The prodigal sons of country cooking

The story is repeated in every village. The youngest locals finish their studies and go to the city to build a professional future. This is the trend of the emptying of Spain, which is also affecting the restaurant sector. Many chefs leave the villages, valleys and mountains where they were born to grow up in the kitchens of prestigious national and international restaurants. Many even go so far as to open their own restaurants in an urban centre, which guarantees them customers and access to a wide range of products and innovations. And some of them are doing well. Success smiles on them.

But for some, the day comes when the sex appeal of the city no longer seems as intoxicating as it did at the beginning. Some even feel nostalgic for the walks in the bush or the tomatoes in the garden back home. Something tells them that it is time to go back to their roots, to take a step back, as many warn, whether it is true or not, and return to the village. Time to take a leap into the void, perhaps more uncertain and fearful than the one they took when they decided to become city dwellers. It is time to return. They are the prodigal sons of rural cuisine.

"After 13 years away from home and far from my family and friends, I felt it was time to put down roots in my home region of Asturias. I have always been very attached to my region, and when I saw that the out-of-town restaurants were working, I asked myself why not". This was the experience of the young chef Xune Andrade, who, after working at El Celler de Can Roca, Quique Dacosta's restaurant, and leading several gastronomic projects in Madrid, now lives every day in the small village of San Feliz (Lena), where in 2019 he recovered the old local winery and opened his restaurant Monte*. 

A year earlier, in 2018, Edorta Lamo from Alava had done the same in Kanpezu with Arrea!*, a very personal project that recovers local culture and customs, the result of Edorta's own need for a vital and professional change. "I always thought I would return to my village, but I thought I would be retired, tending the vegetable garden and all that. But much sooner than I expected, I felt the urgent need to return," the Basque admits. 

In his case, there were several reasons that led him to speed up his return. Despite the fact that he was already defending Basque cuisine in his restaurant A Fuego Negro in San Sebastian, "I had a thorn in my side to defend a little bit of what is mine, my area, one of the least known in the Basque Country, one of the most punished and poorest. An area where the relationship with the mountains is very harsh, as several previous generations have had to rely on them to survive," explains Edorta Lamo, as she walks through the same mountains where her ancestors hunted and gathered to survive. But returning home was also a personal challenge in which "as a cook I was alone, far from the social and media pressure that the gastronomic culture in the city has". 

A distance that is not only metaphorical but also very real. Measurable in kilometres and sometimes in poor communication. An isolation that, although it allows a real connection with the environment, can also hinder the daily work of these chefs. Opening a restaurant in a rural environment "is not practical", says Xune Andrade. He is backed up by Alejandro Hernández, another chef who has ventured off the beaten track to open a restaurant in the Extremaduran town of Zarza de Granadilla (Cáceres), and who illustrates the difficulty of "creating a customer profile in a rural environment, because it is not usual to have spontaneous customers here. The customer has to come to you and everyone goes by appointment. Attracting customers is a challenge," admits the chef of Versátil, the family restaurant that motivated him to return to his home village after his brothers José and David persuaded him to take on the adventure. 

Another obstacle on the way is the difficulty of contacting some distributors, explains Xune, "because although the basis of our offer comes from local artisans, it is true that for some specific products, or when we have events abroad, we find that there is little availability", the Asturian tells us, on his way to a gastronomic event in Andorra, which has meant a journey for him. And let's not talk about the major problem facing the hotel and catering industry in general, which is even more acute in rural areas: "We can't find people to work in the restaurant," says Alejandro Hernández, "and this applies to all the different jobs, from the kitchen to the dining room. The chef at Vandelvira* (Baeza, Jaén), Juan Carlos García, agrees, although he qualifies that "these more modest projects are becoming more and more attractive, in order to mobilise people who can take part, such as sommeliers, chocolatiers, bakers? The future is to ensure that small towns and villages are seen as a sustainable way of life over time". With this in mind, the Andalusian calls on the institutions "to respond and provide the rural environment with technical possibilities and better access, so that it is not abandoned". Edorta Lamo also has something to say to the institutions. The Basque complains that "the regulatory requirements imposed by the city make no sense when applied to the countryside. We experience a contrast between common sense and the freedom that comes from enjoying a unique landscape and territory, and all the regulations that come from the city, which do not allow certain hunting and gathering activities and restrict the authentic cuisine of the area".

