A journey through the vocation of six shepherds who see how the profession…
The Art of Cooking with Fire
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- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
View on the Pragda STREAM site
Self-taught Bittor Arginzoniz has achieved world fame as a grill genius with his restaurant Asador Etxebarri, ranked as third best restaurant in the world world in 2019. His personality and the place where he lives make his cuisine unique — minimalism is his trademark. Bittor has revolutionized the way people roast meat, fish, and vegetables. He has a remarkable ability to coax out explosive flavors from seemingly simple ingredients, most of which are grilled over his famous adjustable-height grills. The film offers viewers an exclusive look into Bittor’s way of working, from the obsessive search for the best products to the preparation and cooking. Bittor shares his sources of inspiration and motivation.
* Spanish language audio description is available via the ALL4ACCESS App and/or .wav file when purchasing a DSL license.
Accessibility for these films was created by DICAPTA and funded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education- Office of Special Education-OSEP, project “Enhanced Access to Video for Students with Sensory Disabilities through Emerging Technology,” TV Access H327C210001.
"Arteta has achieved an unusal degree of intimacy with Arginzoniz and his family and shows the chef in action in his kitchen, in some scenes never seen before. "— El correo
"Bittor is a person deeply rooted to his land, who sends messages to the world with his special cuisine, based on the ancient way of cooking with fire but with the innovations of these days." — El diario vasco
Citation
Main credits
Arteta, Iñaki (film director)
Arteta, Iñaki (screenwriter)
Arginzoniz, Bittor (on-screen participant)
Other credits
Editing, Iñaki Arteta.
Distributor subjects
Agriculture + Food; Basque Studies; Biography; Culture + Identity; Environment + Sustainability; Geography; Iberian StudiesKeywords
00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:09.800
The greatest competition I have
is with my own head.
00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:25.280
Bittor Arginzoniz. Living in silence
00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:05.240
In everything I do,
whether in or out of the kitchen,
00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:08.919
I try to be the best.
00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.000
I'm a perfectionist
00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.680
and I like things to be
as I think they should be.
00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:23.279
Nobody needs to demand anything from me,
00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:25.800
everything I want to do,
00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.800
I demand it of myself.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.360
It's also a way to motivate myself.
00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:36.839
So, that challenge of
00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.800
how far I can go,
00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.600
if I can achieve everything
I intend to achieve,
00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.759
all of that is always on my mind.
00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:55.839
I liked to eat.
I liked to eat a lot.
00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.519
Cookery didn't really attract me.
00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:01.439
At that time,
00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.399
I was in another world,
I didn't even think of that...
00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.000
Because, of course, on the farms,
it was a woman's job.
00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:13.720
It was something
that you saw from the outside,
00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:17.040
it was a territory that men didn't enter.
00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.759
So, it was never very attractive.
00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:31.839
They told me that he had
00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.199
a high quality grill restaurant,
00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:37.279
that he was a very ethical,
honest person,
00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:40.360
whose work had great authenticity, etc.
00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.160
That's what made me
go to that restaurant.
00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:46.680
And I discovered those qualities.
00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.360
He made a magnificent product,
00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:52.519
a traditional cuisine
00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:55.920
that sought juiciness, freshness.
00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:59.600
He showed great promise
in his cooking,
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.040
but it was just the beginning
for Bittor.
00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:05.279
Bittor was not yet a chef.
00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:09.519
Bittor was a chef due to circumstances.
00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.399
I was born in this farmhouse.
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.160
In a rural setting,
surrounded by nature.
00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.680
I spent the first stage of my life here,
until I left
00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:32.879
and set up Etxebarri.
00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:40.399
I lived with my parents
and my four siblings here,
00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.319
two boys and two girls.
00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:47.279
My parents always worked with animals
and here, in the field,
00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:49.680
or in the vegetable garden
or the mountain.
00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:51.639
Working in the field
00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.199
was hard work.
00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:59.639
The farmhouse has always been
a reference point for me
00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:02.920
for everything
we're still doing today in Etxebarri.
00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:07.839
I try to transmit those values
that were instilled in us in this house,
00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.079
values such as respect, humility,
00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:12.199
honesty.
00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.639
When I was young,
what I was always thinking about
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.800
and what I would have liked to be
was a pelota player.
00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.480
But I was bad at it,
so I had to give up on that dream.
00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.319
And, well, life was passing by
00:07:57.399 --> 00:08:02.079
and the time came when I had to
think of my future and do something,
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:07.120
that's when I knew
that I couldn't be a pelota player.
00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:10.639
And then I knew
that I wanted to buy Etxebarri.
00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.839
When I left the military,
I worked in the mountain
00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.839
until I got a call
from a local cellulose factory,
00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.680
I worked there until I came here,
00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:23.800
which was almost ten years later.
00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.120
I worked shifts,
I was the shift manager.
00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:30.959
When I took over this farmhouse,
00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:34.960
I worked for another year in the factory
until the renovations were finished.
00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.440
I'd work there by day
and here by night and vice versa.
00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:43.080
It was a tough year.
00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:53.600
Bittor was a restaurateur
who turned himself into a grill chef
00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:57.879
in order to give his restaurant
more prestige and more charm,
00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:01.960
and, of course,
I think he wanted to fulfil his dream
00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:07.279
and apart from starting a business
and, in the beginning, making money,
00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:11.120
he later saw that
00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:16.159
if he didn't take responsibility
for what he wanted to do,
00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.799
his restaurant wouldn't go that far.
00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:24.399
I met him in that first stage,
00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:27.399
when he was a grill chef,
00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.360
someone who had come from
a different profession,
00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:34.720
but someone who was concerned enough
to find the best style,
00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.200
to try to do things to perfection,
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:41.879
highlighting the intrinsic qualities
of the product.
00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:02.120
-Bittor! How are you?
-Rafa!
00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:08.279
Your face looks healthier than
one of those fish you put on your grill.
00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:12.879
It's all the suffering from the grill.
00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.559
-Do you want a coffee, Rafa?
-I've already had two.
00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:17.120
You know I get up early,
00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:20.200
I start the day
with two coffees at 7 a.m.
00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:21.559
I'll have a coffee.
00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.360
-We can't start with a gin and tonic yet!
-No, not yet!
00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:29.200
But a coffee, if you bring me
one of those magdalenas...
00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.240
-Gorri's magdalenas.
-Gorri's magdalenas.
00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.240
Smoked magdalenas,
which is one of the joys of this house.
00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:39.960
-Alright.
-A fantastic coffee.
00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:42.080
Look, I already had
the magdalenas ready.
00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:45.759
-You know me so well!
-I had them ready, and not one but two.
00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:49.039
I'm passionate about coffee,
but these...
00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:53.639
They always come out perfect.
00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:55.600
Do you make the butter?
00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:57.000
We make the butter here.
00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.360
-Smoked goat butter?
-No, from cow's milk.
00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:02.159
Cow's milk?
00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:04.720
They're delicious.
00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:08.559
How did it occur to you
to give such a personal touch
00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:10.759
to a magdalena?
00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:12.559
The smoke.
00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.799
The embers grace
everything I cook here.
00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:21.919
And fire is the common thread
in practically all my dishes.
00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:25.720
So, for me, it's just another ingredient
00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:29.120
that appears in the dish,
you can't see but it's noticeable.
