BARCELONA: Twin brothers Javier and Sergio Torres have known from a very young age that they would cook and work together. Even when they were training to become chefs and getting experiences in some of the world’s best restaurants, the two had everything planned to the last detail. They knew that four hands were better than two and that if they set their mind to learning different things, they would end up with a sum that is greater than its parts.
Today, just four years after opening their dream restaurant Cocina Hermanos Torres; an industrial factory turned into a sleak, modern “kitchen with tables” they are ready to take the world by storm.
They’ve been known in the Spanish food world for very long. When they opened their new restaurant in 2018 to great acclaim they directly clinched two Michelin stars and recently were awarded a green Michelin Star for their sustainable approach to fine dining.
Many chefs say they have been inspired by their grandmother. It is a bit of a cliche but it is clear from your story that your grandmother played a very important role. When did you realize this is what you wanted to do in life and how did you convince your family to support you?
Sergio: Well we found out very early. At a young age, 8 or 9 years old, we were always in the kitchen with our grandmother because our parents worked all day. So from very early on we said that this was what we would like to do. It was also very difficult to convince the family because they wanted us to go to university, study, but that never interested us. It was hard to convince them and we even said that if they didn’t help us we would do it ourselves but luckily, in the end, they supported us and the rest is history.
Did you always know you would work together?
Javier: Yes, it was always clear to us.
Have you had any major disagreements along the way? And if yes how did you sort them?
Javier: There have been no disagreements, but we’ve faced a lot of challenges. In the end, things don’t always work out the first time, but you have to experiment, learn, make mistakes to know what you can and can’t do, and just like that, we’ve learned a lot. You can say it was “street university and experience”. But we have always been very determined and focused, nothing has made us slow down along the way. We are very positive in every way.
How did you go about creating your vision for the restaurant? Did you have the same ideas, were you always in sync about what Cocina Hermanos Torres should be?
Sergio: Yes, the vision was always very clear for us. In addition, we always knew that we wanted to make a kitchen with tables instead of a restaurant with a kitchen. In that sense, we have always been clear about it and we spent many years looking for a place that met the conditions we have here because if there was one thing we were clear about, it was that people had to eat in the kitchen, so that they could see the service. We don’t want to hide absolutely anything from the guests. Rather we want the very opposite.
Who had the biggest impact on your training career?
Sergio: My greatest influence … There were many. But if we talk about the beginning, I would say that Josep Lladonosa, one of the teachers from culinary school. He was a machine. And from later on it would be Pedro Subijana.
Javier: Each one had a lot of importance but if I had to mention two they would be Santi Santamaría and Philippe Rochat.
When you started to train in different restaurants you were separated. How long did it last? How did you stay in touch? Did tastes change? Did you find you were in disagreement on certain aspects given you went on a different career path?
Javier: It lasted years. I don’t know if it’s 10, 12 or 15 years. But we kept meeting in different European countries and we always kept in touch. We took the opportunity to meet at a good table, try new restaurants and above all build the next steps. Between the two we discussed what we needed to cover, what we needed to learn more. If Sergio was working with fish, I was in meat, if he was in pastry, I was in pantry and so on. Between the two of us we have toured the best restaurants in Europe and the world and each one has a background that makes us a winning duo.
Sergio: It was all part of a strategy, to learn twice as much and to be able to go together where one person could not go.
What happened when you started cooking together?
Sergio: Well, we’ve always been together. It has never been something new. We always met, cooked, and kept in touch… So it was never something new… Between twins this happens in a very natural way. We did not know how it would look from the outside but for us it was something very normal and organic. We don’t ask ourselves if the other person understands it or not, it’s simply a matter of feeling, of being twins.
There are clear benefits to being two. But are there any drawbacks?
No! (They both answer at the same time).
Javier: Everything is positive.
Sergio: One plus one is two. In the end, everything adds up and we always seek to add.
