In the Racó d’En Binu restaurant, located in the town of Argentona, “time seems to have stopped,” says the film director, Guillem Cabra, to La Vanguardia. “You open the doors and you find those green carpet walls; the waiter Antonio, dressed in a tuxedo; Francina, impeccable welcoming you as one does in a haute cuisine restaurant; and Francesc, with his unflappable character, strong ideas, and cooking the same dishes 50 years ago.”
The documentary Binu, a story of two stars, directed by Guillem Cabra and Mar Clapés has been awarded the Silver Biznaga in the Cinema Cocina section of the Malaga Festival. A film that portrays the story of Francesc Fortí and Francina Suriñach, the chef and front-of-house manager of the first restaurant outside of Madrid, Barcelona or San Sebastián to receive two Michelin stars in 1979. Recognition and fame accompanied them until , as the years went by and far from the big cities, food critics and the media began to ignore them.
The stars disappeared and with them so did the clients. But Francesc and Francina did not retire, they remained faithful to their style. Without giving up in the face of adversity or submitting to new trends. “They got up every day at five in the morning to open a restaurant where no one went.” Fifty years later, reality has proven them right. The Racó d’En Binu room today fills up every night, as do the rooms at the film festivals that screen the documentary of its history.
The Racó d’En Binu offers today (just as it did fifty years ago) traditional French haute cuisine. “It’s good to know that you can order outside the menu,” explains director Mar Clapés. Both directors, who frequented the Argentona location for more than a year, agree that the red pepper puff pastry is one of the dishes that cannot be missed. Also the sea urchins, made with a secret recipe from Francesc that not even they have been able to access. The Wellington steak is another of their specialties, although you have to order it well in advance. “It’s gigantic, like a person’s leg long.”
But perhaps the greatest peculiarity that Racó d’En Binu’s menu presents is the frozen souffle, a proprietary recipe that does not exist anywhere else. “It is a true delight” – describes Cabra – “an ice cream that melts in the mouth like air, a sensation of unique and unmatched softness.”
Filming this film has been, according to the filmmakers, an “artisanal” process, faithful to the style of Francesc Fortí’s cooking. “We really liked the process, we had no pressure from anyone and we were able to let it rest for the necessary time, this was one of the keys to the final result,” explains Clapés. The couple allowed the directors to enter with their camera where no one had entered before and they immediately understood the value of being able to tell their story. “It had all the elements to become a film, not only was it a great story, but the characters ate up the camera.” The ironic tone of Francesc, but especially of Francina, made the international audience at the Cambridge Film Festival and the local audience during the Malaga festival laugh out loud.
“We are the resistance,” Racó d’En Binu says in the description of its Instagram account. A profile that Francesc’s cousin opened for them not long ago to help promote the place. “They are actually modern,” both directors agree. The couple is an example of the perseverance that the gastronomic sector requires but at the same time, according to the director, “it is a reflection of what life itself is.” After almost 30 years of silence, today the phone at Racó d’En Binu does not stop ringing.
