In my next life, I’m coming back as a saniard. There are the obvious reasons – sleeping in the day time, Sangria, Santiago Bernebeau Stadium, sun-kissed senoritas in dusty white cotton dresses. The main reason however, is Tapas.
Tapas is more than a cuisine, it is a culture – a way of eating, cooking & thinking about food. Having evolved quite far from its 15th century origins, Tapas has become an integral part of the social fabric of Spain. It is customary for Spaniards to bar crawl after work, ordering small snacks to temper their hunger, and to assist the flow of drinking and conversation. It is often eaten as an appetiser before dinner – normally not served until very late, or as a substitute for dinner completely. Many Tapas bars have as many as 20-30 dishes on offer, ranging from cold selections of olives & cheese through to cooked meat dishes & seafood. Most bars offer staple dishes that are available everywhere, as well as their signature dishes which are unique to that venue. While no effort is spared on quality – Tapas is never the centrepiece to an evening, it is just one part of a diverse social landscape. The Tapas experience is all about consuming food, but the food never consumes the experience.
There are no rules to Tapas. It can be whatever the venue wants it to be, and cooked the way the chef wants it to be cooked. Similarly, it can be consumed any way that suits – one dish at a time throughout a city over the course of an evening, or many dishes at once as a main meal. It can be shared by many or eaten alone. The amount of variety and flexibility in this food culture ensures that no two Tapas experiences will ever be the same.
What is refreshing about Tapas to me, is that it represents the opposite of everything I dislike about attitudes towards food the English speaking world. We have always had a ‘one large plate’ mentality to eating. Luckily, it no longer has to be overcooked meat & three veg, but we are still driven by a concept that a plate of food should be large, and the sole possession of one individual, encumbered with a social pressure to finish all of it, whether it’s wanted or not. It’s not that we are anti sharing in our culture (although many people don’t like it) it’s just the way we have framed our concepts of eating. There is also at times an almost painful sense of ceremony that we attach to our ‘one plate of food’ – all the way from saying grace to the majestically synchronised removal of shiny silver domes. The various table manner etiquettes: nobody eats until everybody is ‘ready’, do not leave the table till everyone has finished – while perfectly sensible & courteous – all add a subtle pressure to this ‘moment’ of eating.
This pressure extends into the kitchen. If our guests are only having one thing to eat – it has to be unattainably good. For commercial chefs a pressure exists not just to feed – but to ‘define’ ourselves in an artistic sense with every meal. It’s not enough for the food to be hot, tasty & delivered quickly – it needs to macerated, infused, complex, overly handled and pretentiously presented.
In a paradoxical way, the more casually we approach food culture, the better it becomes. This is where Tapas is so appealing to eat as well as cook. Not only are the plates small, but they are fundamentally less important in a ceremonial sense. As such, they can be humble, honest offerings, within which the chef can focus on basic attention to detail – which is always, to me, the difference between mediocre & great food.
It has always been an ambition of ours to cook Tapas, but I’ve always been nervous of how to translate it to the dining culture we are within. There are Tapas bars & restaurants all over London, Sydney, New York, reflecting their eclectic metropolitan cultures. But in the country and smaller towns, eating habits are harder to change. The key to the food is in it’s flexibility. If the flavours are good enough, I’m sure people will find a way to enjoy it.
The Coughing Gherkin is open Thursday to Saturday from 5.30pm
Food: Natalie Powles, Emma Rekunow, Brian Powles
Photos: Brian
