Fogón Saint Julien

Paella is only prepared in the Mediterranean areas of Spain. But- thanks to tourism- foreigners associate that dish, the symbol of the art of dealing with leftovers, with a utopian and topical Spanish cuisine. Alberto Herráiz did not grow up in the Mediterranean part of Spain, but rather, in Don Quijote's, in the magical city of Cuenca, with the hanging houses. And he left them hanging there one day, in love with art: he traveled to France to visit all the Michelin three-star restaurants and wound up conquered by Paris and its museums.

But since one can't live on air, Herráiz had to earn a living by practicing the profession he knew best: cooking, which he learnt from his mother, the guiding spirit of the family restaurant, Mesón Nelia. He was eight years old when he wore his first waiter's jacket. And he was 33 when he opened his own restaurant. Nowadays, Herráiz thinks that in those days his cuisine was probably rather experimental. But he was happy: customers attracted by the excellent local museum- the  painter Antonio Saura and writer Ramón Chao- invited him to their tables and spoke to him of the wonders of Paris. One day, Chao lent him the key to his Paris apartment. He never returned. A chef who feels at home in the kitchen, he worked in several more or less Spanish ones in the French capital, where the 90's were years of Spanish culture and tapas. Finally in 1997, just a stone's throw from the Seine and Notre Dame, he opened the Fogón Saint Julien, which today boasts an impressive press book.

"Tapas that make the vegetable garden sing, paella rewritten with squid ink: the gastronomic revolution of Iberian cuisine," proclaimed the weekly magazine Paris Match- more than 700,000 copies in print- in the highly unusual article- three pages worth!- it devoted to him. Another emblematic magazine, Elle, printed a small booklet on "Wines & Tapas" totally devoted to his dishes. And called him the "Doctor of Tapas." Vogue highlighted him in its very select guide to Paris. And so did the Gantié, Pudlo, and GaultMillau guidebooks. We don't have enough space to list the names- from the Herald Tribune to Le Monde- of all the publications that have praised him. Perhaps because Herráiz has intelligence to offer a formula with an accessible price: 165 francs for "the chef's tapas," one of the six paellas, and desert. No routine here: a classic rice may be preceded by classic tapas- pork loin (preserved in olive oil); homemade croquettes- or bolder ones: fried egg and potato tart with ham; skewered blood sausage with potato and white cabbage... Classic desserts- custard; chocolate with miniature churros- or "sweet tapas": pineapple ravioli; skewered fresh fruit with yogurt and a pinch of cinnamon; crunchy apple with vanilla ice cream; olive oil sherbet... 

But above all, El Fogón has become the showcase for superior Spanish products: smoked Iberian ham, salted tuna fish, bomba rice from the Ebro estuary and organic rice from Calasparra, cecina (beef jerky) from León, Núñez de Prado olive oil, saffron from La Mancha, sweet paprika from La Vera, a variety of cheeses. Herráiz even managed to impose, in the capital of Europe's largest consumer of bottled water, the brand from his native province, Solán de Cabras (see Spain Gourmetour NO. 46). And his wine list pays equal attention to all of Spain's denominations of origin.

Of course, what is of greatest importance to Herráiz, is that in less than two years, there has been a spectacular growth of interesting customers. And if a society reporter has enough to keep busy with- Catherine Deneuve and Victoria Abril are regular customers, the chef- who escapes to his nearby apartment to compose visual poems, in the style of Marcel Duchamp or Joan Brossa- is more moved by the permanent presence of artist: the painter Miquel Barceló- whom he took to the Rungis market to find a "paintable" fish and for whom he eventually posed; novelist Vázquez Montalbán and Ramón Chao; the crew from Odeon and Bobigny Theaters; Joan Punyet Miró, the painters grandson...

A medal was awarded to him in April 1999 by his mentor, Antonio Pérez- famous "object searcher" who established in Cuenca the foundation that bears his name- who dedicated the catalog ("Antojos"- "Whims") of his show at the Instituto Cervantes in Paris to him, with this flower; "For Alberto Herráiz, with whom I have found so many objects."

Oscar Caballero is a Spanish correspondent in Paris and author of 15 books. He is a member of the French Association of Gastronomic Columnists (APCIG) and the Association of Wine Columnists (AFJEV)