fine dining


As tapas continue to grow in popularity, Paolo Tullio talks to Ramon Torres, a Spanish chef who cut his teeth working with the world- famous El Bulli team


tapas 62 Irish Director Summer 2011 RISE OFA CULTURE


The past couple of years have not been easy ones for the Irish catering busi- ness. Restaurants have closed at an astonishing rate, in 2009 more than one a week and in 2010 only a few less. Against this bleak backdrop there has been one area of growth, and it’s the tapas bar. Tapas, a Spanish tradition, have become increasingly prevalent, and not just


in Ireland. They’ve been something of a worldwide phenomenon, in Europe, Asia and in America. There’s something about this easy way of tasting a large variety of tasty goodies that appeals. In Spain the tradition is so well ingrained that it’s a common way to spend a night on the town; you simply go from bar to bar and nibble on the tapas in each. It’s easy enough to get enough to eat this way, even when each individual tapa is small. In Ireland, in general what we’ve done is take the concept and change it a lit-


tle.Whereas in Spain the tapas is often free once you’ve ordered a few drinks, here that’s not the case. The other difference is in size. Irish tapas are often closer in size to a starter portion rather than a nibble. These portion sizes exist in Spain, where they’re known as ‘raciones’. And just in case you were won- dering, a pintxo is a tapa, but it’s the northern Spanish name. If that looks hard to pronounce, just remember that ‘x’ is the ‘ch’ sound that we use, so it is pro- nounced ‘peencho’.


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