SAVOURING MADRID

We journey through the Spanish capital's culinary offerings, from ancient palaces to gourmet tasting menus and Michelin-star restaurants.

- DEEPALI NANDWANI

Madrid, Spain's capital city and a global hub of politics, finance and culture, has a history that stretches back to pre-historic times, its people having lived under the rule of both Islamic Iberia and the powerful Philip II, who ruled Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy at various times since 1556. The city's history spans the devastating Spanish Civil War.

Madrid's old architecture is a fascinating tapestry of its evolution from a medieval outpost to a grand capital, reflecting influences from Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods. This story, however, isn't about its architecture. It is about its restaurants, some of them centuries old, some new and Michelin-starred.

Fascinatingly, for me, the journey into the heart of Madrid's culinary landscape at the sidelines of the Madrid Fusion event did not begin with a restaurant. It began with the ancient kitchen of the white Royal Palace, the official residence of the House of Alba, the Spanish royal family, which stands on the site of a 9th century Muslim fortress, which is why the reference to the architecture.

THE ROYAL KITCHEN

Dating back to 1737, these royal kitchens-spanning 800sq.m. in the palace basement-are Europe's oldest surviving. Operating continuously for three centuries until the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, they housed the 'oficios de boca,' including a bakehouse, cellar, fruitery, confectionery, pastry, saucery, potagerie, and guardamangier (grocery store).