Can March Restaurant: a family history that has been eating for a century

ManacorCan March restaurant celebrates its 100th anniversary. A century of stays, meals, and conversations. Of everything that happens in this sheltered space on the outskirts of town, a place from which one can seemingly survey both countryside and city, a place of tradition and the natural evolution that comes with time. It is the fruit of the personal and professional development of a family from Manacor. Its journey began in 1925 as the Can March inn.

"From that establishment with its gastronomic character and with the courage of self-taught individuals, in 2000 we decided to embark on a new project: the Can March restaurant. Our cuisine is based on the quality of the product and creativity in its preparation," they explain. "With reminiscences of traditional Mallorcan cuisine and touches of international cuisines, we are trying to create our own style within the context of what we call new Mallorcan cuisine, in which the absolute protagonist is the local, high-quality, seasonal product."

From toys to diesel and beyond

Chef Miquel Gelabert recalls that "in the early 1970s, my favorite toy was a fantastic little white kitchen set that my father gave me. I imitated the meals my godmother and mother cooked on their diesel stove." "I remember the ivory color of the plastic tablecloth that covered that table in the family kitchen, and all my cooking utensils were spread out on it. My mother would also give me a piece of onion or tomato, which, of course, never actually got cooked."

Gelabert says he grew up "among pots and pans, with the smell of sofrito, aromatic herbs, and my mother's cooking, with aromas that were sometimes delicate and other times intensely stimulating. As the years went by, my mother remained at the stove, and I, by her side like a sponge, absorbed everything, while she cooked outside."

"I'm still searching for that flavor that reminds us of a forkful of Russian fish salad with a touch of paprika, a subtle and mild garlicky flavor with excellent quality monkfish, potatoes from Sa Pobla, and a sprinkling of parsley." "The diversity and richness of Mallorcan cuisine's characteristic recipes offer so much potential that it would be a shame if all that folk wisdom were lost to the mass globalization of our everyday dishes."

Miquel Gelabert maintains that "taste and smell memory are the experiences that shape our history. It's not just me who has a taste memory because I grew up in a kitchen: we all have one. Some of us enhance it, while others are unaware of it. The search for taste memory must necessarily be seasonal. As a child, I always ate tumbito in the summer, as well as templo, and graseras and fried cabbage with pumpkin in the winter. My mother, Catalina, a great chef, always did it that way."