"Olives and baked eggplants are the essence of Menorca"

PalmJosep Maria Borràs, recognized last year as the best young chef in Spain and Portugal, understands that the new Menorcan cuisine "is about reinterpreting our tradition without losing its essence. It's about looking to the past, to the recipes of our mothers and grandmothers, with respect, and updating them with greater precision and sensitivity." Appointed at 25 as gastronomic director of the Annua Signature group's hotels (S'Amagatall and Morvedra Nou) in Menorca, Borràs says that creativity is fundamental to introducing "contemporary techniques that highlight the texture and intensity of each dish, but without disguising it." For this, "the foundation is local produce, which is what truly gives the dish its authenticity. Working with farmers, ranchers, and fishermen means supporting our economy, protecting the land, and preserving the landscape that is part of the gastronomic experience. I want diners to have the feeling of tasting the essence of Menorca."

That's why Borràs says that "the key is to spread gastronomic culture. You don't need a Michelin star to cook well with Menorcan products. You can do it at home, in a village bar, or at a beach shack. If everyone, from chefs to producers and consumers, values what we have," then the new Menorcan cuisine will be born. And this, in fact, is "the challenge" that must be met: "To make excellence accessible at all levels."

And if one dish represents "the purest essence" of Menorcan cuisine, it is, according to Josep Maria Borràs, the oligua (a type of olive). "But also the stuffed eggplants baked in the oven. They combine the land, the garden, and the ingenuity that allows you to turn something humble into a truly memorable product."