“When I left Spain in the early 70’s, the country was on the move – and not just in political terms,” María José says. “Home cooking was delicious while professional cooking needed desperately to be reviewed and renewed. All of this started to take place at a professional level at the end of the 70s, in the Basque Country, and little by little this permeated into other regions such as Catalonia and other parts of the country.
“Spanish food was getting better and better. At that time, in London, which was where I had moved to, Spanish food had little to do with the good home cooking I’d left behind - or even with decent professional Spanish cooking, which was improving by the day. It was poor. Not only were those in charge of the kitchens not necessarily professionally trained but the difficulty of finding quality Spanish products was evident. You have to remember that Spanish food depends greatly on the ingredient.
“To aggravate things more, Spanish chefs were not prepared to travel outside of Spain. They couldn’t understand the language and, most importantly, they were not prepared to change the way they lived, especially being away from family and friends.”
So, what changed?
“Funnily enough, in my opinion, I think the real break started in early 90s, with the Olympic Games in Barcelona and Spain winning the World Cup in 1992. The Spanish Government reacted by investing in the image of the country and they knew that investing in the image of Spanish food and wine could do part of that job. The private sector was also prepared to invest.”
These days, María José says, the fruit of that investment is showing in the UK. “Spanish food can be found everywhere in Britain now, mostly thanks to tapas bars and restaurants who competing with everyone else. It’s moving in the right direction and there are more and more excellent cookbooks published in English about Spanish food.”
It has also thrown up some weirdness, I say, reminding her of when I saw a dish of calamares and chorizo on the menu at a restaurant in Liverpool.
“But fusion food can be wonderful!” she cries. “I still miss some of the combinations so cleverly put together a few years ago by people such as chef Peter Gordon at The Providores in London. But cooks need a very fine palate and a clever understanding of ingredients and methods of preparation that will truly work together.” As a side note, she adds, “In Spain fusion is not a new thing, by the way. The Catalan dish known as Mar y Montaña combine fish and meat in an amazing way for example.”
And what about British food? I ask, before she slips away. Is it as bad as everyone thinks it is?
“I am not sure who ‘everybody’ is,” she replies. “The British themselves have a tendency for self-criticism. There are many traditional English dishes which are worth the effort. The problem is that many of these dishes are now out of fashion. At the same time Britain has become a showcase for ‘las cocinas del mundo’ and this hasn’t helped. One thing I strongly recommend is to try one of the many sumptuous puddings and desserts that are still cooked both at home and in the professional kitchen. Utterly delicious! Try a good bread and butter pudding for instance.”
I will, I say. A spotted dick right down the hatch after I rustle up the gypsy hot pot on page 73.
Cocina de Andalucia by María José Sevilla, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£22)
Photography by Nassima Rothacker © Ryland Peters & Small.
The book will publish on 16th April, 2024.
On Amazon UK.
On Amazon ES.
