Our bonnie country is home to two two-Michelin-star restaurants – Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Gleneagles, and most recently, The Glenturret Lalique restaurant owned by a Glasgow-born Chef. And now, we have also gotten an experience here in Scotland from the “best restaurant in the world”, El Celler de Can Roca.
El Celler de Can Roca is a three-Michelin-star restaurant located in Girona, Spain, and first opened its doors in 1986. Run by brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi, the fine dining establishment has a tremendous reputation across the world, with foodies travelling from all over the world just to eat there.
As a result, the family business keeps expanding, and now it has opened in Scotland today (October 31). The brothers have partnered with The Macallan estate in Speyside next to a whisky distillery (wouldn’t have expected anything else), offering a world-class dining experience, TimeSpirit.
The TimeSpirit experience is set to seat up to 30 guests, with a lunch menu costing £60, while a dinner experience is £95. As the Roca brothers already have an existing partnership with The Macallan whisky, it was an easy move to continue exploring their passion for Scotland. As a result, the fine dining experience only uses locally sourced ingredients, offering a taste of Scotland created by some of the best minds on this Earth.
The Roca Brothers, from El Celler de Can Roca commented: “El Celler de Can Roca’s bond with Scotland is thrilling and TimeSpirit at The Macallan Estate will enable us to envisage what El Celler de Can Roca would be like on the 60th parallel north. The many trips we have made to Scotland and the inspiration we have found in its old cookery books have afforded us the chance to pay homage to Scottish cuisine.
We have immersed ourselves in its gastronomy and produce, nourished by a compendium of history, culture, landscapes and fabulous people from a land that is apparently far away but to us is close and dear. We paid tribute to Scotland in Distilling Scotland – the cookery book we released in 2018 and documentary on Scottish cuisine, chefs and outstanding products.
We have been all over the country, drinking in its spirit, devoting time to it and we would now like to share our cooking through The Macallan. We celebrate our longstanding partnership as part of The Macallan’s 200th anniversary and distil its exciting history from the kitchen.”
Jaume Ferràs, Creative Director at The Macallan, said: “El Celler de Can Roca has been one of The Macallan’s longest partnerships, and for over twelve years we have curated exceptional culinary creations, new products and innovations together. From our beginnings in 1824, we have had a long history with Spain and its wines – particularly Jerez, so to bring these two brands together for a permanent Dining Experience on The Macallan estate is an incredible ambition realised.
El Celler de Can Roca’s philosophy mirrors that of The Macallan, with a deep inspiration from nature, a commitment to community and a relentless pursuit of innovation and this will be showcased for everyone to experience within the new menu – where it will take influence from the past, imagine the future and make a difference in the present, and really bring to life the collaboration between the two brands in a playful and exciting way.”
Visitors are able to try TimeSpirit as early as October 31, and you can book it here.