00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:29.960
Of course.
00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:35.000
It's the majesty of your cooking,
it's what makes you stand out.
00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:37.440
You've created a concept.
00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:42.320
But if you were to analyse
what makes you stand out the most,
00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:45.159
what would it be?
00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.960
For example,
the use of embers instead of wood,
00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.159
the amount of utensils
00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:57.559
that you have created for...?
-It's everything together.
00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:01.320
It's a combination.
It starts with the wood
00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:03.840
that we use to create the embers,
00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:08.759
then we make the embers
in separate ovens so we can control it,
00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.919
embers can only be made
in separate ovens.
00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.559
Then there's the grill and the utensils.
00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.840
There's a need to create
the adequate utensils
00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.519
in order to cook products
that were unthinkable so far.
00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:24.080
What you call a frying pan
00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:29.519
which, we could say, is a sieve,
was that the first and best?
00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:30.759
That was the first.
00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.440
Also, I remember
the first few times you came here.
00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.039
-Yes.
-We were sitting at that table.
00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:40.279
-I don't remember that.
-You came to try the anchovies.
00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:42.919
And when we tried the anchovies,
00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.039
I said to you:
"Next time you come,
00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:47.360
you'll try the elvers".
00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:50.240
And you replied: "That's impossible".
00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:53.080
-Of course.
-And that was why
00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:55.960
I created that metal mesh frying pan
-Yes.
00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:59.679
...that allows all the wood's aroma
to pass through.
00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:02.360
And after the elvers,
00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:05.320
I could use it
for any other small product
00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:08.639
that needs sautéing over the embers,
mushrooms, small octopuses...
00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:13.000
I was sure about what I wanted to do
00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:16.200
and I thought:
"sooner or later it will come".
00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:20.799
Then I was lucky enough
to meet Rafa García Santos
00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:23.519
and he was my motivation
00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:26.559
to carry on doing the things
I wanted to do.
00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:28.799
He was a visionary of what I was doing
00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.840
and he immediately understood
what was happening in this house.
00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:35.120
That was an enormous help for me.
00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:45.159
When I was young,
cooking was always done over a fire.
00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:48.360
Because, back then, we still didn't have
00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:51.559
gas or sufficient electricity.
00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:56.080
So, the first job of the morning
was to light the fire
00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:00.399
and to start preparing lunch.
00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.960
The cooking would begin
early in the morning,
00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:08.080
stews, beans or whatever had been
harvested from the vegetable garden.
00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:13.000
My mother cooked goats
that we'd slaughtered,
00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.039
pigs, rabbits,
00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:19.039
all the different types of animals
that we reared on our farm.
00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.080
We ate really well
00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.279
because food was sacred.
00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:26.799
We didn't have an abundance of anything,
00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:30.159
but what we ate was made really well.
00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.440
Above all, what I value from all that,
00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:57.399
within the humility
surrounding the preparation of food,
00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:01.720
was the respect for
the things being done, for the product,
00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:07.200
their way of cooking with love
that produced excellent results.
00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:14.399
For me, those are values
that stay with you forever.
00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:21.720
I kept just the four walls,
we pulled everything else down.
00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:26.519
I started working here
with the help of my family.
00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:28.960
You couldn't even fry an egg
when you started?
00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:30.200
Absolutely nothing.
00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.039
-So what did you do here?
-Well, I...
00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:34.639
-Cashing out the register?
-No.
00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:39.879
Because I don't see you
chatting with clients.
00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:41.080
No, no.
00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.000
No, but I gradually
spent more time in the kitchen
00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:48.159
and, when we were up and running,
00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:52.360
the first thing I wanted the business
to be a success,
00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:55.039
and when the business
was on the right track,
00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:58.600
I devoted myself to
the thing I'd always missed,
00:15:58.679 --> 00:15:59.879
which was the embers.
00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:01.960
I started by purchasing a...
00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:06.399
I went in an old truck to Guetaria
and I bought a grill.
00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.159
I put it out there,
it was still completely open then.
00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.320
And that's how I started.
00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.279
-I worked...
-When did you start?
00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:17.000
-When did you open?
-In 1990.
00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.320
You opened in 1990
and you started in the kitchen then?
00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:21.440
No, about a year later.
00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.480
Then came all the development
00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:27.159
of self-fulfilment through your work.
-Yes, that's right.
00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:32.519
When I started,
and just before starting,
00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.120
I liked eating out
in different places.
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:38.840
And my inspiration came from
grill restaurants
00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:43.200
such as Elkano, Guetaria,
Julián de Tolosa.
00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:46.840
They were my inspiration back then.
00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.360
But, later on,
I thought that
00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:56.360
what I was doing at the grill
should be something very different.
00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:00.600
I didn't focus on what others did,
I focused on what I was doing,
00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.720
and how I thought things should be.
00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:23.799
I don't really like talking.
00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:27.720
I prefer...
00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:31.160
action.
00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:41.599
Things should be reflected upon,
00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:45.000
studied and well thought out
in order to...
00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:47.599
And yet, something will always fail.
00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.640
I've always preferred
to tire out the brain first.
00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:59.319
I don't like to do things suddenly.
00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:02.839
Things should be left to mature,
to settle.
00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:08.039
And then they can be put into practice.
00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:26.319
People think that everything
a grill chef does is simple.
00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:27.759
But that's not the case.
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.319
What you need
to work in a grill restaurant,
00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:37.160
to place anything on the grill
and cook it correctly...
00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:39.799
that's not simple at all.
00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:45.000
You need the necessary practical skills
00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:49.240
to master and have complete control
over cooking times and temperatures,
00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.119
that makes this business
purely artisanal.
00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.400
Wood, fire...
00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:58.039
and the seasonal product
we have decided on.
00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:19.079
We bring the wood from Mendaro.
00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:22.680
It's holm oak,
they call it Cantabrian holm oak.
00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.880
We source the wood
from a protected area.
00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:32.640
Selective logging, we don't clear-cut.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:37.759
Every time we come,
we bring 10,000 kilos.
00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.240
Four times a year,
every three months.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.839
Since discovering fire,
man has eaten hot food.
00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.680
I always tell people
that this is a primitive kitchen.
00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:03.200
When they see it, they're speechless,
they ask: "You make all that here?".
00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:05.359
I'm sure many can't believe it.
00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.279
What I've done is
slightly change my concept
00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:16.279
of how I should work the embers.
00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:20.279
I discarded charcoal
from the very beginning.
00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:24.759
The charcoal gives off
very aggressive aromas,
00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:29.000
something which will mask
the subtle flavours of many products,
00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:30.519
you wouldn't notice them.
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.200
That doesn't happen with wood.
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.279
Wood gives off clean, healthy aromas
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.680
and it helps to enhance the flavours
of the food you're cooking.
00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:46.440
That is one of the most important
parts of that change.
00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:49.480
The second part is so
to use that wood to create
00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:51.960
the embers in a separate oven,
00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:54.279
that way we can control the embers.
00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.839
We can then take
the necessary amount of embers,
00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:01.799
transport them to the grill
and cook what we want.
00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:06.920
Once on the grill, we change the height
to control the cooking.
00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:14.640
The third part was to invent
these types of utensils
00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:19.359
in order to cook all those things
that were unthinkable before.
