Tagaytay restaurant creates menu inspired by Spain's Camino de Santiago
MANILA, Philippines — Samira by Chele Gonzalez, located in Anya Resort Tagaytay, launched a limited menu inspired by the famous Camino de Santiago in Spain.
The Camino de Santiago, or The Way of St. James, is an ancient pilgrimage route in northwestern Spain where devotees walk 100 kilometers to reach the tomb of St. James the Great, one of the 12 Apostles, in Santiago de Compostela.
The resort's general manager Mikel Arriet and the restaurant's executive chef Chris Leaning teamed up to create the "El Camino Walk at Samira" menu inspired by the Northern Route of the Camino.
The route begins in Irun in the province of Navarre, traversing to Gernika in the Basque country, Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Gijon and Ribadeo in Asturias, and finally Lugo and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Each dish in the menu mirrors the seven stops of the route. Arriet describes the experience as a "journey where we play with gastronomy, spirituality, and history."
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The servings are as follows:
- Navarre - Gilda & Vermouth (skewered olive, salted anchovy, and piquillo pepper with sweet vermouth)
- Gernika - Barra de Pintxos (chaka, txampiñones, and pimiento relleno on toast)
- Santillana del Mar - Sorroputun (tuna stew with potatoes)
- Gijon - Fabuda Asturiana (white bean stew with chorizo, pork, and blood sausage)
- Ribadeo - Pargo con Salsa de Erizos (snapper in uni sauce)
- Lugo - Carrilleras de Rubia Gallega & Cremoso de Queso Tetilla (beef cheeks stew with creamy rice)
- Santiago de Compostela - Pastelito de Santiago (almond cake)
Some of the dishes are direct reflections of their allocated locations like the Barra de Pintxos, a traditional dish in the Basque country; the Sorroputun, a dish from fishermen's catch of the day; and the Pargo con Salsa de Erizos, which has a strong ocean flavor as a reference to the route's last seaside stop.
The menu is only available until the end of October, but Arriet is hoping it will be successful as he wants to attempt making menus for the other Camino routes.
The "El Camino Walk at Samira" menu costs P3,200 per person, with wine pairings complementing each dish.
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