Roca brothers work together to make El Celler in Spain an award-winning restaurant
Brothers with the same vision and ideas help make El Celler the 'best restaurant in the world'
They say that too many cooksspoil the broth. But at the "world's best" restaurant - El Celler de Can Roca ("El Celler") in Girona, Spain - the opposite has been proven true, that with a trio of brothers running the show, many hands actually make light work.
To wit, 51-year-old eldest brother, Joan Roca, drives the savoury kitchen; 49-year-old Josep Roca steers the beverage programme; while 37-year-old Jordi Roca, who officially joined the duo 11 years after the restaurant's inception, takes charge of the desserts.
It's a recipe that has worked well for the 29-year-old restaurant and its report book speaks for itself - three Michelin stars since 2009 and the top spot on the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2013 and once again in 2015.
"It's a tripartite collaboration with three of us coming from complementary disciplines," says Joan, who started El Celler with his brother Josep in 1986, after they had both completed their education in the Girona Culinary Arts School.
"Cooking in the kitchen is almost a natural transition for me as I've been helping in my mother's restaurant kitchen after school since I was eight years old," says Joan, who learned to cook from his mother and grandmother while growing up in his family restaurant, Can Roca (about 1967).
"Growing up, I used to help the waiters, joke around and banter with the customers," says Josep, whose attempt at peeling onions in the kitchen literally drove him to tears. "I was also in charge of refilling the wine bottles at Can Roca's basement cellar."
Josep had more luck in the dining room - even though he was left-handed and clumsy, it was never manifested. The plates and trays became a natural extension of his hands. Soon, it became clear to him that he was made for the dining room.
While their roles at El Celler seem to fit them like a glove, the brothers had different ambitions in their salad days.
"I've always loved being a cook but I was also a good student and my teachers wanted me to go to university," says Joan, as he reflects on his childhood hopes of becoming an architect. "Finally, cuisine won but it was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made."