In restoration there are expressions that are so hackneyed they only cloy and subtract. They are sentences that almost always arrive in a slow and bombastic tone, as if it were the first time they had come out of a mouth. “We cook with produce”, “we work with seasonal ingredients”, “we only use quality raw materials”, “mine is an honest kitchen”… And unfortunately, despite the obvious – what will you cook with, soul of pitcher, if it is not with seasonal product and of the best quality that you can afford so that the accounts come out?—, those who resort to these clichés as a declaration of principles are suspected of not fulfilling what they promise.
Bullanga (Diputació, 437), where the word honesty pronounced by Roger Sánchez sounds coherent and natural, does not go there, as when he explains his way of understanding this small business that has just turned six months old and where he serves breakfasts to gangs of friends (“many from Penya Marcel”) who wake up wanting a good cap i pota or a donja sandwich, the successful sausage that it brings from Organyà, and leisurely conversation and where the great success are the lunch menus for 14 ,50 euros.
Bullanga is that and a way of organizing life without giving up reconciling. Sánchez comes from Terra d’Escudella, in Sants, which was born from activism and with the desire to form part of the social fabric of the neighborhood, just as Bullanga intends to achieve. When Sánchez talks about honesty, on the phone and from his home, while he attends to the children who have left school, there is no posturing, but the spontaneity with which he tells that in many kitchens smoke is sold and funds and fumets are added to enhance flavors : and that when you do not resort to what some call ‘mystery’ and that is nothing more than cubes of enhancer. “I’m not saying it’s not legal, but it seems more professional to get the flavor by cooking.”
He likes to cook and to be able to organize the service surrounded by the pots in which he has slow cooked. Organization, like that of mothers at home, and strategy, not only to have the food ready when everyone arrives at the table, but also to buy at the best price, thinking about dishes that feed and are delicious, in this case, always with an option for vegans or those looking for little protein.
Roger Sánchez is clear about who he cooks for: “I want to provide good food at an affordable price. My clientele is simple people, which does not mean that people with more purchasing power also come, but Bullanga is designed to be popular”. This limits the shopping basket, in which there are neither expensive ingredients nor as much organic product as the cook would like. “I know that if I raise the price of the menu to 20 euros, many customers will not be able to come, and I have no intention of doing so. Nor do I aspire to get rich, but rather to earn a living and have another type of wealth, which is enjoying family, friends and being an active part of a neighborhood.”
The cook and his partner take their three children to the nearest school, where they know that on closing days their place will be open when necessary for activities for the kids or the neighborhood.
She wants to cook simple, but also healthy. That is why it also uses the grill and makes sure that the stews are not greasy or forceful. We tested it in front of a plate of chickpeas stewed with chard and hard-boiled egg, after which came the baked garrón with plums and dried apricots, and a cheese and mango cake.
It is a pleasure to observe the tiny open kitchen from the table, where Sánchez, who is not one to delegate “because in traditional stews everyone has their own style”, seems focused and happy, despite the fact that the dining room is full to the brim. He masters each order that comes his way and finds the time to serve some dishes himself and thus lend a hand to Sonia Pons and Noelia Toisón, who serve the dining room, and interact with the clientele. Everything goes fast in this house that, after those six months of filming, is going like a shot.
