I've been up and down here, down there
33:39How did you come to write about restaurant professionals?
33:41When I came back here
33:42I knew where to get weapons, powders
33:46So, wait a minute, let me back here
33:47So, your choices were illegal arms trading
33:50I mean, I need you
33:51You're looking at your options
33:52I need to make money
33:53Yeah
33:53Well, I could deal arms
33:54I could deal narcotics
33:56Or I could write about food
33:57And I always liked good food and good wines
34:00Yeah, but it's
34:01I mean, is it
34:02You know
34:03Didn't
34:04Ooh, what is this?
34:05This is the
34:05Hemos al cocido
34:06Sabores ancestrales
34:08Bones
34:09Legumes
34:10It looks like a big truffle
34:11Right
34:12It's not
34:13It's a piece of meat
34:15Ah
34:16Nice
34:17It's beautiful
34:19Mmm
34:20That's good
34:21It's massive
34:22In other countries, binge drinking at a Michelin star restaurant might be frowned upon
34:26I've loved this
34:28But in Spain, apparently, it's perfectly acceptable
34:31Yeah
34:31At least I hope it is
34:33Do you think Stalin knew how to eat well?
34:35I'm probably not
34:37Stop
34:38Donkeys
34:39Stop the donkey
34:39The cancer of this country is the aristocracy
34:42Still
34:43We can talk with God
34:46God speaking
34:48Yes
34:50And to round out my Madrileño gastro tour
34:53Choco
34:54What does that mean?
34:54That means old club
34:56It's like the raccoon lodge in the honeymoon
34:58Yeah, that's it
34:59Guys get together put on aprons, cook and get drunk
35:01That's it
35:04No reservation
35:15Look at this thing
35:17It is a thing of beauty
35:18We're talking about some of the best ham in the world, aren't we?
35:20I would say it's the best one
35:22You would say it is the best
35:24This one is the best
35:24This leg right here
35:26Yeah
35:26It's the best
35:27A bloody good one
35:28The one thing Spanish that I love above all others is the ham
35:38Enjoy it
35:42Smell it
35:46That's it
35:47That's it
35:48And put it in your mouth
35:57I taste the nuttiness
35:59The acorn
35:59The bitterness
36:01I taste the um, the umami sort of flavor
36:04Right
36:05There is nothing like it, right?
36:07It's unique
36:08Is there any single Spanish product that is better than this?
36:13Or is this it?
36:13No, for me that's top
36:15Alright
36:15But you didn't have to think about that
36:17No
36:17No
36:18Everybody loves this
36:20It's unique
36:22It's unique
36:22It's only a Berico if it comes from the right breed of rare black-hooved pig
36:27Mmm
36:28And it's got to be raised in a particular region of western Spain
36:31While roaming free on the acorn-studded Dessa
36:34It's ridiculously good
36:36And only cured and dried in a special artisanal way
36:40A certain breeze of a certain humidity coming from a certain direction for about four years
36:45Ah
36:46You see, it's pure
36:49It's no garlic
36:50It's no herbs
36:51It's nothing
36:51It's enlightenment in a mouthful
36:54It's smashing
36:56To pass through Spain and not try this most traditional, most loved expression of Spanish history and culture
37:02Is like letting the great love of one's life slip through one's fingers
37:06One is, or should be, doomed to a hollow, joyless descent into ever deeper regret, incontinence, and death
37:15For me, I will shot myself every morning with a bloody good jamon of Extremadura
37:24That's clear
37:30What is this?
37:33Choco
37:34What does that mean?
37:35Choco is a Basque word that means our club, our meeting point
37:40It's like Cosa Nostra
37:41Yeah
37:41It's like the Raccoon Lodge in Honeymooners
37:44Where guys get together and cook
37:46Guys get together, put on aprons, cook, and get drunk
37:49That's it
37:50This Choco is a members-only club organized by off-duty chefs
37:54The take on the Spanish traditions of what were once all-male gastronomic societies
37:59They find or create a space, a clubhouse if you will
38:02And play around with and rediscover traditional dishes that might otherwise have disappeared
38:07Like this one, marmotaco, an old-school Basque fisherman's stew
38:12You see, they're preparing the meat of the marmotaco
38:17Such as one of the best cooks in Madrid, professional
38:21Let's go
38:22Come on
38:23Marmotaco
38:24Marmotaco
38:26Marmotaco
38:27Marmotaco
38:27That's a very typical fisherman's cook with bonito that serve as small tuna fish
38:37With papas
38:38It has onion, garlic, dried pepper
38:41Right
38:42Dried red peppers
38:43It's not spicy
38:44It's not spicy
38:45Look, I see you with the pimenton
38:47What are you doing?
38:48It's good, it's good
38:50It's good
38:50It's good
38:50It's good
38:50It's good
38:53What do chefs eat in their private moments?
38:55What do they crave?
38:57They revert to childhood, of course
38:59Simple dishes, like tortilla
39:01This one with red peppers
39:03And the amazing bocarones
39:05Spanish white anchovies
39:08Topped with...
39:09What do you call this?
39:11Pepebra
39:11Mmm!
39:13It's a pepper
39:13Yeah, green pepper
39:16It's halfway between a string bean and a chili pepper
39:19You're rich
39:22It's going to end
39:23It's going to end
39:24It's going to end
39:25It's going to end
39:26The last Marmotaco that you ate, did you like it or did you like it?
39:31So, you guys do this every few weeks
39:33You all come here
39:34You stand around with a bunch of other guys
39:35You get s*** face drunk
39:36Yeah
39:37You're pretty much, right?
39:38I mean, when I came in here
39:40It was all leftover bottles from last night
39:41What do the wives think about this?
39:44I don't know, I'm not married
39:46It's good to be a chef for
39:47Have been one once
39:49It's just good to be here
39:50Whatever got me in this room with these people
39:53This food?
39:54A good thing
39:55Bloody shrimp
39:57Calls you a fortune
39:59First up, fresh red gambas
40:01Served raw
40:02Simply tossed with olive oil and lemon juice
40:05Oh, wow
40:06Sweet
40:07Incredible
40:09Next, that wonderful tortilla
40:13Omelette is absolutely fantastic
40:15This is off the hook
40:17Whoa
40:17And the Marmotaco
40:19Oh, yum
40:20Marmotaco
40:21Does it mean something?
40:22The dish
40:24The dish where you make it
40:25Oh, it's beautiful
40:27Flavor is perfect
40:28Mmm
40:29It's gorgeous
40:31In the old days
40:33Madrid cuisine was defined by what was around Madrid
40:36And only what was around Madrid, right?
40:39But now, and for quite a long time
40:42Madrid cuisine has become defined by a much larger picture
40:45Madrid has its own personality
40:47Made out of people like such
40:50That comes from Galicia, from Catalan country, from Basque country
40:54He's from...
40:55Everybody comes from around
40:57Madrid is very much like New York
40:59Why is New York great?
41:00Because everybody from everywhere else comes in and brings their
41:03It's a brave new world in Madrid
41:05But the old one certainly had its good points
41:08This is an amazing country you live in
41:09I agree with you
41:10Salud
41:11One thing's for sure
41:12I'll be coming around these parts again
41:15This is Spain
41:17An amazing country
41:19You know
41:19Wow
41:20have you come from as well?
41:21That's
41:23We're
41:23Got the
41:24Arsenal
41:24Francis
41:31That's
41:32You
41:33Didn't
41:35You
41:38How
41:40Did
41:42How
41:45Did
41:47You
41:48Get a hit, get a hit, get a hit,
41:52say get a hit, get a hit, get a hit,
41:55all right.
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