21/06/2016
The founder and owner of the Cullera de Boix restaurants, Jordi Gabarrell, underlines the success of their formula by offering every day a rice dish on their lunch menus. Fifteen years after opening the first restaurant in Urquinaona based on this commitment, now he makes an assessment with the opening of the group’s third restaurant on Rambla de Catalunya. Cullera de Boix is one of the best restaurant in Barcelona to eat a paella.
What was the idea behind the founding of Cullera de Boix?
Cullera de Boix was born in 2001 as a restaurant specialising in rice dishes and paellas, because I believe that rice is a balanced and healthy food. I was inspired by the old Catalan eateries, the “fondas” (inns). For me, rice dishes and paellas are popular quality food that must be accessible to anyone at a reasonable price.
One of the emblems of Cullera de Boix is that paellas are not tantamount to Thursdays, since a rice dish is on the menu every day. Why?
In the beginning, we set out two commitments: to include a rice dish or paella in the menu every day and to put it as a second dish, i.e. a main course, and not as a starter, as it was initially conceived. Everyone told us it would be a complete failure. But it has been a success: rice is the best-selling dish on our menu, and everyone considers it a main course. The result is that we have evolved from one to three restaurants next to Plaza Catalunya in Barcelona.
Why did you choose the Molí de Rafelet in Deltebre as your rice supplier?
We have been their customers for five years now. We wanted a supplier processing their own rice, which should be all theirs and grown on their own plots, so that it would have a uniform quality when cooking. Commercial rice is equally shaped, because it has been sieved, but not of the same origin. Something similar happens with oil. In addition, the history of Molí de Rafelet is a miracle. It is the only Catalan mill processing rice in a handmade fashion with a wooden mill and through manual drying. They make rice of excellent quality.
Why is it important for it to be a wooden mill and not a mechanical one?
The morphology of a wooden mill limits grain friction, when being peeled. This means that the rice grains always stay more intact.
What policy do you follow with other suppliers?
We work, whenever possible, with local produce. Rice comes from Molí de Rafelet, in the Delta de l’Ebre region; pasta, which is made from semolina and is spectacular, comes from Caldes de Montbui; we buy fresh milk from Granja Cal Porta; and coffee is from Café Saula, which is a renowned local processer. We try to create a small local supplier cosmos at Cullera de Boix.
And what is your menu’s best bet and your current menu?
We rely on a menu with a starter for nibbling, a paella and a dessert.
How does Cullera de Boix face future challenges?
The main challenge is how to continue offering top-quality rice at a reasonable price. And to consolidate the opening of the third restaurant on Rambla de Catalunya, which represents a qualitative leap. I am sure this place will eventually give us great satisfaction.
How would you value your wine list?
Wine has great potential. It takes you to your origins, to your place on Earth. We are committed to offering local wines: 80% of our list is made up of Catalan wines. I would not think of going elsewhere and ask for a wine from another place that was not from this territory. I have always opted for wines from Dominik A. Huber (Priorat), Joan d’Anguera (Montsant) and the Pardas wineries and those of Alemán and Corrio del Penedès. But we also have Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Albariño.
Why Cullera de Boix? What does the name mean?
The name comes from the Valencian orchard, because, formerly, those who prepared and ate paella always carried a spoon in their pocket. This was a spoon made of boxwood. The name is a tribute to this tradition, in order to transport this popular food to the centre of big cities with its maximum original quality.
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