Biel Roca Joan: "It's cheaper to buy local, quality produce and prepare it yourself than to buy it frozen."

PalmThe name Biel Roca Joan is directly associated with one of Palma's most traditional and beloved bars, Can Biel Felip. A lifetime dedicated to the hospitality industry, starting with a small hostel in Peguera, moving on to the bar at the San Fernando sports center, and culminating in the resounding success of Can Biel Felip, Roca defines himself as an "old-fashioned" restaurateur. The key to his business and his success is quality and care, both in the products and the preparation of the recipes, as well as in the customers, whom he knows almost personally and enjoys speaking with day after day. The founder of Can Biel Felip is one of the great champions of Mallorcan cuisine and acknowledges that one of the reasons that prompted him to embrace this type of traditional cuisine was that he saw that "food from abroad was in fashion and no one was taking care of ours, the local cuisine."

How did you get started in the hospitality world?

— I started in the hospitality industry in Peguera, where I owned a hostel. Later, when I came to Palma, I took over the bar at the San Fernando sports center, across from the cemetery. I did very well there, had many customers, and managed to become a meeting point for many workers and residents of the area. But after a few years, I had to close due to the Universiade, and I moved to what is now Can Biel Felip.

Why did you choose a location in a different area than the one it was in?

— The previous owner offered it to me a couple of times, but I was doing well in San Fernando. However, when I had to close, I came here. At first I rented it, but then the bank foreclosed on the owner, and I had to buy it, because otherwise they'd kick me out. I mortgaged a small piece of land I had, and that business started. This was in '94... [recalls, laughing]. When I arrived here, only the walls were there. Everything in the bar was put in by me; it's a custom-made bar.

What are the keys that keep Can Biel Felip a successful bar so many years later?

— It's a great satisfaction to see that people want to come here; they're our treasure, but there's a reason for that. One of the main keys is that we make the products ourselves. An example is the squid in a Roman style; here it's not Roman style, it's Andalusian style. We cut it ourselves and prepare it one by one. The funny thing about this is that, although people don't believe it, it's much cheaper than buying them pre-made and frozen. The other thing is the variety of food we make, and that everything is traditional Mallorcan cuisine, made by us, from the field to the table. Quality is valued, and people aren't stupid and know where to go to eat well. At Can Biel Felip, we cook everything on the same day; we don't make things overnight. We arrive at 5:00 a.m. and start cutting and preparing everything. Many ingredients lose their flavor or texture if you cook them overnight.

He has defined himself as one of the great defenders of traditional cuisine in Palma.

— At the Peguera hostel I had foreign guests and the food was also foreign. Hamburgers,hot dogs... At that time, Chinese restaurants were also becoming fashionable; they were everywhere, and that was the moment I decided I had to do something to promote our gastronomic heritage, Mallorcan cuisine. The first thing I made was fried food; I even invented one: fried blood. Today it remains one of the most requested dishes. Furthermore, given this explosion of foreign food arrivals, both for tourists and from Chinese, Japanese, American restaurants, etc., I saw that variety was a great way to give traditional Mallorcan cuisine the space it deserves and strengthen what has always characterized us. It was my humble way of not giving in and not letting restaurants with foreign cuisine overpower me.

In addition to the varied menu, there are daily specials that follow the same line.

Yes, we also make recipes that are little known to the younger generations, and that the generations who know and have eaten them yearn for. Pig's trotters, the fried foods I mentioned earlier... there aren't many places that make the traditional recipes for these dishes anymore, and our customers know that here they'll find Mallorcan cuisine, prepared the old-fashioned way and with high-quality local produce.

What does it mean when you say you are an "old-fashioned" restaurateur?

— The new generations aren't like mine anymore; young people don't think like older people. Now we have the bar closed for two days. This has never happened before; it's a different way of understanding the hospitality industry. I've always taken care of everything; I bought the ingredients and came in at 5 a.m. to cook. Now I'm older and can't do as much oil milling, but I've been lucky to have two women in the kitchen who have been with me for 10 or 15 years and have followed my guidelines perfectly. Restaurants change, and there are many things I don't understand or agree with, but hey... as long as there's credit on the card, I have nothing to say; now, if there comes a time when there isn't...

Define your clientele as Can Biel Felip's greatest treasure. Why?

— We have customers from all over Mallorca. Every day, people from every corner of Mallorca share meals at Can Biel Felip. At one table, people from Andratx, at another, people from Capdepera, devour these ones from Pollença, and in the middle, people from El Pla. It's a source of pride [she explains, almost in tears]. Here, from the time we open the barrier at 7 a.m. until we close it at 4:30 p.m., we're always busy and the tables are full.