2009 04 09 - Spain on the road again

Eating their way through Spain
Chef-restaurateur Mario Batali travels through Spain with friends... and an appetite.

-ST Thu, Apr 09, 2009The Straits Times
By Huang Lijie

Famed American chef-restaurateur Mario Batali may have a sophisticated palate, but it was the unpretentious taste of shellfish from Galicia in northwest Spain that impressed him most when he filmed the food and travel show, Spain... On The Road Again.
In a phone interview from his home in New York City, Batali, 49, says of the gastronomic experience: "The food was not very complicated, but for me what is always the most interesting and delicious thing is when the raw product comes out and tastes very much like its own geo-specificity.
"It (the shellfish) could only come from there (Galicia) because it tastes like something that smells like the wind when it blows by you."
He was also moved by the devotion of the mariscadoras, local women who shoulder the back-breaking task of harvesting the gooseneck barnacles and clams in ankle-deep water along the Galician coast. "They were fascinating examples of the crazy kind of Galician seafaring tribes that live in this town and make it such a beautiful thing."
The 13-part series follows four hosts, Batali and three other stars - New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols - on a road trip through Spain as they zip around in chic convertibles, exploring the country's culinary and cultural offerings.
Along the way, the foursome dine at some of the finest restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Arzak, in San Sebastian, and try their hand at cooking Spanish food such as paella, a traditional rice dish.
They also stop at vineyards and farms to discover the making of cava (Spanish sparkling wine), Manchego cheese and a national delicacy, Iberian ham.
Interspersed between the wining and dining are footnotes on Spanish culture such as a visit to the Alhambra, a magnificent palace in Granada, and a tour of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao led by its architect, Frank Gehry.Of his co-hosts, Batali, owner of 14 restaurants including the much-feted Babbo in New York City, says: "I was lucky enough to be with three people whom I consider fun and interesting, who were also excited about the idea of eating.
"I've known Mark for eight years, Gwyneth for 12, and I met Claudia at the beginning of the show. We had an interesting chemistry that was fun and enjoyable."
Initially, Bittman was to have been the latter's only travel companion. But Paltrow, who had taken part in a high school exchange programme in Spain and speaks fluent Spanish, asked to join the road trip after hearing Batali talk about it over dinner one day.
Bassols was then added to the group to lend a Spanish native's perspective.
When pressed for juicy bits about his co-hosts on the trip, the chef says: "What will surprise a lot of people is how much Gwyneth Paltrow can eat. She is a remarkable eater.
"I've eaten with her before so it didn't surprise me, but I have seen other people say 'I can't believe she can eat that much and be that skinny'."
Already, there are plans to extend the show to other gastronomic destinations. Possible places, according to Batali, include Italy, Croatia, Peru and Bolivia.
Asia might also make the list.
"Once I get my feet wet over there, I can imagine that we might probably," says the chef, who is married with two boys, on the possibility of featuring an Asian country in the series.
He has already dipped his toes into the culinary scene here. He will be opening two Italian restaurants at the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort - Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza, both of which were first launched in Los Angeles.
Batali, who has visited Singapore twice, says of his decision to open restaurants here: "The people who want to eat have a high level of expectation and I think they are possibly underserved in the world of good Italian food, and we might be able to be unique and yet also be embraced by the locals."
He adds that the menu at the restaurants "is not going to be priced for luxury goods' but "for all the people".
On the local food scene, he says: "(The stalls selling) the street food of Singapore are perhaps some of the greatest restaurants I've ever been to in my life."
So, Singapore... On The Road Again?

lijie@sph.com.sg

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