00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:26.359
For me, those are the three
most important factors
00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:30.079
in this small revolution
in the world of embers.
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:39.839
Hi, Bittor.
00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:41.680
How are you, Rafa?
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:44.559
You can't imagine how happy I am.
00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:47.119
I'm happier to see you here.
00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:50.160
No, I'm happier
because of how well I'll eat later.
00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:54.680
I remember when you were here alone.
How many people do you have now?
00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:55.599
Ten people.
00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.319
Six here and four over the other side.
-And, after that,
00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:01.640
people ask me:
"Is this creative cuisine?".
00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:03.519
The most creative thing in the world
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.519
is to manage to do
something they've done for centuries,
00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.319
which is to cook over fire,
00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:11.880
and you've managed to cook over fire,
embers and cinders.
00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:15.119
But tell me, because
there's something that surprises me,
00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:18.519
all the great chefs these days
are doing more things,
00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:21.480
opening new restaurants,
offering take away food.
00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:24.359
Is the financial side
less important to you?
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:27.839
If my restaurant doors are open,
00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:30.000
I have to be here.
00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:33.359
I have to be here
out of respect for the client.
00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:37.720
Clients come from far and wide
so that I can cook for them.
00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.559
Not the second or third chef, but me.
-Yes, of course.
00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:43.160
That's sacred for me.
00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:47.400
Also, people think that all you do
is cook and that's not true.
00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.119
You bought buffaloes to make mozzarella.
-Yes.
00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:54.279
-And you milk them in the morning.
-Yes, yes.
00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:57.039
I always look for the product
at its source.
00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:00.079
In this case, what did I need?
Buffalo milk.
00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:03.400
So, what should I do? Get a buffalo.
-You needed a buffalo.
00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:05.839
That's it,
there's no other way.
00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:08.400
The same for vegetables.
I have a vegetable garden.
00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:13.640
I try to supply all the vegetables
I need from my vegetable garden.
00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:15.400
And eggs from my hens.
00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.759
Everything I can obtain from the source.
00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:21.119
Also, you inspect the meat and
if you don't like it you send it back.
00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:22.119
Yes, of course.
00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.440
One thing is for certain
in this type of cuisine,
00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:27.680
everything is based on the product.
00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:29.640
If the product isn't top quality,
00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:31.960
the grill can't work miracles.
00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:34.359
And even when top quality,
you always wash the anchovies.
00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:35.519
Yes, I do that too.
00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.640
You say: "Yes, yes",
but nobody does that!
00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.920
Can you imagine
Ferran Adrià or Arzak doing that?
00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:43.400
Impossible.
-Well, to each his own.
00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:48.000
So, you don't just have
the best raw ingredients,
00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:51.039
but you check them,
you select them,
00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.200
you clean and prepare them,
you do everything.
00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:54.240
It's fundamental.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:56.240
And you'll continue
for as long as you can.
00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:58.160
For as long as the body resists.
00:23:58.240 --> 00:23:59.400
You're very young.
00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:01.119
-Still young.
-Well, yes.
00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:03.440
Young!
I've almost been here 30 years.
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.559
And today?
00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:07.160
Today, you'll eat
what was delivered today.
00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:08.960
But there's one special dish
00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:12.960
that I've reserved for over a month,
00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:15.519
elvers, I've saved them for you,
00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:18.599
because I know you love that dish.
-Absolutely.
00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:22.039
I think the four aces in the deck are:
00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:25.759
caviar, which you have,
truffle, when available,
00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:27.680
foie gras and Iberian ham.
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:30.839
But, elvers are fifth.
When they're good, they're fantastic.
00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:31.880
Yes, elvers.
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:34.519
I've never had elvers in May.
00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:37.599
Never.
I thought it was impossible.
00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:41.319
You're the only person
who's eaten elvers in this house in May.
00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:51.599
That couldn't be better.
00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:55.200
How wonderful.
00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.759
I've always been
aware that elvers
00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:15.640
are one of the star dishes
here in the Basque Country.
00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:25.480
So, I tried to change the concept
00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:28.640
of how to work with this product,
with elvers.
00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:32.799
By offering a fresh product
by keeping them alive
00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:35.359
until the day you want to eat them,
00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:39.880
and then cook them just once.
00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:43.000
Give them the same treatment
as any other fresh fish.
00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:45.720
But it has more merit than that.
00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:48.400
It's also how you balance
the elvers on the grill,
00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:50.160
that was difficult to work out.
00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:52.799
-No.
-Because nobody knew before
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:55.559
how you would place the elvers on there.
00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:59.680
Even today, there are still
lots of people who come to the grill
00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:03.200
just to see how I cook the elvers.
00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:07.079
People think I put them one by one
and then turn them over.
00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:08.519
People... well.
00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:13.720
Then, when I show them the utensil
that I use to cook the elvers
00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:15.880
everyone says: "Aaah!".
00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:21.720
For me, the most important dishes
are the elvers and the anchovies.
00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:16.400
Yes, but you've always been
someone who's very open to the world.
00:30:16.519 --> 00:30:19.880
-I've always searched for the best.
-In the concept and the product.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:21.119
And in the concept.
00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:24.799
In other words,
you haven´t set limits
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.599
to your knowledge, your products.
00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:32.559
You look for products in
the Mediterranean, Galicia, wherever.
00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:35.279
-Even in Italy.
-Yes, yes.
00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:40.079
Because the most essential thing for me
is a good raw material
00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:43.720
and that product has to be sourced
from wherever the best products are,
00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:45.599
whether that's here or abroad.
00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:48.160
Sometimes, you have to stop navel-gazing
00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:51.440
and look for the best products
wherever they are.
00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:07.759
Each cut weighs 66 kilos.
00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:10.839
This is the type of animal
that Bittor likes.
00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:14.279
The fat is yellow from eating
lots of corn from Galicia
00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:17.680
and the meat is well marbled.
00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:26.200
The cows that Bittor likes most
00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:32.319
Bittor likes the animal to come
straight from the slaughterhouse
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.400
so that he can add his own touch
during the maturing process,
00:31:35.480 --> 00:31:37.680
with the right humidity
and temperature
00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:40.200
He does it to his taste.
00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:44.279
So, all we do is select the best animals
00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:47.400
that we buy direct
from the best farms in Galicia
00:31:47.559 --> 00:31:51.279
and we select the best cuts.
00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:07.400
It's not overly lean.
00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:08.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:11.240
A huge difference in the marbling,
of course.
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:16.920
No, it's very lean.
00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:25.599
The same price and from the same farmer.
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:27.920
And look at the difference.
00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:29.480
They were identical alive.
00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:33.160
They ate the same.
00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:00.480
They are a week old
00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:07.519
It was fine.
00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:09.920
That one was
a week or ten days.
00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:12.920
-Shall we leave them both?
-Yes, then...
00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.440
And if you remember next week,
do another test.
00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:17.119
I'll look at it before I bring it in.
00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:20.920
We have lots of clients
and no one else measures the pH.
00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:24.680
But it's a good indicator
and if you have the tools...
00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:26.519
He's grilling meat every day,
00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:29.319
and if he sees a difference
between different pH levels
00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:31.400
then it's the right thing to do.
00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:34.599
Bittor is extremely demanding,
but I understand
00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:37.880
because his clients
come from all over the world
00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:39.839
and they want the very best meat.