But the description of these difficulties should not be misleading. When asked if they have ever regretted returning to the village, they all say no. "On the contrary," says Edorta Lamo, "every day that passes makes me prouder of myself and of the decision I made, one of the wisest of my life. I am more and more from the village and happier to be from the village. I don't miss the city and I miss it less and less". Juan Carlos García is also happy with his decision, because he already knows what it is like to live in a big city: "I've experienced it in Barcelona, in San Sebastián, in Tokyo... I have not been bitten by the bug to know what happens there. It's true that you have more opportunities in a big city, but the competition is also voracious. Besides, Vandelvira's cuisine is not possible anywhere else in the world, it only makes sense here, in my house," he says. Despite this general conviction in favour of the rural world, the Extremaduran chef Alejandro Hernández admits that "the beginnings are very difficult and sometimes you wonder if you have made a mistake. But time is the only answer to that question," he says.  In that case, everyone remains calm. For the moment, time is proving them right. They are all at the forefront of projects that are not only surviving but also setting trends, winning recognition both for their local cuisine and for their sustainable practices. Stars, suns and green asterisks adorn many of these rural adventures. 

A recognition that crowns what it means for these chefs to have their own projects in the rural environment. "It has many rewards," explains Juan Carlos García, adding that, given the problems they face, "the benefits are so great that the balance is satisfactory". For Xune Andrade, being "in touch with nature, with my surroundings, with the daily life of our territory" is fundamental to his cuisine, and the reality of an enclave as specific as the mining basin "makes us keep our feet on the ground" and aware of the need to protect the environment and traditions. This link with the territory seems to be essential for all of them. "Every day I see what is growing and what is not. I feel the pulse of nature". This is how Edorta Lamo puts it, who feels better after returning to the village, "with more happiness, more freedom, in tune with the land, with tradition, with what you are and also with what you should be. Something that I also pass on to my children and the life that I offer them by bringing them up in a village of 700 inhabitants". 

Family. It has not been mentioned yet, but it is also a key factor in the final decision to return to the village. In Edorta's case, the fact that he had formed his own family and wanted "a more natural, freer, more communal environment" played a very important role. But the family that remained in the village also played a role: parents, siblings... "To be surrounded by one's own people again. The satisfaction you get from being at home, seeing your family and, in my case, because we are a hotel family, making them proud of you. It's not that I owe them anything for all the work they put into the restaurant, but I was excited to return home and show the world that you can do important things even from a place as remote as Baeza," says the chef of Vandelvira, the family restaurant that Juan Carlos García has reopened with an innovative concept. 

And, without losing sight of the fact that this is essentially about cuisine, Alejandro Hernández points to perhaps one of the greatest advantages of having a restaurant in a rural setting: "The products we have are of the highest quality, healthy and economical. Working directly with the producer allows us to collect or receive the freshest products possible and even to make products à la carte. We also manage to create a circular economy with the environment. Giving back what it gives us". This is important because, as Juan Carlos García also points out, "we are very close to our suppliers. Most of them are friends, they are neighbours. They are part of the community and there is a very different feeling to that of the city".

The same illusions, similar problems, similar advantages populate the daily lives of these chefs who have decided to pack up their aprons and go home. Whether in Asturias, Cáceres, the mountains of Álava or the heart of Jaén, these chefs have shown that it is possible to offer a different and interesting project in a rural setting. Like them, there are many others who are leading the way in making the countryside not just a picture postcard, but a place of life and future. The task is not easy, but they are clear about it: "All our efforts are worth it".