A taste of good cuisine in summer festivals

The Gastronomic Tour continues its journey along the Costa Brava and has recently stopped off in Roses, Calella de Palafrugell and Llançà with new dishes from the Costa Brava Menu.

The Sant Joan summer solstice celebrations in Roses, the performing of havaneres (colonial sea shanties) in Calella de Palafrugell, and the sea procession of Our Lady of Carmen in Llançà are three of the most recent events to welcome the Costa Brava San Miguel Gastronomic Tour. As in the previous stops of the tour, the marquee offered tasters of some of the most traditional dishes of Costa Brava cuisine.

In Roses, whose beach was packed with revellers on Sant Joan’s Eve, the Gastronomic Tour stand was located in Plaça de les Botxes in the afternoon and evening of 23^rd June, offering ten different tasters prepared by local restaurants involved in the Costa Brava Menu initiative. The tasters were: Catalan flatbread topped with anchovies and grilled red peppers, aubergines and onions; sausages with prawns; holiday roast chicken; black rice from Empordà; sweet Catalan sausage with apple; Catalan shredded salt cod salad; piquillo peppers stuffed with cod; dry ratatouille pie with white kidney beans and cod brandade; fritters from Empordà; and cuttlefish with peas.

In Calella de Palafrugell, where the 44^th havaneres (colonial sea shanties) festival was held on the traditional first Saturday of July, the Tour stand was located in the Pelegrí Port Vantage Point. The dishes were prepared once again by participating restaurants: Can Joan from Sant Feliu de Boada; Hotel la Costa and Sol Blanc from Pals; Sa Punta and Aigua Blava from Begur; La Gamba from Palamós; Hotel Tamariu from Tamariu; Hotel Casamar and Hotel Llevant from Llafranc; El Balcó de Calella (Hotel Sant Roc) from Calella de Palafrugell; and the Empordà School of Gastronomy.

The feast day of Our Lady of Carmen was celebrated on 16^th July with the sea procession organised each year by the Fishermen’s Guild and Llança Town Council. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Costa Brava San Miguel Gastronomic Tour accompanied this celebration. Its 24 m² marquee was located in Avinguda Pau Casals, opposite the town church. The following tasters were offered: mackerel and passion bonbon; Catalan shredded salt cod salad; dry ratatouille pie with white kidney beans and cod brandade; veal with mushrooms; and puff pastry with crème brûlée. These dishes were produced by restaurants participating in the initiative in Llançà: La Vela and El Vaixell from Llançà; La Figuereta from Figueres; and l’Aigua Blava and L’Oliver d’en Norat from Begur.