Barcelona! Chef Kerry Kilpin

Bistro Sixteen82’s ex ecutive chef, Kerry Kilpin,takes a break from the beautiful Steenberg Farm in Constantia Valley to visit the home of tapas, Barce lona, for some inspiration.She shares her journey with us.

I went to Barcelona with my husband, James, in September 2016. It was my very first trip to this Spanish beauty. With my time being limited, we had only five days to tour Barcelona. We ate at 13 restaurants in this time, excluding breakfast! We just about covered the scope of Barcelona in longitude and latitude. We also did a tapas tour, which was great fun and gave us insight into Spain’s local tapas culture. During the course of the evening, we feasted on 19 different traditional tapas dishes. It’s really difficult to get away from the tourists in Barcelona and the locals are very secretive about where they like to eat, keeping the best to themselves.  I’M ONE VERY LUCKY LADY AS STEENBERG SENT ME TO EAT!

I’m extremely passionate about food and the hospitality industry. You’ll notice a common thread in what I do and who I am: love – I cook with love and my food is love.

THE SEAFOOD IN BARCELONA IS INCREDIBLE AND HAS SO MUCH FLAVOUR

I’m not sure why this is;some say it’s because the Mediterranean Sea is warmer;others say the water is saltier.I can’t put my finger on it,but the fare from the ocean is absolutely delectable. I fell madly in love with razor clams – they are just too delightful for words! To me, they taste like a cross between scallops and mussels. Cal Pep restaurant had the best razor clams and possibly the best seafood out of all the eateries we ate at.

TAPAS IS REALLY SIMPLE,usually comprising no more than three ingredients: a protein, olive oil and garlic or parsley, without any garnish or sauce. Pan con tomate, which is humble toast, rubbed with fresh tomato and soaked in olive oil, is a staple tapas offering everywhere.