Catalonia is home to one of the most varied, fascinating and beautiful landscapes in Europe – so it makes sense that the food of the region reflects that. There’s fish and seafood from the coast and incredible Mediterranean ingredients grown all over the area. In the north, however, sunny climes turn into Pyrenees mountain ranges – and it’s here you’ll find some of Catalonia’s most interesting cooking.
The chef championing this part of Catalonia like no other is Fina Puigdevall, who has held two Michelin stars at her restaurant Les Cols since 2010. She was born and raised in La Garrotxa – the name given to this part of Catalonia – and ever since she opened Les Cols back in 1990, Fina has become a pioneer of the region’s food and drink.
‘When I first opened this restaurant with my husband it was small, but after ten years we started to change everything on both a culinary and aesthetic level,’ she explains. ‘We wanted to make it into our dream restaurant, so we brought nature indoors by allowing more sunlight into the dining room. The most recent change was the addition of La Carpa (‘The Canopy’) seven years ago, which accommodates around 240 people for big celebrations.’