Chef Quique Dacosta – Known for His Ultra-Modern Reinvention of His Hometown’s Native Dishes

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Considered as one the most brilliant chefs of his generation, Chef Quique Dacosta’s El Poblet was named by the San Pellegrino as the 70th best restaurant of the globe. He is, in fact, known for his ultra-modern reinvention of his hometown’s native dishes, creating them in such a way that the dishes become distinctively and uniquely his. His culinary skill has made him at par with some of the avant-garde chefs in Spain like Chef Aduriz as well as Chef Roca.

Chef Dacosta was born in Alicante, Spain- the same place where he opened his El Poblet. His journey to becoming a chef was not planned. In fact, it was by pure accident that he discovered he has a passion for food and cooking. When he was 14 years old, he spent his summer vacation in Denia, but the lazy summer days soon bored him that he looked for a job to while away the time. He found a part-time work at the local pizzeria as a dishwasher, and it was during that time that he fell in love with the hustle-bustle and the sounds of a busy kitchen.

Chef Dacosta was mostly self-taught though, and in 1981, he opened El Poblet. It is through his various experimentations of the different local ingredients, combining different tastes and textures, that he finally began to create a name for himself as a skilled and creative chef. He was not afraid to experiment with unusual ingredients, studying them and incorporating them in his dishes. Through trial and error, he began creating signature dishes that could rival some of the most popular chefs in Spain. Pretty soon, his restaurant became famous in the area that it had its own loyal followings. In fact, it can be said that a meal at El Poblet is one gastronomical experience that you will not likely forget.

Under Chef Dacosta’s guidance and leadership, the restaurant received two Michelin stars, and he, himself, has also received numerous awards. In 2005, he was awarded as the Best Chef by the National Gastronomy Award, among other awards.

Right now, Chef Dacosta is still looking for ways to perfect his cuisine. He is still experimenting with the varieties of ingredients native to his land to come up with new dishes. However, he makes it a point that his dishes, however contemporary and innovative they may be, have ties to the traditions of his native land.

Chef Quique Dacosta’s Abstraction of Sea with Tiger Nuts

Ingredients:

Iodine-flavoured seaweed stock:

60 gr. Onions
40 gr. Carrots
2 heads garlic
30 gr. Leeks
50 gr. Kombu seaweed
2 peppercorns
0.5 Kg. Cockles
0.5 Kg. Muscles
200 gr. Chicken legs
browned 12 oysters (3 per person)
4.5 L. Water sherry.

Tremella-mushrooms:

16 Tremella mushrooms (4 per person)

Seaweed marinade:

200 ml. Mineral water
50 ml. Rice vinegar
6 tbsp. Soy sauce
Icing sugar and salt crystals.

Seaweeds:

Kombu
Sea lettuce
Wakame and wakame shoots
Irish gums
Sea spaghetti
Dulse
Arame
Hijiki

Tiger nuts:

25 gr. Dried tiger nuts
20 ml. Mild-flavoured olive oil
Rind of 1 ripe lemon
1 Stalk lemon grass (1 g.)
1 Clove garlic
3 Black peppercorns.

Thick rice vinegar syrup:

20 gr. Sugar
2 ml. Rice vinegar
3 l. Rice vinegar
50 gr. Neutral apple pectin gelatine

Others:

4 slices smoked white tuna (1 per person)
6 drops tiger nut oil (use a dropper)
Salt flakes.

Directions:

Iodine-flavoured seaweed stock: Mix all the ingredients, excluding the oysters,and cook for 12 hours. Leave to stand, strain and clarify. Use 25% for the serving dish and the remaining 75% for cooking the mushrooms. Tremella mushrooms: Blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove and cook in the iodine-flavoured seaweed stock, in a covered pan, at 90ºC for 2 hours. Carefully remove the stalks.

Seaweed marinade: Prepare the base of the marinade by mixing all the ingredients and setting aside. Cook the necessary seaweeds in water for 3 hours, then drain. Mix the seaweeds with the marinade and leave to stand.

Tiger nuts: Insert the dried tiger nuts in a vacuum pack with water, salt, olive oil and a garlic clove. Cook in the Roner at 61ºC for 8 hours. Leave to stand for a further 8 hours.

Thick rice vinegar syrup: Make a caramel with the sugar and 20 ml. rice vinegar to prevent it from crystallising. When a light caramel colour appears, add the remaining 3 lt. vinegar and reduce to 80 ml. Remove from the heat and mix in the neutral apple pectin gelatine.

To serve: Place the seaweed marinade at the centre of the plate with the oysters and tiger nuts. Arrange 3 tremella mushrooms around in a clockwise direction (at 1, 4 and 8 o’clock). Top each tremella with 3 salt flakes. Next to the seaweed marinade, tiger nuts and oysters place a slice of white tuna cut in half. Finish by sprinking the dish with a few drops of tiger nut oil.

Servings: Serves 4.

Image Credit: gastronomicae.wordpress.com

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