The value of Barcelona real estate is in part influenced by the city’s reputation as a cosmopolitan, vibrant, world-class city. Lucas Fox Director, Alex Vaughan, last week explained that one of the reasons for Barcelona’s high standing as a valued brand – apart from the safety, the climate and the airport destination access – is the city’s gastronomic culture.
In the days immediately following Alex’s comments, cities around the world seemed to want to prove him right: Barcelona’s cuisine culture has been talked about (and tasted) across the globe.
First up this month, Barcelona-born chef Jose Andres was awarded the prestigious James Beard award – often referred to as the gastronomic Oscars – in a ceremony in Washington DC. Andres, who trained with Ferran Adria, is recognized as having brought tapas to the masses in the United States. The Spanish custom of dining on smaller, shared plates of delicious morsels has excited the American restaurant scene, and Andres is given much of the credit for introducing this style of dining to the United States. Why it took a chef of Andres’ clout to bring the style to the mainstream is a mystery to the many Americans who have stayed in Barcelona properties over the years.
While Andres receives accolades in the US for his cooking, in Barcelona, Adria’s latest venture, the tapas bar Tickets in Avenida del Paral.lel continues to get talked about in hungry whispers and palate-surprised gasps. To overcome the barriers that faced diners of Adria’s El Bulli restaurant, Tickets does not take any bookings more than 90 days in advance and each day the tapas bar releases a new set of tables for reservations.
Meanwhile, this month has also see Barcelona food celebrated in Texas, where Barcelona restaurateur Quim Marqués (owner of Suquet de l’Amirall) cooked for eager food lovers as part of Dallas Central Market’s food and wine pairing event. Marqués shared the kitchen with Daniel Olivella, another Catalan-born chef who now runs his own restaurant in San Francisco. Lucas Fox clients staying in Barcelona properties near Passeig Joan de Borbo are encouraged to discover the food that is now being talked about in the Dallas food scene.
And finally, across the other side of the globe in Australia, a much-admired building focused on being Sydney’s “playground of food”, has aptly named itself Barcelona in order to conjure up just the right sort of image and ambience that the tenants inside want to portray. It is becoming a popular foodie’s choice since it opened in 2004, and last week a Sydney newspaper gushed over one of the dishes served up by Gastro Park, one of the restaurants in the building. As if the name of the building wasn’t enough to reflect the aspirations of the restaurant, the meal being critiqued was inspired by Spanish chef Martin Berasategui, who runs the Barcelona-based (and Michelin two-starred) Restaurant Lasarte.
It has been a big week for Barcelona: after being Barcelona property was acknowledged as a highly valued brand in the Esade study, it has since been voted best Spanish city, 4th best European location and 9th best destination in the world by readers of online travel site TripAdvisor. Now, the city who’s name is on everyone’s lips, has it’s food in everyone’s mouths. Visitors from around the world are finding they can explore Barcelona real estate while also enjoying the city’s gastronomic heritage.
