Located at the Hotel Gran Melía Don
Pepe in the Costa del Sol’s ‘play ground to the rich and famous’ Marbella, Restaurante Calima is the
two-Michelin-starred flagship of Chef
Dani García.
A local lad, born in Marbella in
1975, he went on to train under superstar Martín Berasategui after graduating
from the acclaimed Escuela de Hostelería de Málaga “La Consula.” Just two tears
after this apprenticeship began he went on to open the Tragabuches de Ronda
Restaurant, where he achieved his first Michelin star in 2000.
In 2005 (the same year that he was
crowned the ‘Chef l'Avenir’ as Best Young Chef in Europe) Dani opened Calima -
it received its first Michelin star in 2007 and the second in 2010. He has
recently designed the menus served to passengers flying business class with
Iberia and had a collection of ‘El Naturalista’ footwear designed in his
honour!
With views looking out across Marbella’s
sandy, palm tree lined beaches to the Mediterranean Sea, the location is stunning.
The restaurant itself is modern and luxurious. Tables are huge and well spaced
and the showpiece state of the art open kitchen is breath taking – the twenty
plus chefs and army of waiters working in perfect harmony.
Inspired in the main by traditional
Andalusian dishes and ingredients, Dani García’s cuisine is created and
presented with playful, modern and progressive techniques. Nowhere, not even in
The Fat Duck, have I ever experienced food prepared with the wit, creativity,
surprise and intensity of flavour of that at Calima.
Dani’s food philosophy (and book) is
called ‘Cocina Contradición’ - this
is evident in a number of dishes, where things are not always what they first
may seem: the signature ‘Egg with no Egg’; melt in the mouth ‘Chickpeas’ made
from a tahini butter and the ‘Cherries with Cream’ dish, where using a technique
made famous by Heston’s Meat Fruit, ‘Cherries’ are created from foie gras with
a port reduction ‘skin’.
Menu Oxímoron 2012
Rosquilla Ibérica: an Ibérico ham bagel made with a ring donut from dehydrated tomato
foam - quirky and delicious… a taste of things to come!
Bread and Oil
“Empanadilla” de mi Madre: a wonderfully light empanada pastry/ wafer with a tuna tartare
filling.
Egg with no Egg (Huevo sin Huevo): a quirky version of the Andalusian speciality ‘ajoblanco’
(a cold garlic and almond soup) with peppers and the exotic touch of lychee.
Nugget of foie
(Turrón de foie): a tart crowned with peaks of foie and droplets of yuzu gelée
- a serious contender for my favourite of the twenty-odd courses.
Tomato Nitro: a shiny metallic ‘tomate’ made with a
fancy-pants nitro technique, set atop a cod brandade (salt cod and olive oil
emulsion) with a tomato infused ‘snow’ - visually impressive and full of tomato
flavour.
Rocky Seabed
(Fondo Rocoso): presented on a
bespoke wooden seabed box, this dish had real wow factor! A mini ocean floor
had been created with a nori-studded sheet of obulato (a melt in the mouth
potato starch sheet created by Ferran Adrià at elBulli) set with dinky dried
shrimp, seaweed, the much prized percebes
(goose barnacles) and a spherification of salty ‘sea water’.
Smoked Eel with Almond Cream: the surprise element of this dish included a carrot
stuffed with smoked eel and, of course, splendid Riofrío caviar.
Cherries with Cream (Cerezas con Nata): perfectly formed foie gras and port ‘cherries’ with
a foamed Parmesan ‘cream’.
Soaked Chickpeas (Garbanzos): black and white sesame ‘chickpeas’ floating in a crystal
clear mint infused pork broth.
Boquerones’ Stall: another fun presentation, featuring fresh anchovies encased in a soft
vinegared ‘meringue’ - think ‘fish in a lemon meringue pie’
Citric “Gazpachuelo”: despite a name that sounds similar to the traditional cold Spanish
gazpacho soup, ‘Gazpachuelo’ is traditional fisherman’s speciality of Málaga
that is served hot; this one contained sea snails and cauliflower.
Riofrío Caviar:
an optional extra to the standard menu, Rio Frío Caviar is a high quality,
sustainable source of caviar from the Naccarii sturgeon. Served in bespoke Dani
García tins with a date and smoky bacom foam – well worth the supplement.
“Gacha-miga” of Crab: an exceptional crab broth with crab meat and ‘migas’ (fried bread
crumbs).
Emulsified Béarnaise, Encebollado and Coconut:
the ‘encebollado’ aspect of the dish was made with pigeon livers and onions,
with a sharp béarnaise emulsion, the component that I was not so sure about was
the ‘nest’ complete with coconut ice-cream ‘egg’.
Devilfish with Aubergine: perfectly cooked ray with aubergine and an umami rich
dashi – a simple dish with no trickery, executed exquisitely!
Steak-capers-tartare: steak tartare enriched with marrow and a glossy rich Bordelaise sauce, topped
with a crisp potato pillow.
Cheese board:
the supplementary cheese trolley featured a fantastic collection of somewhere
in the region of thirty high quality European cheeses. I selected the, Spanish
goat’s cheese, Queso Payoyo de Grazalema;
a wonderfully aged Stilton with Port
Wine and two of my favourite French cheeses, Ardi Gasna and Beaufort.
I also had two sheep’s cheeses that
were new to me, an oozing Serra da
Estrela from Portugal and a phenomenal saffron and black peppercorn studded
Piacentinu di Enna, from Italy.
Passion’s Water Lilies and Tea: a vibrant, stunning, sweet and smooth palate cleanser.
Silkworm: Dani García’s creative genius came
into play again as the waiter brought a bespoke box and revealed a bed of
leaves with what appeared to be the cocoon of a silkworm - the ‘silk’ had been
created with ‘compressed ‘cotton candy with a cream cheese and raspberry
centre.
“The Butterfly” (La Mariposa): the silkworms then metamorphosised into beautiful chocolate butterflies with sugared
mango wings – pretty and delicious.
Choco-Laguvulin-coffee: a well executed chocolate cake with Laguvulin caramel and
coffee ice-cream – a great mix of textures, technique and flavour.
Checkmate:
peach sorbet filled pawns in white and milk chocolate – playful and fit for a
king (or queen, or bishop or even a knight).
Coffee, Tea or Tisane: I selected a fresh mint infusion.
The Wedding Cake: Dum, dum, de-dum! Dum, dum, de-dum… here comes
the bride! What better way to present a delicious selection of petit fours than
in a three foot, ten tiered ‘wedding cake’?
After the meal: a relax on the terrace… Calima is without doubt a magical
place and certainly ranks as one of the most impressive restaurants I have been
to in terms of staff, service, style, setting and most importantly, food –
without a doubt, one of the best two-star restaurants I’ve dined in.
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