Un día frío día de invierno mi amiga Loli y yo fuimos invitadas al Restaurante Coque en el pueblo de Humanes a las afueras de Madrid.por nuestros buenos amigos Mª Ángeles y Alfonso Gallardo de El Paso, Tx y de México DF.

Fue una experiencia gastronómica impresionante.  Una experiencia en cuatro partes a cada cual más emocionante.

Cuando llegamos nos acompañaron a la bodega,  y por aquello de hacer patria chica, pedí una manzanilla Papirusa.  Me supo a gloria bendita en aquel sitio tan bonito.  El suelo es de lo más original, un cristal y debajo arena blanca con botellas de todas clases de vinos.   En las estanterías botellas de Pétrus, Chateau Latour, Vega Sicilia, Opus One, en fin, todos esos vinos de los que he leído en libros o artículos pero que nunca había visto tan de cerca.  Nos sacaron un aperitivo con representación de los cinco sabores: dulce, salado, ácido, amargo y umami.  Este último es complicado para mí, pero estaban todos riquísimos.

On a cold winter day,  my friend Loli and I were invited to a restaurant in the town of Humanes, on the outskirts of Madrid ,by  our good friends Mari Ángeles and Alfonso Gallardo who live in both  Mexico City, Mexico and El Paso, Texas.  

It was an incredible gastronomic experience.  I will tell you about it in four parts, each more exciting than the next.

When we arrived to the restaurant, we were escorted to the wine cellar and, since I thought it would be good to start out with a Sherry wine (of course!) I had a Manzanilla Papirusa.  It tasted gloriously in such a beautiful place.  The floor, unlike any I had ever seen, was made of glass and below it were bottles of every kind of wine imaginable lying in white sand.  On the cellar shelves there were bottles of Pétrus, Chateau La Tour, Vega Sicilia, Opus One; in other words, all of those wines which I had read about in books and articles but which I had never seen up close.  An appetizer was served which represented the five different taste senses:  sweet, salty, acid, sour, and umami.  This last one is difficult for me to define, but they were all excellent.

 

 

 

De la bodega nos llevaron a la cocina.  Allí vimos a los cocineros trabajando, una organización perfecta, un cuidado y un esmero impecables.  Allí conocimos al Chef Mario Sandoval y a su hermano Rafael, el sumiller del Restaurante.  Mario nos enseñó los hornos que funcionan cada uno con distinto tipo de madera que darán un sabor diferente a los platos.  Tomamos unos aperitivos preparados con diferentes tipos de aceite de oliva.  De allí Rafael nos acompañó al comedor donde nos dispusimos a disfrutar de la los platos del menú.

 From the wine cellar we were escorted to the kitchen.  There we observed the chefs working in a perfectly organized manner and with impeccable care and precision.  There we were introduced to Chef Mario Sandoval and his brother Rafael, who is the restaurant´s sommelier.   Mario showed us the ovens, each of which burns a different type of wood and imparts to the dishes prepared in them a unique taste.  We then enjoyed a sampling of appetizers which were prepared with different types of olive oil.  From there, Rafael accompanied us to the dining room where we were ready to start with  the main dishes.

 

 

El menú fue increíble y se armonizaron los platos con una selección de vinos perfecta.  Un Menade de Rueda, Trapecio, de Mendoza, Argentina, Piccini de Sicilia y un Arabal de Extremadura.  La presentación de los platos como veréis en las fotos, eran obras de arte.

The menu was incredible and it was perfectly paired with a variety of wines.  A Menade from the Rueda wine region, a Trapecio from Mendoza, Argentina, a Piccini from Sicily, and an Arabal from Extremadura wine region. The presentation of these dishes, as you can see from the photos, was a work of art.

 

Cuando acabamos nos dirigieron a otra sala, el lounge, donde disfrutamos de los postres y una copa de Pedro Ximénez de la Bodega Fernando de Castilla.   Una experiencia estupenda.  Mª Ángeles y yo tomamos fotos y notas de todo, ella para su artículo ya que es periodista gastronómica, y yo para este blog que estáis leyendo.

When we had finished our amazing meal, we were escorted to the “lounge,” where we were served desserts along with a wonderful glass of Pedro Ximénez from the Fernando de Castilla winery.    An unbelievable experience.  Both Mari Ángeles and I took photos and notes of every detail, so that Mari Ángeles, who is a gastronomy reporter, could write an article about our experience and so that I could write, in this blog, that you are presently reading.

Mario Sandoval, un científico de los fogones, un «arqueólogo del sabor», recibió hace unos días el Premio Nacional de Gastronomía en la edición correspondiente al 2013.  ¡Enhorabuena!

Os dejo aquí el enlace del reportaje para que  veáis las fotos.

Mario Sandoval, a scientist of fine cuisine and an “archaeologist of flavors,” recently received the 2013 National Gastronomy Award.  Congratulations!

I leave you with the link to the pictures that we took.