anthony: and the most delicious king hell, galician beef chop grilled perfectly rested and ready. anthony: look at that. why are the ingredients so good? i mean the basic ingredients are always super high quality everywhere where does this come from? virginia: i think it s just that we wouldn t have it any other way. it s as simple as that. arzak: so it s been easy for me. and it s all been beautiful, which is the most important thing. i always think that if you don t
on the very best ingredients is fundamental to the culture and to life here. and it s beautiful, did i say that? it s a beautiful city. arzak: well it s undoubtable that i m, basque, and here there s a kind of gastronomical atmosphere. we are prophets in our land and people talk to us about food wherever we go. we solve all our problems by cooking, because we have a kind of fanaticism towards food. i think it s one of the reasons why it s so within me, in my heart, in my soul. but it s undoubtable that being basque is a very important part.
almonds, served in a bamboo leaf. arzak: the raw materials are always from around here but the ingredients can be from all over the world. but they have to be liked in our culture. anthony: grilled monkfish with a pecan paste and hieroglyphics of pumpkin and sweet pea. anthony: was it always like this, i mean his mother, his grandmother, was it always a menu that changed every day? what did you have to have on the menu? arzak: traditional food! gabriella: for example what dishes? arzak: prawns from huelva. then hake in the oven. and then they had either sirloin steak or chicken. the good thing about basque cuisine is that it s very general in taste. anthony: white tuna with green melon and a jack fruit sauce. arzak: my palate belongs to this country and with that, i can make things very modern, creative, but always with our
convey calm to me. they convey feeling good. they convey, i don t know, instincts to me. i have a great time. and creativity for me is essential to be able to carry on with my life. if i hadn t had the restaurant, i don t know what would have become of me. anthony: well how old is the restaurant? elena: since 1897 anthony: 1897, starting with great grandparents? anthony: i feel at home at this table. it s not my first time here not by a long shot. i am among friends, friends who feel now, like family. arzak: i was born here. i lived here, in a room that was right next to a dining room, and here my mom organized many little banquets. it was all very popular.
because my father died when i was eight, i am an only child, very spoiled by all the waitresses. first i helped my mom and then i studied architecture for one year in madrid. there was a friend there who was in cooking school and he told me it was very simple. it was three years. at the weekends, you could work as an extra cook. and later i travelled around the world, i met bocuse, troisgros, chapel. anthony: so how many years in the restaurant business? gabriella: you re 74 now, right? arzak: seventy-four. since i was 20 or 22 i ve been here with my mother. until i got married. i inherited the restaurant from my mother, because i was an only child. and she also left me some money. i ve been very lucky. anthony: in 1976, 12 basque chef s under the influence of the recently emerged nouvelle cuisine movement in france formed what later became known