00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:43.480
So I understand
that he has to be demanding.
00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:44.799
That's why he's where he is.
00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:20.360
Well, this is the origin of Etxebarri
00:36:28.920 --> 00:36:30.159
Excellent!
00:36:31.239 --> 00:36:32.039
Perfect!
00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:41.920
This is the best match for red wine.
00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:44.760
Red wine was made for eating meat.
00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:46.599
Especially this one.
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:02.360
I've eaten at Etxebarri several times.
00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:06.400
The first time was around
six or seven years ago.
00:38:06.519 --> 00:38:08.519
Since then, I've tried to go
00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:11.960
almost once a year or
as often as Bittor allows me.
00:38:16.199 --> 00:38:20.400
DiverXo and Etxebarri
are two completely hedonistic places
00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:24.519
that are 100% connected
to the product and to flavour.
00:38:24.599 --> 00:38:26.960
Although the concepts
may seem different,
00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:29.920
the ultimate aim
and the experience are very similar.
00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:33.159
That's why Etxebarri fascinates me
00:38:33.239 --> 00:38:35.719
and I think Bittor loves DiverXO.
00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:41.480
Bittor is crazy about grilling.
00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:45.239
He's up there in the mountain,
in his restaurant, and I think
00:38:45.320 --> 00:38:49.199
he's taken something that is
so basic in the Basque Country
00:38:49.280 --> 00:38:52.000
and created his own extreme
version of grilling food.
00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:55.159
He's raised it to a different level,
it's more intellectual
00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:56.880
and better thought out.
00:38:57.159 --> 00:39:00.519
But over the years, it's become more
than just a revolution in grilling.
00:39:00.840 --> 00:39:02.039
Apart from that,
00:39:02.119 --> 00:39:04.239
I think he's reinstated it as a cuisine,
00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:05.880
slightly irreverent.
00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:10.039
He doesn't just grill,
he thinks about how to complete the dish
00:39:10.159 --> 00:39:13.119
and what he does with the embers.
I think that over the years,
00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:15.320
Bittor is not only improving
00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:17.360
but regenerating his cuisine.
00:39:18.840 --> 00:39:22.239
If you go to London now,
you'll find two or three restaurants
00:39:22.440 --> 00:39:24.880
with exactly the same concept
as Etxebarri.
00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:28.800
Go to Singapore and there are two
restaurants doing the same as Etxebarri.
00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:32.920
Go to Japan and you'll find restaurants
that are starting
00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:38.039
to move away from
Japanese robata and yakitori
00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:43.559
and they're doing something inspired
by Basque grills and Bittor's work.
00:39:43.719 --> 00:39:46.840
I think his work
is much more significant
00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:50.320
than he's willing to admit
or, even, to think.
00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:24.159
The prize goes to the master chef.
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:26.480
This award goes to a magician of fire.
00:41:26.559 --> 00:41:29.719
Yes, you heard correctly,
he's Bittor Arginzoniz.
00:41:36.519 --> 00:41:39.760
We could say that his work isn't focused
00:41:40.119 --> 00:41:42.519
on achieving the applause
that has turned him into
00:41:42.599 --> 00:41:47.159
another world-famous Basque man,
without leaving Axpe.
00:41:47.400 --> 00:41:49.119
That has its merit.
00:41:49.239 --> 00:41:52.079
No, above all, it's because I don't like
00:41:52.400 --> 00:41:56.760
fame or everything
that surrounds fame.
00:41:57.119 --> 00:41:59.719
I feel comfortable
00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:01.920
where I think I should be,
00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:05.519
which is in front of the fire,
in front of my grills.
00:42:05.599 --> 00:42:08.280
-That's how you express yourself.
-I express myself in a way that...
00:42:08.360 --> 00:42:10.760
I feel real pleasure when I cook
00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:14.119
and I try to convey that
to the diners at my restaurant.
00:42:14.239 --> 00:42:17.280
Sometimes I manage it
and sometimes I don't, of course.
00:42:25.079 --> 00:42:27.679
I never go into the dining room.
00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:31.639
If someone wants to see me,
they have to come to my kitchen.
00:42:31.719 --> 00:42:35.280
My work place is
in front of the grill, there's no other.
00:42:45.599 --> 00:42:47.559
But you've received compliments
00:42:48.519 --> 00:42:52.280
The only compliments
that mean something to me,
00:42:53.360 --> 00:42:54.280
that mean a lot,
00:42:55.239 --> 00:42:58.119
in this life I have here in Etxebarri,
00:42:58.199 --> 00:43:01.800
are the ones from you,
those really touch my heart.
00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:03.480
I'm not interested in the rest.
00:43:04.199 --> 00:43:06.920
What's left to do?
More research?
00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:11.400
Yes, now what I'm trying to work on
00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:13.519
is roasting on a spit.
00:43:14.159 --> 00:43:18.159
-The spit, yes.
-Working with the whole lobe of foie gras.
00:43:18.440 --> 00:43:20.480
That would be very interesting.
00:43:20.920 --> 00:43:25.199
Even working with eggs,
the yolk of an egg on a spit.
00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:28.440
Egg yolk on a spit?
That is really unusual.
00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:29.800
Egg yolk on a spit.
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:08.159
Well, the restaurant opened in 1990.
00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:12.440
It opened on 27 April
00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:16.960
and I started working here in May,
00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:18.800
the long weekend of May 1.
00:44:19.360 --> 00:44:21.800
So, this is where we met.
00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:43.719
He doesn't talk much.
00:44:43.800 --> 00:44:46.079
Bittor is very different
00:44:46.360 --> 00:44:50.000
when he's in his place
00:44:50.119 --> 00:44:52.760
or with the people he wants to be with
00:44:53.159 --> 00:44:55.320
or when there's someone else.
00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:05.559
You know someone is comfortable
when they're chatting away to you, right?
00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:08.599
But in Bittor's case, I realised
00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:11.039
that it doesn't have to be that way.
00:45:11.639 --> 00:45:14.920
I often said to him:
"But if you aren't very talkative",
00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:17.840
and he always replied,
00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:21.079
"I wouldn't be with you
if I didn't want to"
00:45:21.239 --> 00:45:24.800
I find it funny now,
but then I found it odd.
00:45:25.239 --> 00:45:27.480
That certainly shuts you up.
00:45:58.679 --> 00:46:01.360
I started working here
when it first opened.
00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:03.559
First, on the bar.
00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:05.639
Then, the restaurant floor.
00:46:05.719 --> 00:46:08.000
And then, a bit of everything.
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:19.039
I'd like to have
more free time but...
00:46:21.239 --> 00:46:25.159
I come from a hospitality background.
00:46:25.639 --> 00:46:28.320
My father always worked in a bar.
00:46:28.639 --> 00:46:32.519
So, I lived hospitality at home as well.
00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:36.000
And, yes, I like it.
00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:47.440
We're fully booked until September.
00:47:51.599 --> 00:47:53.599
It makes your head spin in the beginning
00:47:53.679 --> 00:47:58.440
because you go to similar
or better restaurants
00:47:58.760 --> 00:48:02.239
and you think:
"My God, what am I doing among these?
00:48:02.599 --> 00:48:05.119
These are really fantastic".
