[INTERVIEW] “Sant Pau” – Chef Carme Ruscalleda

In April 2019, “Restaurant Sant Pau” relocated and reopened in Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku. It began in 1988 in the chef's hometown of Sant Pol de Mar in Catalonia, Spain, and 15 years have passed since the Tokyo branch opened in Nihonbashi in March 2004. We spoke with Chef Carme Ruscalleda, on a visit to Japan, about a “Sant Pau” stepping onto a new stage.

Gault et Millau Japon editorial team (GM): Thank you for your time today amid such a busy schedule. And congratulations on the renewal of the Tokyo “Sant Pau”! Marking your 30th anniversary you closed the flagship in Spain, and as a restaurant “Sant Pau” makes a fresh start here in Tokyo.

Chef Carme Ruscalleda (Chef Carme): I see the Tokyo restaurant as a continuation of the Spanish flagship. Catalonia and Japan are geographically far apart, yet to me they feel almost like siblings – cherishing the four seasons, harmonizing cooking with nature… there's so much in common. I'm deeply interested in Japanese ingredients, and every time I visit there are new discoveries that excite me. Having a restaurant in Tokyo feels like being given a chance to grow as a cook.

GM: Alongside running a restaurant in Tokyo, in Barcelona you're active in media – TV and radio – and oversee a restaurant inside the Mandarin Oriental hotel. What's your impression of this new location at The Kitano Hotel?

Chef Carme: I love it. The paintings are by the Catalan artists displayed at the former location, keeping the “Sant Pau” atmosphere everyone knows while adding new touches unique to Japan here and there. In Barcelona, besides media work I've lately been visiting elementary and middle schools too. A cook's job isn't only to make their own dishes, but also to take part in education and pass food culture to the next generation.

GM: For such achievements, you recently received an award from the Catalan government honoring contributions to culture and the arts (Premis Nacionals de Cultura 2019).

Chef Carme: Until now this award had only gone to artists in fine art, music, architecture and the like – it was the first time a cook received it. It means cooking was recognized as an art. Before me there were countless nameless cooks who devoted their lives to cuisine, and it continues to the next generation. Building on the path they walked, I'm very happy and proud to have opened a new door for the cooks who follow to shine as artists.

“Believe in yourself. Find what you love. And love the work you've chosen, and devote yourself to it.”

Chef Carme Ruscalleda

GM: Among so many chefs who have thrown themselves into cooking, you – still one of the few women in the kitchen – opened a new door. How do you feel about that?

Chef Carme: It's true that in the past a restaurant cook's work was physical labor, a man's job. But techniques have evolved and it's become easier for women to work too. In fact women chefs are increasing, and many come to me for advice.

GM: What advice do you give?

Chef Carme: I tell them: believe in yourself, find what you love, and love the work you've chosen and devote yourself to it. When you make what you love your work, before long you stop thinking of it as “work.” And work regularly each day, without ups and downs. Don't lie to your ingredients, your guests, or yourself. If you keep believing and continuing, one day the flower will surely bloom.

GM chief: Is there a habit you've always kept?

Chef Carme: The most important time of day is the morning! Every morning at 7 I always have breakfast. I throw open the windows of my home dining room and feel the breeze while gazing at the Mediterranean landscape. That's my daily ritual.

GM chief: What do you have for breakfast?

Chef Carme: Yogurt and fruit, and a fiber cookie. Plus coffee. After breakfast by the sea, at 11 I make hojicha. I used to be a coffee person, but now I'm a tea person. Catalonia has an herbal tea called “Tè de Roca (rock tea),” but coming to Japan and meeting its delicate teas, I was completely captivated!

GM chief: Is there any Japanese ingredient that intrigues you?

Chef Carme: On an earlier visit, I was struck by eating jellyfish. In the Mediterranean there's no custom of eating jellyfish, yet in Japan everyone happily eats it. Change the place and the way of thinking about ingredients changes too. Later, in 2009, there was a huge jellyfish bloom in the Mediterranean and the fishermen were all in trouble. Remembering eating jellyfish in Japan, I thought jellyfish cuisine was a very interesting idea and tried it in the kitchen, wondering if it could be used in dishes in Spain too. I even worked with scholars to petition the authorities so jellyfish could be eaten, but it wasn't approved because there was no precedent here… that was a shame!

GM: J-jellyfish…

“I want to keep creating Catalonia's traditional cuisine – with ingredients unique to Japan, expressed in a way only Japanese people can.”

Chef Wataru Akagi

Chef Carme: Every time I come to Japan I take on various ingredients, and since head chef Akagi knows Japanese ingredients well, I consult him.

GM: With the renewal, Chef Wataru Akagi took office as head chef from the end of January, including the preparations.

Chef Carme: We've only known each other a few months, but I think he's a cook who does wonderful work as a professional. He knows Japanese ingredients well, and in expressing “Sant Pau's” cuisine in Tokyo, I've met a wonderful chef.

GM: Chef Akagi, as head chef of “Sant Pau,” what kind of cuisine do you want to create?

Chef Wataru Akagi: I want to value faithfully reproducing Carme's vision and recipes. With ingredients unique to Japan, I'd like to create Catalonia's traditional cuisine in a way only Japanese people can.

GM: Thank you for the valuable conversation today!

GM chief: Chef Carme, who loves tea – next time please come to Japan in May, the season of new tea.

(End)

At the new “Sant Pau” location in The Kitano Hotel. From left: Chef Wataru Akagi, Chef Carme Ruscalleda, and her son Chef Raul Balam.

April 3, 2019, at “Restaurant Sant Pau,” The Kitano Hotel Tokyo
Interview & photography: Gault et Millau Japon editorial team
Interpreter: Rie Yasui
Cooperation: Granada Inc.