Nature
Bored with inactivity during the first few months at Mugaritz, we took a look outside the restaurant, and started exploring the countryside, which was still a complete mystery to us. We knew so little that what should have been familiar proved most exotic.
First time with scientists
Globalization and advances in technology have changed the definition of exotic. It no longer refers to distant but to the unknown. And often the unknown remains hidden even when it’s right in front of our eyes.
Uniquely local, uniquely small
Tear-shaped peas. Latxa sheep’s cheese. Carrots, harvested baby-size for the first time.
Seawater vegetable gardens
Language shapes our reality. When we talk about plants, we automatically picture the kind that grows in gardens and fields. Few of us think about sea gardens and the diversity of saltwater-loving plants.
The magic of weeds
There was a time when our elders didn’t distinguish between gastronomy, pharmacopeia and magic. They simply named anything they found useful. Plants were either curative, poisonous or tasty.
Roasted and raw vegetables
For us to stop seeing simple fields of grass around us and start seeing species, complete with botanical names, properties and applications in our culinary universe, we had to take a giant leap in terms of knowledge and practice.
