For some time now, this formula of four-handed lunches or dinners with the dressing of a supposed complicity between chefs of different origins, obviously interested in showing off their work inside and outside the home, shows signs of exhaustion. Those who feel sorry for a diner subjected to combinations of styles that are generally the most disparate, increasingly opt for another path, which consists of giving up their kitchens to the foreign restaurant to make their guest shine, waiting to exchange roles another day. .
But there is still another trend of four-handed work that, far from diminishing, could gain presence in these difficult times that lead to reducing structures: we are talking about restaurants where this formula is not a promotional act but rather the day-to-day reality of two people who manage to attend, even exchanging roles when necessary, the kitchen and the living room. This is the case of Terram (Santa Llúcia, 2), in Girona, where its chef and owner, Adrià Bou, gradually reduced the staff with which he started in the middle of the pandemic and now works hand in hand with Leila Ajmil.
She, who had been part of the Casamar (Llafranc) team, joined a year ago to take care of the small dining room with six tables and has also been entering the kitchen, where Bou concentrates on executing his own creations, with one eye and at often an arm in the room.
Terram had a complicated birth, with the last months of pregnancy in full confinement, which made the works more expensive, and saw the light in the cloudy autumn of 2020. Bou, from Santa Cristina d’Aro, explains that she had decided to open her own business to abandon that uncertainty of seasonal work. He wanted to settle in Girona and put into practice years of apprenticeship, since he entered the Escola d’Hosteleria in that city and later worked in important houses such as El Celler, La Gavina, the now-defunct Terra, Bo.Tic or Ca l ‘Enric.
He confesses that he opened with more equipment than was perhaps necessary to “start safely” on that corner he occupies in the Galligans neighborhood, where he was told that in remote times the Benedictine monks of Sant Pere de Galligans were dedicated to transcribing manuscripts. And that day by day he is learning from his own mistakes and adapting to his possibilities and to the influx of a clientele that concentrates a lot on the weekend, so he does not rule out unfolding his proposal one day, expanding space and offering (who knows if with a partner) a simple letter during the week that allows him to fill, reconcile and continue betting on the kitchen with which he wants to make that dream that for him is Terram evolve.
The complexity of these tasting menus is frankly surprising (it has 3, for 120, 85 and 60 euros), taking into account that they come from those four hands. And it’s hard not to wonder if it’s worth so much effort when a string of starters arrives at the table, with more display of technique than soul. Some, like the hazelnut mimetic, the porcini macaron or the fake cheese sandwich are, perhaps due to the presence of meringue, a bit cloying to be in the snacks section.
More interesting dishes will be arriving, such as the oyster with mojo picón, hydrated chia and seaweed or the tasty grilled heart with anchovy sauce; the murgulas with truffle cream (they say it’s already a classic among their customers), or the pea stir-fry, which succeeds in not falling into the ubiquitous teardrop peas and with a touch of rancid, exaggerated ham. Delicious terrine of cananas with potatoes, juice from their interiors, hit the scorpion with beurre blanc beer and vanilla and correct the pork trilogy. Original desserts, in which he plays with ingredients such as the fruit of the cypress, purslane, sunflower or river nettle, in which desire and a speech under construction are glimpsed.
