Director Roger Gual, Tasting Menu, Film, Movie, El Celler de Can Roca, Chefs, Spain, Chef Joan Roca, Sommelier Josep Roca, Pastry Chef Jordi Roca, Where to eat in Spain, Barcelona, Girona,  Where to eat, Chefs Feed, Chefs Recs, Go Where The Pros Go, #GoWhereTheProsGo, Where Chefs Eat in Spain, Where Chefs Eat in Girona

SUBSCRIBE../../../../Subscribe.html../../../../Subscribe.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0
ETC.../../../Etc.html../../../Etc.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0
PLACES../../../../Places.html../../../../Places.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0
RESTAURANTS../../../../Restaurants/Restaurants.html../../../../Restaurants/Restaurants.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0
PURVEYORS../../../../Purveyors/Purveyors.html../../../../Purveyors/Purveyors.htmlshapeimage_6_link_0
DRINK../../../../Drink/Drink.html../../../../Drink/Drink.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0
 
 


Share




 

F.E.D. Photos | Instagram

Check more photos and follow us on Instagram at FindEatDrink.

Director Roger Gual & The Roca Brothers





Share


 

Photographs courtesy of Magnolia Pictures


General Information




Tasting Menu


Website | Where To See



El Celler de Can Roca


Can Sunyer, 48

17007 Girona, Spain

T: +34/972.222.15


Website | Book a Table

 

One of the best restaurants in the world is closing and you’ve scored a reservation on their last night. But in order to get the table, you needed to book one year in advance. When the night finally arrives, your life has changed. You are now divorced from your spouse whom you made this highly sought after reservation. You both decide to attend anyway. This is the premise of director Roger Gual’s film called “Tasting Menu.” Shot in Spain, Gual chose the real kitchen of El Celler de Can Roca, named the World’s Best Restaurant.


 
The film features cameos from chef Joan and sommelier Josep Roca, as well as their dishes as a backdrop for the movie’s food porn. Director Roger Gual said during filming of the dining room scenes, when the actors needed to eat on camera, it was the first time in his career that they didn’t mind doing several takes.


Roger gives insight into working with the Roca brothers and the chefs of El Celler de Can Roca. And the Roca brothers pass along their favorite places to eat, drink and shop in Girona, Spain.






Q. “Tasting Menu” is about the closing of a famous Spanish restaurant. What made you decide to center your story around a high-end restaurant and was there a particular one that inspired you?

A. I took a little bit from every three star Michelin Restaurant we have near Barcelona, and we have quite a few. El Celler de Can Roca, the number one restaurant in the world now, helped us design the menu we see in the film and two of the Roca brothers even play a little cameo in the film as actors. They were surprisingly good. Carme Ruscalleda, at Sant Pau, helped us by advising Vicenta N'dongo, the actress who plays the chef in the film. 





Chef Mar Vidal played by Vicenta N'Dongo and Max played by Andrew Tarbet

Photograph courtesy of Magnolia Pictures



Q. How did the closing of elBulli inform your story?

A. elBulli closed while I was writing the script. So fiction got closer to reality or vice versa.



Q. What was involved in the collaboration with El Celler de Can Roca and the Roca brothers? Did you have any input in what dishes where used?

A. I had my art department thinking how this menu would be and after a meeting with one of the cooks at Can Roca we asked him for help, since we were really behind schedule. They were absolutely respectful about the creative process and helped adapting our ideas into real dishes to be prepared.




Chefs preparing dishes

Photograph courtesy of Magnolia Pictures



Q. What did you tell them about the film to inspire their creativity for these dishes?

A. I told them all the ideas we had about the dishes our chef as a character would make. Since the actress’ father is from Guinea and her mother is Andalusian, I thought it was interesting to use these influences in her cooking. We created this menu from Africa to the Mediterranean stopping in Andalusia and opening up to the world. 




Dishes from the Roca brothers used in the film

Photograph courtesy of Magnolia Pictures



Q. Were there specific dishes picked for more dramatic cinematic effect?

A. There were some dishes I needed in order to tell a story around the script. I needed something that worked as an emulsion, but needed to go well together with another emulsion. So I told them this and they came up with an interesting dish of a ham and egg emulsions that only works if you eat them together, like the couple in the film. The rest of the dishes had to be somehow physical in order to change the character’s life for good after they ate the Tasting Menu. 









Q. Did you coach the Roca brothers for the food scenes or did they provide input on the direction to give it more a more authentic feel?

A. I coached the waiters and cooks you see in the film, but I decided to shoot documentary style in the real kitchen of Celler de Can Roca in order to make it look real. My goal was that when a real chef went to watch the film they couldn’t tell the difference between the real footage shot at the real kitchen and the rest of the film.




Stephen Rea as Walter

Photograph courtesy of Magnolia Pictures



Q. Can you tell us about the real story behind the character Stephen Rea’s fictional Walter was based on?

A. His character’s story is based on the real case of a customer of elBulli who disappeared after eating a whole tasting menu and left without paying the bill. He was on a tour, going to all of the three star Michelin restaurants around the world, but after elBulli he left a note and disappeared. His family found him weeks later dressed as a homeless man somewhere in Switzerland. I read the story in the newspaper and it stayed with me. I always find these real stories fascinating. 



Q. What is the one restaurant in the world you’d be willing to book a year in advance and show up for the reservation, regardless of what is happening in your life?

A. There’s a sushi restaurant in Tokyo called Mibu. There is only one table and you share it with everybody else who is eating there that night. Chef Ferran Adria (elBulli) told me about it and they are the best for kaiseki cuisine. I'd love to go and see what happens. 


Editors Note: Mibu is located in Tokyo’s Giza District and only members and guest have access to eat in the tiny restaurant serving eight people. Even members are only allowed to dine at Mibu once per month, with no more than seven guests.




 






Find, Eat, Drink recommendations from the El Celler de Can Roca brothers: chef Joan, sommelier Josep and pastry chef Jordi Roca.




The brothers Roca

Photograph courtesy of El Celler de Can Roca



El Celler de Can Roca

Can Sunyer, 48, 17007 Girona, Spain

T: +34/972.222.157 | www.cellercanroca.com






Markets



Mercat del Lleó

Photograph courtesy of Mercat del Lleó



Mercat del Lleó

“In Girona, without a doubt, visit the Mercat del Lleo.”


Place del Lleo, 15 Pl. Calvet i Rubalcaba, 17002 Girona, Spain

T: +34/972.201.163 |  www.mercatlleo.cat






Restaurants



L’Aliança

Photograph courtesy of L’Aliança



L’Aliança

“Ten minutes from Girona, in a town called Anglès, we recommend eating here for Modern Spanish food.”


Calle Jacint Verdaguer Number 3, 17160 Anglès, Spain

T: +34/972.420.156 |  www.restaurantalianca.com




Seafood at Cal Tet

Photograph courtesy of Cal Tet



Cal Tet

“On the Costa Brava, in a small town called l’Estartit, I recommend Cal Tet for their seafood.”


Carrer Santa Anna, 38, 17258 L’Estartit, Spain

T: +34/97.275.1179 | www.caltet.com





Wine Bars



Wine at Plaça del VI 7

Photograph courtesy of Villas Más



Plaça Del Vi 7

“Come here to this wine bar for drinks.”


Plaça del Vi, 7, Girona, Spain 17004

T: +34/972.215.604





More Spain

Download the F.E.D. iPhone app and get more Spain recommendations from other chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, and food artisans.