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Read’s Hotel & Spa in Santa Maria on the sunny Spanish isle of Mallorca has won numerous plaudits, particularly for its cuisine. Redhot asks Read’s Michelin star chef and director Marc Fosh for an insider’s guide to Mallorca
1 - Where do you live and why?
Marratxi, between Santa Maria and Palma, ideal for travelling between the hotel and my shop.
2 - What three activities would you recommend a visitor do in Mallorca?
Eat, drink and sleep. There are wonderful places to eat, great wines to discover and it’s a great place to chill out.
3 - What do you love best about Spain?
It’s over-indulgence and diversity! The way Spain enjoys life to the full as it flies from fiesta to fiesta. It’s a wonderfully interesting country as every region has its own personality and customs. Gastronomically speaking it has a wealth of great dishes.
4 - What couldn’t you live without?
Work, family, music and, of course, football.
5 - What advice would you offer a visitor to Mallorca?
Escape the tourist traps and discover the real beauty of Mallorca.
6 - Which local food speciality should visitors sample?
Arroz Negro, a wonderful black rice dish flavoured with cuttlefish. Stir a little aioli into the rice to give it a kick and a smooth, creamy texture.
7 - As a diner what is your pet hate?
Sloppy, thoughtless food.
8 - Which living person do you most admire?
What three activities would you recommend a visitor do in Mallorca?
9 - What are three must-buys from Fosh Food?
It’s a delicatessen, food store and cookery school (on Calle Blanquerna 6, Palma). Must-buys are several of our flavoured salts called “Flor de Sal”, designer chocolates from Spain’s premier chocolatier Enric Rovira and some local olive oils – they’re among the best in Spain and they improve the taste of any dish.
10 - What was your most memorable meal?
Lunch at Gavroche, about 20 years ago. It was my first experience of a three-star Michelin restaurant and I’ll never forget it because I saved up for months – the bill was around a month’s salary for me then. I just wish I’d known how to put snooty wine waiters in their place.
11 - Is there a trick to living and working in a foreign country?
Learn the language and try to understand the culture, otherwise you’ll always feel like you don’t belong.
12 - What is your favourite bar on the island?
A little seafront bar with a huge terrace on Palma’s Paseo Maritimo. I go there to relax with the Sunday papers and sample tapas before lunch.
13 - Where is the best view in Mallorca?
Mallorca has some absolutely stunning views, but recently my friend Benito, who owns a great restaurant called Bens D’avall, invited me to his weekend house high up in the mountains above Soller village to eat suckling pig. From there you have spectacular, panoramic views... the pig was pretty special too.
14 - Give us a top cooking tip?
Chop ingredients before starting to cook, then you can concentrate on the actual cooking. It sounds silly but you’d be amazed how many people burn their onions while they are chopping the next ingredient.
15 - Which record most makes you dance?
Unfortunately I’m not the greatest dancer but I do like a bit of a smooch to anything by Al Green or Marvin Gaye now and again.
16 - What is your favourite journey?
Travelling back home to Mallorca from anywhere.
17 - Where do you find inspiration?
Food markets and seeing any product at its optimum point gives me a real kick. Lately I’ve changed how I construct dishes, instead of starting with the main ingredient like sea bass, now I start with one simple ingredient – a cardamom pod or a tonka bean – and play with flavour combinations, hoping that it will lead me somewhere and usually it does...eventually.
18 - How do you relax?
Bike riding with my kids. They’ve recently finished a coastline route that runs from Palma to the end of Arenal. It’s a really pleasant way to spend a morning. On the way back we normally stop off for lunch at the Bangalow – they serve a great Arroz Negro.
19 - If you were a dish what would you be and why?
Hot chocolate fondant by Michel Bras. A little crusty on the outside with a warm liquid centre. As with anything chocolatey, it has a sexy, sinful quality. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t go wild about it.
20 - Which six people (alive or dead) would you invite to a dream dinner party and what would you cook them?
Escoffier to talk cooking, Woody Allen to talk sex and religion, Bobby Moore to talk football and my beloved West Ham United, John Peel to talk music, Billy Connelly to make us laugh and Marilyn Monroe: I can’t think why I’d invite her. I’d cook Mediterranean fish soup followed by Beef Wellington in honour of Escoffier and my chocolate and olive oil truffle with red pepper and raspberry for dessert. A menu to suit all tastes.
21 - What is your ultimate ambition?
Spend more time with my family. I love being in the restaurant business and Fosh Food, but it does mean a normal family life is almost impossible
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