With the arrival of almadraba fishing season, it’s high tuna season for Dani García. In conjunction with Gadira, this year the chef wanted to celebrate one of the most special times of the year by demonstrating the ronqueo technique.
This is the traditional method of breaking the fish down into the various different cuts, together with an explanation of how they’re used to get the most out of each one. Following the ronqueo, Dani García led a masterclass on all of them to demonstrate and provide ideas on how to prepare certain tuna cuts at home.
Running alongside these special events, BiBo (Madrid and Tarifa) and Lobito de Mar (Marbella and Madrid) both included the special “15 tunas for 15 days” dishes on their menu. A unique delicacy that you can enjoy at both concepts to experience one of the most amazing products from the ocean.
Ronqueo Marbella
On 4 May, at the Salón Andalucía of the Puente Romano hotel in Marbella, Dani’s home town and location of the group’s Leña and Babette restaurants. On this occasion and under the title of ‘Tuna, Caviar and Cocktail’, Dani García was assisted by Hervé Courtot, Corporate Chef for Nobu Hotels, to demonstrate how tuna is broken down into its various cuts, starting at 6pm.
Following this display, guests enjoyed a light dinner that included some of the dishes that had been explained previously. A Roku-based cocktail was also served.
Ronqueo Madrid
A day later, on 5 May, “The Art of Tuna” came to Dani Brasserie at the Four Seasons hotel in Madrid, which opened the terrace season with its first demonstration of the traditional ronqueo technique. Under the name “Tuna, Caviar and Champagne”, the event featured a welcoming cocktail, a special dinner by Dani and his team, and an afterparty with live music from DJs Sandro Bianchi and Mestiza.
The food served began with an o’toro nigiri with white soy sauce and Cádiz tuna pani puri with onion, followed by four main dishes: lean red tuna, ají amarillo chili, coriander and black olives; Nitro Tomato, green gazpacho and tuna belly tartare with Baeri caviar; smoked nape of tuna, soft wheat berries, coconut and kimchi; and tuna Wellington with matelote sauce and home-cooked truffles. Dessert consisted of yuzu sorbet with champagne, topped off with dark chocolate, gianduja and Arabica coffee ice cream.
Ronqueo Tarifa
The programme of ronqueo events around Spain was brought to a close in Tarifa, a town that is heavily involved in the almadraba method of tuna fishing. On 17 May, the BiBo Beach House restaurant in Tarifa gave ‘The Art of Tuna’ a fitting send-off. Located next to the Valdevaqueros beach dune, in an open-air setting, it was the first ronqueo event hosted at the restaurant.
As the sun set after the display, guests enjoyed a cocktail aperitif to bring this unique series of events to a close.
