Meet the Michelin-starred Chef: Marc Fosh
Marc Fosh is a Michelin-starred Chef living on the Balearic island of Mallorca. At Restaurant Marc Fosh he serves tasting menus that highlight the best local produce with ideas and inspirations from all over the Mediterranean.
Marc says: “I really feel that Palma is fast becoming a true gastronomic destination.”
Mallorca Reflections caught up with Marc at his restaurant in Palma housed in the stylish surroundings of the 17th century Hotel Convent de la Missió to ask some questions and find out more, including:
– How did your interest in cooking begin?
– Why is the use of local ingredients so important in your cuisine?
– How do you maintain the Chef/Restaurateur/Life balance?
The Man
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Marc Fosh: The Interview
Where are you originally from? When did you first visit Mallorca?
I’m originally from Kent and lived in London for quite a few years, although these days, Mallorca is definitely where I feel most at home! I first arrived here in 1994. I hired a car, drove around the Island for a couple of days and fell in love with the place.
How long have you lived on the island and whereabouts do you live now?
It’s been 25 years now and I now live in Sa Cabaneta. It’s just far enough from Palma to feel like I’m escaping to somewhere when I leave the restaurant and close enough to be there in only 15 minutes.
Tell us about some of your favourite places and what’s the best thing about living here?
Mallorca has some truly amazing coastline along with the stunning tramuntana mountain ranges and loads of beautiful villages dotted all over the Island. If you add the fact that Palma is now a really vibrant, cosmopolitan city with loads of great restaurants and tapas bars you begin to build up a picture of why Mallorca is a great place to live. After all these years I’m still discovering places and I still find it magical.
The Food
How did your interest in cooking begin?
I basically became a Chef by accident. As a young boy I only dreamed about being in a punk band or playing football for my beloved West Ham United…I still have those dreams! At 15 years old I got a weekend job washing dishes in a restaurant and I instantly loved the buzz of the kitchen, the teamwork and the camaraderie. I knew right there and then that I would become a Chef.
Starting out in this business I had no idea how hard it would be but I very soon became obsessed it. I wanted to learn as much as I could about my craft and I was determined to one day reach the heights of the famous chefs that I admired. The great thing is I’m still learning even now and I’m always looking to improve.
As a chef today, what and who has influenced you the most?
Initially, the great chefs of France such as Marc Veyrat or Michel Bras, who use a lot of wild herbs and flowers in their cookery, influenced me a lot.
Even now, In our restaurant herb garden, we are growing a lot of obscure, almost forgotten herbs such as burdock, lovage, woodruff, hyssop, borage, summer savoury and rue that we use in our cooking everyday. Also, you can’t help but be inspired by everything that’s around you.
Here, in the middle of the Mediterranean we are blessed with some amazing ingredients and they always inspire me. I know it’s a bit of for cliché for Chefs to say but I always find local markets very inspiring, but it’s true. Luckily Palma has one of the best markets in Spain (Mercat Olivar) and right on my doorstep next to my restaurant! My food philosophy is also very Mediterranean these days….no cream, no butter and we keep it light and healthy with pure flavours. I like the idea of what I call “clean food” where the natural ingredients can really shine without being overpowered by heavy sauces etc.
How do you develop your dishes and what are your favourite ingredients?
I have so many “favourite” ingredients and it really depends on what happens to be in season because in our kitchen we are constantly guided by nature. Becoming a better cook and developing dishes is a lifelong journey and I’m always learning to hone new techniques, tweak flavours and textures, introduce novel ingredients, and push our kitchen to the next level with the help of my amazing team.
Sometimes we spend weeks developing new dishes that eventually end up on the menu but we also end up discarding a lot of ideas and recipes along the way. We normally begin by limiting ourselves to two or three flavour profiles but simplicity is key, because too many components will leave you with a muddled dish. It’s very much like composing music. A dish has its own tempo, a rhythm, a bass line…. a little note of acidity there, a little note of sweetness here. But at the end of the day, its all about finding quality ingredients.
The Restaurant
How would you describe the current culinary scene on the island and in particular in Palma?
