A new season of one of the most popular reality shows in Spain begins, ‘MasterChef Celebrity 8. It is the most followed culinary format on television. This time it will have 15 contestants, among which Jesulín de Ubrique, Toñi Moreno, Blanca Romero, Jorge Sanz, Eduardo Casanova and Los Morancos stand out, who will give their all in the kitchen every Thursday in prime time. And three very recognizable faces will continue on the jury, such as son Pepe Rodríguez, Samantha Vallejo-Nágera and Jordi Cruz. The latter has up to four restaurants in Barcelona in which it has accumulated six Michelin stars. These are some of the dishes that you can taste and how much it costs to eat each of them.
AbaC: tasting menu 295 euros
Jordi Cruz’s most recognized restaurant is AbaC, located in the Tibidabo area of Barcelona. It is awarded 3 Michelin stars thanks to its creative and traditional signature cuisine. “Tenacity, passion and perseverance,” says the chef himself. The tasting menu is priced at 295 euros, and the optional marriage costs 140 euros. It is made up of 19 steps between starters, main courses and desserts. Highlights include dishes such as smoked oyster with caviar, onion gazpachuelo as a ceviche with lobster and mussels, lamb rib or Wagyu tsukune marinated in miso and sake, among others.
Jordi Cruz anticipated an increase in menu prices to 280 euros to achieve a 5% profit, in the style of other three-star restaurants, something that has not happened. Nor does it seem to worry Jordi Cruz, who in the same interview on the Ser network assured “that Spanish gastronomy is cheap” and hoped to fill AbaC daily even if the price of the menu increased to 400 euros.
Angle: tasting menu 185 euros
Jordi Cruz and his team define it as ‘A great restaurant for every day’. It is located in the Cram Hotel and has 2 Michelin stars. The menu is made up of exclusive dishes with “market products with an excellent quality-price ratio” to “offer exquisite tasting menus at very reasonable prices”, as indicated on their website. The tasting menu is priced at 185 euros, and although it is not suitable for all budgets, it is cheaper than AbaC’s. It is made up of 15 passes between appetizers, starters and half portions of fish, seafood and seasonal meats, in addition to desserts. The marriage costs 100 euros.
Atempo: tasting menu 150 euros
In this restaurant “the craft of a waiter is merged with the passion and creativity of the cooks.” Iñaki Aldrey brings to life Jordi Cruz’s proposal at Atempo, awarded with a Michelin star and whose tasting menu is priced at 150 euros. It is made up of 17 passes between the four appetizers, the starters, the main courses and the four desserts. You can taste dishes such as Andalusian oyster, nori seaweed with salmon, rice cannelloni, royal goose, braised pigeon breast or yogurt foam, among others. The optional marriage costs 75 euros.
Ten’s Barcelona: tapas from 4 euros
Jordi Cruz has trusted the kitchen of this restaurant in Rubén Maldonado since 2017. Ten’s is a project of the great traditional tapas, updated to today’s flavors. The 10 tapas menu costs 65 euros, but you can also choose individually or portions to share, as well as desserts. The cheapest are the coca de pan toasted with tomato and olive oil (€4.10) and the Cantabrian anchovy with Provencal olive sauce and brush bread (€4.50). All the dishes are inexpensive, since the most expensive is the acorn-fed ham (€17). On the menu there is creamy stingray cheek rice, Russian salad, Andalusian-style squid, fried food, chicken wing, for example.
