Even in difficult moments, such as during that impasse in which he cooked in Cerdanya before settling permanently in Barcelona’s Concepció passage and converting the Petit Comitè Gaig into his and Fina Navarro’s home, the Horta chef has always shown himself optimistic. Surely that is the vital attitude of someone who downplays his problems because he has never placed himself at the center of the world nor does he feel that what he does is extraordinary. The attitude of someone who does not lose interest in continuing to learn at 75 splendid years and of someone who knows how to enjoy the small joys that life gives you, such as loving your profession madly.
At the beginning of this week we listened to him tell on stage, with his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, how hare is prepared Royal style or partridge Alcántara style. It was during a debate at the ”Jornada Gastronòmica de la Caça” organized by the Catalan Acedèmia de Gastronomia i Nutrició. And such was his fervor that the public, infected, applauded him wildly.
If anyone still doubted that Gaig is one of the most respected, loved and admired characters in the kitchen in this country, they only had to come last Thursday to the presentation of Les millors receptes by Carles Gaig (Columna), the first book that includes those dishes of his that are already classics of Catalan cuisine. It was presented by the journalist Carme Gasull together with the chefs and great friends Joan Roca and Nandu Jubany, who already professed their devotion to the master in their prologues. “A warning: I will inevitably be full of praise,” wrote Roca, and Nandu Jubany (he did not hold back that tear in the presentation) wrote: “I will explain to you why Gaig is the most special person within this family of gastronomy ‘a our house’). The volume, with photos by Carles Ayende and coordination by Josep Armenteros, is born as an essential recipe book. And at the center of that editorial event, a Gaig with the freshness and enthusiasm of someone who does not notice his own transcendence.
That is, surely, the recipe that is not in the book to be so loved. The exquisite normality of him and the respectful attitude of him. The same one that has made it a hinge between the classic cuisine inherited from the fondas (from that Fonda Gaig!) and haute cuisine, whether classic or wildly creative.
Carles Gaig is as excited about old recipe books as he is about discovering the latest novelties. He is attentive, travels and runs a restaurant with his name in Singapore that is now ten years old and run by Núria Gibert Navarro. And he continues at the foot of the canyon; We also watched him a few days ago from one of the tables at the Petit Comitè Gaig, with his immaculate white jacket, putting the finishing touches on a delicate cream of Figueras onions with dehydrated brioche croutons, on a delicious plate of Maresme peas sautéed with black sausage and bacon or that adaptation to the temporality of their truffled cannelloni accompanied by morels with their cream; an impeccable wagyu steak tartare with soufflé potatoes or mullet with artichokes.
The attention to each product and its seasonality, the culinary culture, the detail, the path taken, the commitment to what in their case does not sound like empty words and what they call “updated tradition” are plenty of incentives to visit that Petit Comitè previously run by Fermí Puig and Nandu Jubany. But actually seeing him in full action justifies the visit. And see what true vocational cooking is, the job without posturing or nonsense. The work of one of the greats.