I really feel that Palma is fast becoming a true gastronomic destination. It didn’t feel that way when we opened our doors over 10 years ago because we were very much out on our own as the only “high-end” restaurant in the city. I’m proud to say that we have led the way in helping to change Palma’s restaurant scene over the years and today there are so many great little restaurants all over the Island where talented, young chefs have opened their own establishments in far-flung villages such as LLubi, Selva, Caimari, Orient, Llosesta and Inca. They are the type of restaurant where you can really feel the passion and different styles and philosophies of each chef. They are not the faceless type of restaurant opened out of vanity by people who can’t even boil an egg and have never even worked one day in our industry. They are restaurants supporting local suppliers and showcasing all those wonderful, local ingredients that we have to offer and I’m also proud to say that many of those young chefs have passed through my kitchens over the years.
Where are your favourite places to eat on the island?
I get into trouble every time people ask this question as I have so many friends and colleagues with great restaurants who’s food I admire and who really need supporting. I guess the one’s I really admire and find inspiring are those that have developed their own style and stay loyal to it. Restaurants or Chef’s that just follow the latest trends or whatever “fusion” happens to be in fashion that particular week whether its “Peruvian-Japanese” or “Borderless Mediterranean” just bore me. Give me a passionate chef cooking simple, local ingredients anytime…
Why is the use of local ingredients so important in your cuisine?
We strongly support local produce and admire the values of the Slow Food movement, which defends responsible consumption, organic farming, seasonal foods, avoiding the use of genetically modified products, and the use of local ingredients within a 100-kilometer radius. This is now known as ‘Km.0’ and it’s pretty hot right now. The goal is basically to limit the human impact on the environment – less flying, driving, and fuel consumption, to leave a smaller ‘eco-footprint’. By using farm-fresh produce, we know that it is packed with nutrients and generally doesn’t have to be sprayed with chemicals to protect it for a long haul to the restaurant kitchen. Thinking globally and sourcing locally is not just politically correct, it’s also personally rewarding for the farmer, the chef and the diner. Everybody wins. At the end of the day, we are completely reliant on the great, local produce from our suppliers and without them we would be lost.
I honestly believe that here in Mallorca we have always relied heavily on local produce but it was just taken for granted and we certainly didn’t know how to sell it to the outside world. I guess the fact that this has always existed here to a large degree has resulted in a lack of urgency to tell our story well and sell our wonderful local produce in an effective way to the outside world. In a restaurant like mine you’ll see that around 70% of the wines on our list are from the Island, our organic olive oil is from the village of Pollenca and our sea salt is from Es Trenc. Our menu is littered with local ingredients from Soller prawns, young almonds, sea fennel, truffles, scorpion fish, sea bass from the Mediterranean and lamb from the surrounding fields. Locally we have so much to offer. Mallorca is a heavenly destination for food lovers and we have only just started to sell our story.
The Ingredients
You’ve got your own cookery book being published next week, can you tell us about it and how you have chosen the recipes for it?
I’m really excited about the forthcoming release of my new cookery book “Modern Mediterranean: Sun-drenched recipes from Mallorca & beyond”.
In the book, I’ve tried to take you take you on a tour of the bountiful produce of the Mediterranean and show you how to harness its flavours in new and exciting ways.
The book is organised into 18 chapters by key ingredients; covering everything from tomatoes, garlic, almonds and olive oil to octopus, chorizo, saffron and truffles, and it’s really a love letter to the Mediterranean and its food. The recipes include some new twists on a few of our classic signature dishes, such as Yellow Gazpacho with Smoked Salmon and Avocado or Saffron, Raspberry and Orange Blossom Crème Catalan, as well as less familiar fare, including Herb-roasted Guinea fowl with Couscous Salad and Sobrasada and Honey Croquettes with Almond Aioli. I’ve also included many traditional recipes from Mallorca such as Arroz brut, Escaldums, and frito Mallorquin.
Which other cookery books do you find yourself returning to?
To be honest, I have too many cookery books and I’m constantly adding to my collection so I rarely return to any of them. Right now I’m reading “The Garden Chef” and Dan Barber’s “The Third Plate – Field Notes on the Future of Food “.
Is there a chance of another book and if so, what might be the subject?
I hope so…I’ve already started compiling recipes for a second edition of Modern Mediterranean but I’d also love to publish a book about the story of the first 10 years of Marc Fosh Restaurant…it’s been an interesting journey!
How do you maintain the Chef/Restaurateur/Life balance?
I’ve given up trying…I’m just enjoying the ride!
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Thank you Marc for your time today.
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Restaurant Marc Fosh – Where? and How?
Restaurant Marc Fosh is located at:
Carrer de la Missió, 7A
07003 Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain
For more information check out: www.marcfosh.com
To make a booking phone: +34 971 72 01 14 or email: info@marcfosh.com
Photography kindly provided by Marc Fosh