00:48:16.119 --> 00:48:17.559
Very often,
00:48:18.000 --> 00:48:20.320
not now because they're older,
00:48:20.800 --> 00:48:23.800
but it used to make me sad
00:48:23.880 --> 00:48:26.159
that I couldn't be with them,
00:48:26.239 --> 00:48:29.199
especially at school events,
00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:31.280
matches, parties.
00:48:31.679 --> 00:48:34.840
I used to get up early
to spend some time with them
00:48:34.920 --> 00:48:39.639
but then, I had to ask someone else
to bring them back home.
00:48:39.920 --> 00:48:41.800
Yes, those things make me sad.
00:48:43.440 --> 00:48:46.840
The thing is that you often don't know
00:48:46.920 --> 00:48:48.760
if you've done the right thing.
00:48:48.880 --> 00:48:51.760
Sometimes,
spending lots of time with them
00:48:51.840 --> 00:48:56.199
isn't as important as making the most
of the time you do have together.
00:49:00.960 --> 00:49:04.519
When something doesn't work out
as you wanted,
00:49:04.679 --> 00:49:08.679
you blame yourself for the little time
you've spent with them.
00:49:09.280 --> 00:49:14.000
But, after seeing them grow up
over the years,
00:49:14.719 --> 00:49:18.679
I think they've learnt a lot
00:49:20.079 --> 00:49:22.400
from watching us work hard
00:49:22.480 --> 00:49:26.760
and from the family members
who looked after them.
00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:16.719
It's a pleasure to work here.
00:50:18.039 --> 00:50:20.760
We cook to the rhythm of the grills.
00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:25.559
We do the same things every day.
00:50:25.639 --> 00:50:27.800
We receive the fresh products,
00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:30.079
many products are seasonal.
00:50:30.360 --> 00:50:35.679
So we change them every season
00:50:35.760 --> 00:50:38.559
and they're always very good.
00:50:44.320 --> 00:50:46.480
It's lots of fun cooking like that.
00:50:46.960 --> 00:50:49.960
It's stress-free and exceptional.
00:50:54.199 --> 00:50:57.239
I'm a third-year student in Chile.
00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:01.239
I spoke to Hector,
I sent a few emails.
00:51:03.400 --> 00:51:06.599
They replied
and I came to do an internship.
00:51:07.559 --> 00:51:09.559
I'm very happy, I've learned a lot.
00:51:10.119 --> 00:51:13.360
The people are great, I like it.
00:51:16.159 --> 00:51:18.159
My name is Tetsuro Maeda.
00:51:18.760 --> 00:51:21.639
I've been here for seven years.
00:51:21.920 --> 00:51:23.159
I'm from Japan.
00:51:29.639 --> 00:51:32.639
I do a bit of everything.
00:51:35.280 --> 00:51:37.280
Lots of Japanese clients say to me
00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:39.920
that it's very similar
to Japanese cuisine.
00:51:40.559 --> 00:51:43.880
Even though
the technique is completely different,
00:51:44.519 --> 00:51:46.599
it's the philosophy, the idea.
00:51:47.760 --> 00:51:51.920
Above all, the way of respecting
the products and the culture,
00:51:52.559 --> 00:51:56.320
their parents, their grandparents,
the village, how they lived.
00:51:58.239 --> 00:51:59.440
He once told me:
00:51:59.880 --> 00:52:02.679
"I was Japanese in a previous life".
00:52:45.360 --> 00:52:46.119
My father,
00:52:47.320 --> 00:52:49.519
before going to sleep,
00:52:49.599 --> 00:52:51.719
he always thinks about tomorrow's menu,
00:52:51.800 --> 00:52:54.280
what products he will have,
what he will cook.
00:52:54.360 --> 00:52:56.119
I bet he dreams about it too.
00:53:09.239 --> 00:53:12.119
And you decided to make a chorizo
00:53:12.519 --> 00:53:14.360
that would beat Joselito's.
00:53:14.480 --> 00:53:15.639
How did that come about?
00:53:16.320 --> 00:53:18.880
Well, it came about, above all,
00:53:18.960 --> 00:53:22.480
because we haven't got
used to the paprika,
00:53:23.400 --> 00:53:26.360
which is the way they make their chorizo.
00:53:26.480 --> 00:53:29.000
We've always used
choricero pepper here.
00:53:29.079 --> 00:53:32.519
We would remove the pulp
of the choricero pepper
00:53:32.599 --> 00:53:34.599
and make chorizo with that.
00:53:34.679 --> 00:53:36.960
That's what I grew up with.
00:53:37.360 --> 00:53:39.519
We'd dry them in the kitchen.
00:53:39.599 --> 00:53:43.360
And that flavour has stuck in my memory.
00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:46.400
So I decided that if I'm making chorizo,
I'll use the best meat
00:53:46.480 --> 00:53:48.920
which is the meat we get from Joselito,
00:53:49.360 --> 00:53:52.599
with home-grown choricero pepper pulp,
00:53:53.559 --> 00:53:55.280
and it came out...
00:53:55.480 --> 00:53:58.320
Remodelling the concept
of chorizo as well.
00:53:58.400 --> 00:54:00.360
More tender.
-More tender, not as dry.
00:54:00.679 --> 00:54:01.760
Not as dry.
00:54:02.440 --> 00:54:04.920
-More tender.
-That makes it easier to chew,
00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:06.960
juicier, easier to eat.
-Yes.
00:54:11.320 --> 00:54:14.239
The menu begins
with a selection of starters,
00:54:14.320 --> 00:54:17.800
they're handmade
and of extremely high quality.
00:54:18.000 --> 00:54:22.280
First, a chorizo,
which is a real wonder.
00:54:22.880 --> 00:54:24.199
It becomes,
00:54:25.360 --> 00:54:28.360
for everyone who tries it,
the best chorizo of their lives.
00:54:30.280 --> 00:54:34.880
It's as if Arginzoniz's cuisine
is in that chorizo.
00:54:36.880 --> 00:54:39.280
He's obsessed with the raw ingredients,
00:54:39.360 --> 00:54:41.639
raw ingredients of all varieties,
00:54:41.719 --> 00:54:44.679
expensive, cheap, etc.
00:54:44.840 --> 00:54:47.360
Because he's authentic,
00:54:47.440 --> 00:54:50.039
he believes in what he practises.
00:54:50.480 --> 00:54:52.760
And he has had many achievements
00:54:52.880 --> 00:54:55.880
that are, however, certainly modest.
00:54:56.360 --> 00:54:59.119
Who would have thought
a country man from Axpe
00:54:59.199 --> 00:55:02.400
he would make
the best chorizo in the world.
00:55:06.400 --> 00:55:09.239
It was something I've seen
from a young age at home.
00:55:09.679 --> 00:55:14.679
It was the primary product
from the yearly slaughter.
00:55:16.199 --> 00:55:19.920
I normally buy lean Iberian pork
from Joselito,
00:55:20.159 --> 00:55:25.039
I only buy it in the slaughter season,
which is roughly January to March,
00:55:25.840 --> 00:55:30.320
and that's when we make
our cured sausages for the whole year.
00:55:36.320 --> 00:55:40.519
We make the mix with
home-grown choricero pepper,
00:55:41.760 --> 00:55:45.199
a little bit of salt and garlic,
nothing else.
