olatz: the basque are very obsessive with qualities for example as you know i did a thesis about the basque pelota. anthony: pelota, if you didn t know is the most popular sport in basque culture. its origins go back to the middle ages. the basque are as obsessive about this pastime as they are about food. olatz: most of male conversations in basque country are about things and about quality of things. and they pass days and days bouncing the balls for the match and they need to know which one is best for the match, and how it behaves.
olatz: so the obsession and i think a male obsession with quality is also something which happens with sports just like with the food. anthony: basque language and culture exist on both sides of a border. unsurprising is they predate both countries. this maybe france but it s still pais basque marielle: here in the french basque country, the basque country is divided by a frontier but were talking about the same country. the french basque country, and the spanish basque country. anthony: is there a difference between the french and the spanish side? marielle: well on the spanish side was the dictator franco,
anthony: it seems sometimes maybe even all the time like you can wander into just anywhere in san sebastian and find fantastic things to eat. casa urola in the old town does not outwardly look like a place you re going to find this. seared mushrooms with egg yolk and pine nuts. anthony: potato sauce. olatz: and yes and duck sauce. anthony: beautiful, wow look at that. anthony: grilled tuna, with a marmitako sauce, a reference to a classic fishermen s stew. peas in a consumé of iberico ham. anthony: pretty. the food is so good in this town i mean it s really outrageous. i mean you walk by this place you don t expect this. anthony: olatz gonzalez abrisketa is a professor of social anthropology and a documentary filmmaker. anthony: woah look at that. olatz: this is squid with white bean cream. anthony: wow. i know that this is the end of squid season. olatz: yeah anthony: everybody says this i mean everybody knows, the basque s obsession or insistence on really,
a classic fishermen s stew. peas in a consumé of iberico ham. anthony: pretty. the food is so good in this town i mean it s really outrageous. i mean you walk by this place you don t expect this. anthony: olatz gonzalez abrisketa is a professor of social anthropology and a documentary filmmaker. anthony: woah look at that. olatz: this is squid with white bean cream. anthony: wow. i know that this is the end of squid season. olatz: yeah. anthony: everybody says this i mean everybody knows, the basque s obsession or insistence on really, really good ingredients. the fish has to be in season, the fish has to be incredibly fresh.
it always has to be the best of everything. olatz: the basque are very obsessive with qualities for example as you know i did a thesis about the basque pelota. anthony: pelota, if you didn t know is the most popular sport in basque culture. its origins go back to the middle ages. the basque are as obsessive about this pastime as they are about food. olatz: most of male conversations in basque country are about things and about quality of things. and they pass days and days bouncing the balls for the match and they need to know which one is best for the match, and how it behaves. olatz: so the obsession and i think a male obsession with quality is also something which happens with sports just like with the food.