Xisca Alzamora: "Home cooking has a price and what they take out of a bag should have another"

ManacorXisca Alzamora is the owner and cook of Nou Convent Cafeteria. “I put a lot of love into it,” she says when we ask her how she manages to prepare and give that good flavor to the daily dishes of Mallorcan cuisine or the varied tapas of the place, right in front of Manacor Town Hall, which reopens after a well-deserved vacation. Everyone who knows her knows that she doesn't like to boast about her knowledge in the world of Mallorcan cuisine, but people who have tasted any of her daily dishes or tapas know that she has something that makes her so special when entering a kitchen.

Xisca, last May it was already 3 years since your husband and you have been running Nou Convent Cafeteria. Are you happy with the step taken, or would you go back?

— One thing you must be clear about, and that is that both my husband and I, Pep Lluís, like to always be upfront, be honest and not lie. I'll be very frank with you; three and a half years ago, one morning, my husband got out of bed and said to me: “Xisqueta, this evening I don't know what's happened to me, but I woke up with the very clear idea that I have to change jobs and start a new life far from the magazine, and whatever God wills will be." I, who have known him for many years, hadn't seen him well where he was for a few months, so I told him: “Well, don't worry at all, do you want us to look for premises to run our own café, the two of us?”. From the first moment he said yes, so we agreed that if we found a not too big premises that was for sale, we would try to make it happen. In a few weeks we saw on social media that this small premises in front of Manacor Town Hall was for sale, we agreed on the price for the transfer and here we are. You asked me if I would go back; at first I was a bit scared because there are many things to pay and you don't know if you will have enough customers to get it going, but now I can say that I am happy to have taken the step, especially seeing that we have met new people whom we now love and appreciate and whom, in fact, we feel as if they were part of the same family.

Nou Convent Cafeteria is gaining traction whether it's for the variats, the aguiat de pilotes, the pig's trotters, the tumbet, the frit de matances, and the snails with aioli. Are you happy with what they say about you?

— We didn't expect people's response to be so good. More and more people have tried either our varied tapa or some dish of the day, and the truth is that it's all praise, and very importantly... they are returning!

The aroma draws you in to look for at least one serving. Where does this good hand for cooking come from?

— First of all, a lot of love, but also many years of working in the kitchen, both Mallorcan and international cuisine. But I'll tell you more, I believe that this touch or whatever you want to call it, that I give to Mallorcan cuisine, I got it from my mother, who is a great cook, and from my grandmothers; one of them, grandmother Francisca, made delicious fritters and rice dishes, and from the other side, grandmother Catalina, who made spectacular desserts, whether it was a gypsy's arm roll or cream pastries with puff pastry and whipped egg whites that everyone loved. By the way, one day I'll have to try making them and offer them to our customers.

You started with your man, but now you have a little more help, or not?

— Yes, we have our daughter Laura who has helped us these two months of July and August while she is on vacation from her studies at the UIB, and then when we don't have our daughter, my sister-in-law Antònia helps us the rest of the year for a few hours. I have to thank them for the good harmony that exists, both with us and with the clients, which is also important.

Are you only open from morning to noon?

— Yes, from 8 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., and from Monday to Friday, except holidays. We also open when there is an event in front of the City Hall that is worthwhile for the people who attend.

So, in these three years the number of clients has been increasing, and I suppose the demand for dishes?

— Yes, we have already reached a ‘maximum’. We are clear that, for now, we neither want to extend hours nor hire more people, because that brings more headaches, more stress, more nerves… In principle, we want to keep the same schedule, the two of us, one inside the kitchen and the other outside, and the help of our daughter or my sister-in-law. Nothing more. To begin with, our kitchen has the space it has, and it’s not much, and on the other hand, I am the only cook and my hands can’t do any more. But it must be said that if we have finished the dish of the day, we always offer them other options, such as assorted tapas or combination plates.

Returning to the dish of the day, do you have a different one every day?

— Yes, one week we have some dishes and the next week, others, and so we go around and people already have an idea of what there will be daily, and if they don't like what there is that day, they have other options.

All homemade.

— Very home-style. I cook the food as if I were doing it for my children or my family. Healthy food, not strange things like they do now in some places. I'll tell you more, I think those places where home-style food is still made should be valued more, and the authorities should monitor it a little more, since there are those who say they make it themselves and then it turns out they put it in a machine, give it the time it needs, a few grill marks on top, and present it as if it were completely home-style, and not even close… For greater customer safety, it would be more appropriate for the Government or the City Council to give a distinguishing mark to be affixed to the facade of those establishments that prepare food in a home-style manner and people could not be deceived… I think so. Home cooking has a price, and that which is taken out of a bag should have another.

After a few summer months where you ‘park’ the dish of the day, looking ahead to the coming months, what dishes will you cook and what will their price be?

— For now we will continue the same with the prices: Monday to Thursday, 6.50 euros; and Fridays, 8.50 euros. Regarding the daily specials, some will not change all year, while others will change in a few months, depending on the seasonal product. But to start, I can tell you how we will begin, and it will be next Tuesday, September 1st, with the 'aguiadet de pilotes' that our customers like so much. The first week: Monday, freixura; Tuesday, 'aguiat de pilotetes' with chicken; Wednesday, pork or chicken escalope with Russian salad (provisional); Thursday, 'tumbet de llom', fried eggs, or mixed; Friday, seafood fry. And the second week: Monday, pork rind fry; Tuesday, meat cannelloni; Wednesday, pig's trotters; Thursday, pork or chicken escalope with Russian salad; Friday, snails with allioli.

Could you tell us what lids you will have normally?

— Normally we will have Russian salad, tongue, tripe, mushrooms with garlic, liver with cuttlefish ink, tapas, chicken/spinach croquettes, and some fried food, be it from slaughter or pork offal. And, as we always say, there comes a point when something always runs out… or everything. Therefore, if you reserve it for us, you will be safer.

Anything else to finish?

— I want to thank all the people who have come and come to Nou Convent Cafeteria, whether to eat on the premises or to take away whatever they want. Or they simply come for some drinks. The appreciation you develop for people is incredible, and I love to see that all those who come are very good people and they tell us they feel at home and return. The first day we opened, more than three years ago, we put up a sign that said and still says 'live and let live'. Well, both we and the customers have it clear, we live with them and they let us live, and we are very grateful for it.