Almost virgin beaches, crystal clear waters, more than 30,000 hectares of forests and the largest marine biosphere reserve in the Mediterranean. How could an island like Menorca, protected since 1993 by UNESCO, continue to grow without altering its ecosystems? Well, it seems that the answer lies in the agrotourisms, which this season have staged a veritable boom in openings on the island.
They are no longer as hippies as they were in the past, but almost all the new rural hotels agree on their commitment to sustainable luxury. Morvedra Nou or Amagatay demonstrate it, agrotourisms with history that this year have been completely renovated after passing into the hands of the Numa group. Its new managers, in addition to remodeling the facilities, making them more comfortable and modern, have also wanted to improve the gastronomic offer, which has raised the bar with the signing of Juanjo López, chef from Madrid’s Tasquita de Enfrente, who has brought his tasty stews to Menorca, without renouncing, in the differentiated proposal that he has created for both hotels, local products or the recipe book of the island that welcomes him.
In Morvedra (Camí de Macarella, Km 7) you have lunch and dinner under a small pine forest located a few meters from the main building of the estate. In this idyllic setting, with the hum of cicadas as background music, chef Raúl Sánchez executes López’s creations. You can see the good hand of this chef, who trained with Manolo de la Osa in the now-defunct Las Rejas (Las Pedroñeras, Cuenca), when preparing starters such as the Russian salad with hake, egg and black olive that follows the original recipe of the López’s grandmother, the tasty steak tartare with sobrassada and butter or the star dish of the house: the lobster stew, one of the Menorcan recipes that they have successfully updated.
In Amagatay (Finca Torralba Gran, Carretera Alaior a Calan Porter s/n) López proposes a menu more focused on the ingredients from the extensive orchard that surrounds this agrotourism, more than 30 hectares of land: gazpacho with seasonal tomato, ratatouille with eggs and potatoes or delicacies such as fried gambusi (the small Menorcan white shrimp) are some of the starters that precede the establishment’s main dishes, such as fried lobster, a recipe that López has modified by cooking and baking the potatoes that accompany the crustacean to make the dish lighter. In charge of the kitchen of this restaurant is the Canarian chef Alejandro Martín, who has gone through establishments such as Pakta or Hoffmann in Barcelona, ??before training in recent months with the chef of La Tasquita de Enfrente in Madrid.
Another of the notable openings this summer is Son Vell (Finca Camí de Son March, Camí de Son Vell, s/n), by the Vestige Collection group, which has rehabilitated an impressive 18th-century manor house with extensive gardens and more than 180 hectares of forest to convert it into tourist accommodation. Joan Bagur, from Menorca, who until now was in charge of Rels, in Ciutadella, has moved there.
This chef, who learned in the kitchens of restaurants such as the old Dos Cielos run by the Torres brothers or Celler de Can Roca, has brought Vermell, as the gastronomic restaurant of the new Son Vell is called, as well as the best km 0 product in the island, his obsession with spreading the old Menorcan recipes. You will find interesting dishes on the menu such as suckling pig with a thousand apple leaves and lettuce hearts (remember that pork faixat roams freely on the island), roast milk or sautéed mullets in their livers and spice sauce with their interiors, a historic dish although not suitable for all palates due to its intensity.
Lastly, at Son Blanc Farmhouse (Nou Camino de Son Blanc), the most self-sufficient and sustainable new luxury tourist accommodation in Menorca, the American chef Kaya Jacobs (former Brutal bar and Tossal Gros) offers minimal intervention cuisine limited to garden ingredients and some meats from neighboring farms. Following the hotel’s philosophy, Jacobs has the challenge of working only with a grill and a wood-burning oven (with the intention that energy expenditure is as little as possible) to develop the tasting menu that he proposes, which, although he defends unmasked flavors In our opinion it is too simple for its price (70 euros) and should be improved.