I’ve always been interested in the creative process. Can you explain how you go about creating a new dish or composing a menu? Does it start with the ingredient or a combination of ingredients? Who if any has the final say on the dish? The one who thought up the idea?
Sergio: Most of it comes from a solid base of cooking and ideas we got by working and learning in great restaurants all over the world. And then we start with some products, they need to be the best and they need to be seasonal. From this base, we look at our experiences, our history and we create flavours, backgrounds, sauces using different cooking techniques. We have a good base having worked with the best so we create by mixing this great product with our personality. A dish is always based on an excellent product and a personal experience. It could be a bike ride, a trip, a meal.
Can you give me an example of that process with a dish?
Sergio: We had restaurants for many years in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and we had the opportunity to travel a lot in Brazil. And the cuisine from Bahia was the one that struck us the most since it has a very important African influence. So with that experience, we created the Moqueca of prawns with sea urchins, mussels and saffron noodles.
Javier: Or the onion soup from our father’s garden, which was born from trying an incredible onion and wanting to pay homage to the product and the work of our father in his garden.
We have already spoken about cliches, four hands dinners have become a bit the same. Many chefs meet and present their own dishes often without much thought. In your case, you are constantly doing four hands given your work as twins. What in your view is the benefit of real collaboration. Is the sum bigger than its part?
Javier: As you say we have four hands dinners every day. But of course it’s different, we know each other very very well. I think you have to have a lot of affinity with a person. This fusion must be really magical to cook with someone. For example, the chemistry that we two have is amazing, it complements each other. It’s not that he goes one way and I go the other, it’s that we both work with the same philosophy.
What happens if there is no agreement on the final result? Is there someone who has the final say?
Sergio: Well, in the end, the dish is the last word. It is all about knowledge of the product and the taste. It doesn’t matter who the idea comes from because in the end what it is about is adding. It’s not just us, we have a team of people. We have three more people with us who help us develop each idea that Javier and I have. However, we are the ones who take the first steps because otherwise the kitchen would have no identity.
How would you describe your cuisine and what are your goals?
Javier: Our kitchen is a kitchen of flavor. Above all, if we have to define it, it is a kitchen of flavor that is clean, healthy, and based on the product and the producer. The good thing is that we still have a long way to go because both the restaurant (which is 70% kitchen) and we have a lot where to grow and develop. We have prepared ourselves for many years by working with the best and we have prepared an ideal space to grow in, and although we do not know where this will take us we know that good and better things are coming.
There have been big changes to the gastronomic scene in Barcelona but there is also still a lot to experience for visitors to this vibrant city. Why has Barcelona been such a melting pot of high end avantgarde gastronomy?
Javier: Barcelona is a very avant-garde city. If you can set up a restaurant here and succeed, you can set up a restaurant in New York and succeed too. Barcelona is not easy. It is a very demanding city, with a very knowledgeable foreign and local public that knows exactly what they want, as well as being a city with a very rich gastronomic culture of its own. Catalan cuisine dates back to medieval times and is very rich in terms of product and diversity. All this has brought together geniuses such as Ferran, Santi Santamaría, Carme Ruscalleda, countless chefs who have made this a cradle of creativity.
I often get the feeling, and it is not just the case for Spain but you could also say Italy or France that language is a bit of a barrier to getting well known globally. Would you agree? Is this beneficial in any way?
Sergio: Well, I believe that cultural identity is power, it is everything. So I would say no. Language has never prevented us from traveling, getting to know people or places, working in other countries… Spanish is a world-renowned language and there are millions and millions of Spanish speakers, not only here but in Latin America as well. So no, I think it’s more of a value. If we all spoke the same language and all cooked the same cuisine, it would all be quite boring. Diversity is one of the most important values in this world.
Where would you like to be in five years?
Sergio: Well. I would say right where we are. We are in a wonderful place, cooking with incredible people. Perhaps we would like a little more international recognition and we are working on it, but we are doing very well here.
Javier: This will always be the mother house and then in parallel we will open other projects but we will continue cooking here.
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