00:55:47.039 --> 00:55:49.800
Once it's mixed,
we let it rest for 24 hours
00:55:50.199 --> 00:55:52.719
and then we stuff the sausages
the following day.
00:55:58.440 --> 00:56:00.559
This pig was killed on Monday.
00:56:00.639 --> 00:56:03.079
The carcass has to be chilled
for 24 hours
00:56:03.159 --> 00:56:05.159
and then they send it to us.
00:56:09.519 --> 00:56:11.440
Everyone has their own recipe
00:56:12.480 --> 00:56:15.159
but this one contains
Guernica choricero pepper,
00:56:15.719 --> 00:56:18.360
that we grow here,
in our vegetable garden,
00:56:18.760 --> 00:56:23.360
and that's what singles it out
from other types of chorizo.
00:56:29.440 --> 00:56:33.760
It's as simple as making a sausage
out of exceptional meat,
00:56:33.840 --> 00:56:38.400
in the way our
mothers and grandmothers taught us.
00:56:38.840 --> 00:56:41.320
How they made it, how they treated it.
00:56:41.800 --> 00:56:43.079
It's simply that.
00:56:43.159 --> 00:56:46.599
The same common sense
that leads you to make a top product
00:56:47.320 --> 00:56:48.519
that has disappeared.
00:56:54.079 --> 00:56:56.519
What we're doing now
is stuffing the sausage
00:56:57.360 --> 00:57:00.840
with the meat
that has been rested for 24 hours.
00:57:06.679 --> 00:57:09.960
We stuff it in natural pig intestines.
00:57:10.719 --> 00:57:14.079
Once stuffed, we hang them up
00:57:14.159 --> 00:57:18.159
and we leave them to cure
for approximately one month.
00:57:18.239 --> 00:57:21.239
Everything depends on the temperature,
the humidity,
00:57:21.360 --> 00:57:23.440
but after approximately one month
00:57:23.559 --> 00:57:27.960
they should be ready
to be taken down and packaged.
00:57:30.679 --> 00:57:35.639
In kilos, we have
about 700 or 800 kilos of meat.
00:57:37.440 --> 00:57:40.360
In chorizos, we have around 2,000.
00:57:45.920 --> 00:57:49.079
It's just like preparing any other dish,
00:57:50.679 --> 00:57:53.679
but instead of eating it hot,
you eat it cold.
00:57:56.119 --> 00:57:58.320
Creativity surfaces
in two different ways.
00:57:58.800 --> 00:58:01.280
It can surface
when developing something,
00:58:01.360 --> 00:58:04.760
which I think is normally
a positive type of creativity,
00:58:05.239 --> 00:58:06.960
and it can also surface when
00:58:07.039 --> 00:58:09.360
doing completely different
and original things.
00:58:49.519 --> 00:58:52.920
Cookery is about changing flavours,
textures, temperatures and aromas.
00:58:53.039 --> 00:58:56.400
He changes flavours, textures,
temperatures and aromas.
00:58:56.639 --> 00:58:59.719
Therefore, he can continue developing,
and that's what he's doing.
00:59:07.159 --> 00:59:10.079
We've invented this gadget to do this.
00:59:11.880 --> 00:59:13.400
Another gadget among many.
00:59:27.559 --> 00:59:30.440
We can put as many as we want in there.
00:59:31.880 --> 00:59:34.559
What I want is for this to heat
00:59:35.039 --> 00:59:37.360
very gently over the grill.
00:59:37.840 --> 00:59:40.119
We're going to see if it works.
00:59:47.920 --> 00:59:51.599
We'll make this rotate continually,
00:59:52.480 --> 00:59:54.239
at a very slow speed,
00:59:54.480 --> 00:59:59.239
so that, within the mould,
where the egg is,
00:59:59.719 --> 01:00:01.400
the yolk is turning continually.
01:00:03.119 --> 01:00:07.119
One of these that you've put in there
was broken, right?
01:00:07.559 --> 01:00:08.880
-Yes.
-It was broken.
01:00:08.960 --> 01:00:10.039
-It was broken.
-Right.
01:00:10.360 --> 01:00:12.960
Why did you put a broken one in there?
01:00:15.800 --> 01:00:19.159
Then what we do is heat it
over a small amount of embers.
01:00:19.239 --> 01:00:20.960
The yolk doesn't stop turning,
01:00:21.039 --> 01:00:25.320
the heat will stop the yolk
from sticking to the metal mesh
01:00:25.400 --> 01:00:28.920
and it's always rotating
within the mould.
01:00:33.280 --> 01:00:37.079
These are "sarments" to give them aroma.
01:00:40.280 --> 01:00:43.039
This is another grilling system.
01:00:43.360 --> 01:00:47.239
It's a rotary system and it can be used
to cook whatever you deem appropriate.
01:00:49.039 --> 01:00:52.840
You can judge the temperature
by touching the mesh.
01:00:54.519 --> 01:00:58.920
We have to see if this works well
and if it's practical.
01:00:59.679 --> 01:01:02.760
When you cook something on the grill,
01:01:03.199 --> 01:01:04.880
it can be fine for one person
01:01:04.960 --> 01:01:07.880
but the difficulty
is when you have to do it
01:01:07.960 --> 01:01:09.920
for a whole restaurant.
01:01:10.760 --> 01:01:12.239
You have to find a balance
01:01:12.320 --> 01:01:15.599
so you can cook what you want
for large numbers of people
01:01:15.679 --> 01:01:16.920
but you have to do it well.
01:01:17.000 --> 01:01:19.599
That's often
the difficult thing.
01:01:19.840 --> 01:01:22.800
You can put three of these on here,
all three rotate.
01:01:23.039 --> 01:01:26.960
Each one holds around ten yolks.
01:01:27.039 --> 01:01:29.039
So you can make up to thirty.
01:01:36.360 --> 01:01:37.960
This is the delicate part.
01:01:40.960 --> 01:01:42.239
Open those.
01:01:45.079 --> 01:01:49.639
This is a dish that could be served
with a pepper, with truffle, with...
01:01:52.719 --> 01:01:56.239
It's now a dish: grilled egg yolk.
01:01:59.039 --> 01:02:01.840
For me, doing something
that I know how to do
01:02:01.920 --> 01:02:04.280
and that I do every day
bores me.
01:02:04.360 --> 01:02:06.800
I always need an incentive
01:02:06.880 --> 01:02:09.719
to keep trying different things.
01:02:11.599 --> 01:02:15.519
Things that have never
been cooked on a grill in this way.
01:02:28.679 --> 01:02:32.239
I remember, in the last
six or seven years of El Bulli,
01:02:32.440 --> 01:02:35.519
Bittor and I would go to the restaurant.
01:02:35.639 --> 01:02:38.280
And one day something happened,
01:02:38.360 --> 01:02:41.320
we were served a dish
01:02:41.480 --> 01:02:44.679
which was simply an oyster
cooked on a chrome griddle.
01:02:44.760 --> 01:02:47.079
I remember that Bittor and I
looked at each other,
01:02:47.519 --> 01:02:50.679
we smiled but we didn't say anything.
01:02:50.760 --> 01:02:54.119
But I knew perfectly well
that the next time
01:02:54.199 --> 01:02:56.639
that I would visit Etxebarri,
01:02:57.519 --> 01:02:59.519
I would eat a grilled oyster.
01:03:06.039 --> 01:03:07.880
You have the oyster liquor,
01:03:07.960 --> 01:03:09.880
you have the grilled oyster
01:03:09.960 --> 01:03:12.039
and you eat the whole.
01:03:12.480 --> 01:03:14.960
It's a French Atlantic oyster
01:03:15.079 --> 01:03:17.599
which, as you can see,
is an enormous oyster.
01:03:22.280 --> 01:03:25.800
Marvellous, because it's the fusion
of the iodine from the sea
01:03:25.880 --> 01:03:28.599
and the perfume of the wood, the embers.
01:04:25.360 --> 01:04:29.000
This is the most beautiful village
in inland Biscay.
01:04:33.480 --> 01:04:35.599
People come here
from all over the world.
01:04:38.440 --> 01:04:41.360
This is fantastic.
You have to see it to believe it.
01:04:42.519 --> 01:04:47.440
Bittor's ability to innovate
is astonishing.
01:04:47.679 --> 01:04:49.679
Here, he has been inspired
01:04:49.760 --> 01:04:53.119
by the traditional spits
used in grill cookery.
01:04:53.480 --> 01:04:57.920
He has created a recipient
to hold the spit,
01:04:58.000 --> 01:05:01.440
two bars of spit and mesh tea infusers,
01:05:01.559 --> 01:05:03.280
used for making tea.
01:05:04.079 --> 01:05:07.280
This rotates and allows you to grill
01:05:07.360 --> 01:05:10.000
an egg yolk,
01:05:10.239 --> 01:05:13.519
which is cooked over a low heat
01:05:13.599 --> 01:05:16.159
and it becomes deeply impregnated
01:05:16.280 --> 01:05:18.880
with the aroma of straw.
01:05:20.280 --> 01:05:23.880
All of that by bringing together
a limitless technology,
01:05:23.960 --> 01:05:27.239
because we should be looking for a system
01:05:27.320 --> 01:05:30.559
in order to give
a future perspective
01:05:37.880 --> 01:05:39.199
Is that a bit of bacon?
01:05:40.239 --> 01:05:42.000
-Yes, pancetta.
-Pancetta.
01:05:43.800 --> 01:05:45.440
-Do you know why?
-Why?
01:05:45.559 --> 01:05:48.320
Because St. George's mushroom,
in contact with the egg yolk,
01:05:48.400 --> 01:05:49.519
ruins the yolk.
01:05:50.440 --> 01:05:52.559
The mushroom creates
a sort of chemical reaction.
01:05:52.639 --> 01:05:54.639
-Yes.
-And it ruins all the yolks.
01:06:14.039 --> 01:06:17.719
This is missing a stroke of genius.
01:06:17.840 --> 01:06:18.960
Do you know what it is?
01:06:20.280 --> 01:06:23.280
You should put smoke inside the cover.
01:06:25.360 --> 01:06:26.400
Yes, yes.
01:06:26.480 --> 01:06:28.280
It would be amazing.
01:06:28.519 --> 01:06:32.719
And when you take it off
all the smoke will come out.
01:06:33.559 --> 01:06:34.239
Yes, yes.
01:06:43.920 --> 01:06:47.480
Egg yolks grilled at low temperatures,
01:06:48.039 --> 01:06:50.320
tea infuser, chorizo juice.
01:06:54.280 --> 01:06:56.039
This is amazing!
01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:00.079
This is a marvellous dish.
01:07:00.519 --> 01:07:01.800
really outstanding.
01:07:10.199 --> 01:07:11.320
Héctor,
01:07:12.360 --> 01:07:15.840
we're going to change
the menu from yesterday.
01:07:17.760 --> 01:07:21.239
We'll keep this,
we'll add the mushroom cracker,
01:07:25.920 --> 01:07:28.440
we'll change it for the anchovies.
01:07:28.599 --> 01:07:29.360
OK.
01:07:29.440 --> 01:07:33.199
We'll keep this.
We'll add the pod razor and beans here.
01:07:33.280 --> 01:07:34.760
You have beans, right?
-Yes.
01:07:35.639 --> 01:07:38.000
We'll add the beans, then the prawn,
01:07:38.079 --> 01:07:41.880
we'll remove the royal cucumber
and add the squid.
01:07:42.760 --> 01:07:43.360
OK.
01:07:43.440 --> 01:07:47.920
With the caramelised onion and ink.
01:07:48.440 --> 01:07:53.039
We'll also keep the cod cheek and tripe.
01:07:56.039 --> 01:08:00.960
To the egg yolk,
we'll add St George's mushroom.
01:08:01.440 --> 01:08:03.039
-Yes.
-And pepper.
01:08:03.119 --> 01:08:04.800
-OK.
-Red pepper in the base.
01:08:05.800 --> 01:08:10.800
And perhaps we'll add
a little bit of chorizo juice.
01:08:12.239 --> 01:08:16.560
Those are the changes,
everything else is as usual.
01:09:12.239 --> 01:09:15.119
This one is quite cold,
this one is straight out of the cellar.
01:09:16.479 --> 01:09:17.840
Isn't there an open bottle?
01:09:18.079 --> 01:09:19.720
There aren't any open.
01:12:56.399 --> 01:13:00.000
In truth,
from the very first day to today,
01:13:01.560 --> 01:13:04.359
I've seen that
it's getting harder every day.
01:13:06.079 --> 01:13:10.760
Because I demand a lot of myself.
01:13:13.920 --> 01:13:16.279
And not just with cooking,
01:13:17.239 --> 01:13:20.319
when it's your own business,
there are many things.
01:13:20.399 --> 01:13:23.000
As soon as you walk in through the door,
01:13:23.079 --> 01:13:27.600
either something has failed
or you may need to change something.
01:13:29.680 --> 01:13:32.760
You're fighting fires all day long.
01:13:36.479 --> 01:13:40.159
We don't have public relations
or a manager at Etxebarri.
01:13:41.479 --> 01:13:45.000
It's just me and my wife,
nobody else.
01:13:59.479 --> 01:14:00.840
This is fundamental for me.
01:14:00.920 --> 01:14:05.640
It helps me to find the inner peace
that prepares me for the external war.
01:14:10.199 --> 01:14:14.079
As I child, I used to come
to the mountain with my father.
01:14:14.159 --> 01:14:17.800
We'd come to fell pine trees
or for goats.
01:14:17.880 --> 01:14:19.600
We were always in the mountain.
01:14:21.239 --> 01:14:23.880
There are places here
that I carry inside me.
01:14:24.119 --> 01:14:27.239
Cooking and emotions both
begin in my homeland.
01:14:27.359 --> 01:14:28.560
I love my homeland.
01:14:28.840 --> 01:14:32.279
I enjoy my work,
01:14:32.840 --> 01:14:35.119
knowing that I'm where I want to be.
01:14:35.239 --> 01:14:36.239
I love where I am,
01:14:36.319 --> 01:14:37.880
I love the people close to me.
01:14:38.159 --> 01:14:39.560
I love everything, my surroundings.
01:14:39.640 --> 01:14:41.920
I enjoy everything around me.
01:14:44.039 --> 01:14:46.239
That's why, when they ask me:
01:14:46.359 --> 01:14:49.399
"Why don't you open your restaurant
in Bilbao or in Madrid?",
01:14:50.800 --> 01:14:52.800
that would be something different.
01:14:55.920 --> 01:14:58.199
My cookery can't be exported.
01:14:58.680 --> 01:15:02.199
I am where I am, and it's the only place
I think I should be.
01:16:01.760 --> 01:16:05.199
People talk about friendship
or friends
01:16:05.520 --> 01:16:08.800
but I would classify them.
01:16:09.239 --> 01:16:12.840
There are very few true friends.
01:16:12.920 --> 01:16:15.199
and a lot of acquaintances.
01:16:20.600 --> 01:16:24.840
And for me, like food,
friendship is sacred.
01:17:27.880 --> 01:17:29.880
Now, they only serve lunch,
01:17:30.239 --> 01:17:32.439
but until I was ten years old,
01:17:33.279 --> 01:17:37.840
I only remember seeing my parents
in the mornings.
01:17:37.920 --> 01:17:41.279
They took us to the school bus stop
and that was it
01:17:41.399 --> 01:17:44.880
because from there
they went to Etxebarri.
01:17:45.000 --> 01:17:48.520
At Etxebarri, they'd serve lunch
and dinner
01:17:48.600 --> 01:17:51.760
and my father would get back home
at two in the morning
01:17:51.840 --> 01:17:53.960
and my mother
at three or four in the morning.
01:17:54.039 --> 01:17:57.119
The next day,
she'd get up at half past seven
01:17:57.199 --> 01:17:58.439
to wake us up,
01:17:58.520 --> 01:18:01.199
make our breakfast
and then straight back to work.
01:18:01.520 --> 01:18:03.680
The person who was always there for us,
01:18:03.800 --> 01:18:06.000
always, always, was my grandmother.
01:18:06.359 --> 01:18:07.800
Many people ask us:
01:18:07.880 --> 01:18:09.720
"Why do your call
your grandmother mama?"
01:18:09.800 --> 01:18:11.880
Because, in reality, she was our mother.
01:18:12.760 --> 01:18:15.640
Until they were able
to stop serving dinners,
01:18:16.399 --> 01:18:17.800
our mother was grandma.
01:18:17.880 --> 01:18:20.239
This was when my father won
01:18:20.319 --> 01:18:24.880
the Youth Hand-Pelota Championship
in 1978.
01:18:27.319 --> 01:18:29.039
I was also good at
eating T-bones.
01:18:33.960 --> 01:18:36.199
He's always observing what others do,
01:18:36.279 --> 01:18:39.800
he's always trying
to improve what he does.
01:18:39.920 --> 01:18:43.920
He always tries to keep his mind open.
01:18:44.199 --> 01:18:47.239
If we go to Japan,
we do traditional Japanese things.
01:18:47.359 --> 01:18:50.760
If it's traditional to eat four bees
and two cockroaches,
01:18:50.880 --> 01:18:52.960
we eat four bees and two cockroaches.
01:19:28.760 --> 01:19:32.920
My father has been falling
and picking himself back up
01:19:33.000 --> 01:19:35.600
once and again for thirty years
until he got to where he is.
01:19:35.680 --> 01:19:38.479
Etxebarri only opens for bookings
every three months.
01:19:38.560 --> 01:19:43.000
We opened the other day, 1st March,
and in 17 minutes it was fully booked.
01:19:44.319 --> 01:19:48.600
One day, we may think: "What a shame
Etxebarri is closing".
01:19:48.680 --> 01:19:51.800
And I know
that my brother and I could do it,
01:19:51.880 --> 01:19:54.279
but we would never, ever, ever
01:19:54.399 --> 01:19:56.640
reach my father's level. Never.
01:19:56.720 --> 01:19:59.000
Because my father
has a passion for cooking.
01:19:59.079 --> 01:20:01.760
He has a passion for the embers,
for the wood.
01:20:02.079 --> 01:20:03.840
He has a passion for it all.
01:20:04.319 --> 01:20:08.119
And it's not a passion
that my brother and I share.
01:20:12.439 --> 01:20:16.199
I would like for this
01:20:16.279 --> 01:20:19.600
to start and finish with Bittor.
01:20:19.680 --> 01:20:23.920
I don't want my sons
to continue with this.
01:20:24.359 --> 01:20:27.600
Parents never want
to give their children
01:20:28.159 --> 01:20:31.119
something that has deprived
us of so many things
01:20:31.319 --> 01:20:33.520
or that has made us suffer so much.
01:20:48.319 --> 01:20:50.359
I think that someone...
I don't know.
01:20:52.279 --> 01:20:56.039
There's someone up there,
I don't know if it's God or someone else
01:20:56.560 --> 01:20:57.600
but I...
01:20:58.479 --> 01:20:59.800
I do think that...
01:21:00.079 --> 01:21:01.279
there must be...
01:21:03.279 --> 01:21:04.520
I don't know, someone.
01:21:04.840 --> 01:21:06.399
As a child,
01:21:07.119 --> 01:21:10.920
they made me spend hours at church.
01:21:11.000 --> 01:21:13.960
More hours than a lot of priests.
01:21:14.359 --> 01:21:18.159
But since I opened Etxebarri,
01:21:18.239 --> 01:21:20.960
I've hardly set foot in a church.
01:21:21.039 --> 01:21:24.279
But that doesn't mean
that I don't believe in God.
01:21:25.319 --> 01:21:28.119
I prefer to believe that God exists.
01:21:29.760 --> 01:21:32.640
And it's not just that,
it's also that I don't believe
01:21:32.720 --> 01:21:36.680
that things happen by chance
in our daily lives.
01:21:37.479 --> 01:21:39.359
I'm talking from personal experience.
01:21:39.439 --> 01:21:42.880
I think that often,
in all the decisions I've made,
01:21:43.199 --> 01:21:45.520
decisions I've had to make quickly,
01:21:45.600 --> 01:21:48.159
or that I've had to reflect on,
01:21:48.359 --> 01:21:52.000
someone has helped me
to make the right decisions.
01:22:21.439 --> 01:22:22.600
I've always liked
01:22:24.039 --> 01:22:26.399
the village where I was born,
this village,
01:22:26.479 --> 01:22:30.159
and then to be able
to work and live here,
01:22:30.920 --> 01:22:33.279
I think I've been very lucky.
01:22:35.640 --> 01:22:38.520
I wouldn't change it
for anything in the world.
01:22:44.199 --> 01:22:46.920
What I will never do,
nor have I ever done,
01:22:47.239 --> 01:22:49.920
is to work with the aim
01:22:51.039 --> 01:22:53.399
of being in a guide, in any position,
01:22:53.479 --> 01:22:55.680
or achieving a star or two, no.
01:22:56.439 --> 01:22:59.920
I work doing what I love,
01:23:00.000 --> 01:23:01.319
which is to cook.
01:23:02.439 --> 01:23:06.079
When I cook, I try to transmit
my joy to the table.
01:23:06.199 --> 01:23:10.000
And I want the people
who visit Etxebarri
01:23:11.239 --> 01:23:13.000
to leave as happy as possible.
Distributor: Pragda Films
Length: 84 minutes
Date: 2019
Genre: Expository
Language: Spanish
Grade: Upper Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Audio description: Available
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