I met Isabel Cuevas seven years ago in Yamanashi, Japan's wine country, as you do. We got on like the proverbial house on fire and we kept in touch when she moved to England to join her husband-to-be, both, incidentally from the rural Spanish wilds of Extremadura. Thanks to her natural affinity for Spanish food and gastronomy and my love of Spanish wine, it took us no longer than you can say croqueta to decide that we should collaborate on a guide to tapas bars in the UK. Of course it would mean eating and drinking our way around our favourite tapas watering holes, but someone has to do it, as they say, so why not us?
I met Isabel Cuevas seven years ago in Yamanashi, Japan's wine country, as you do. We got on like the proverbial house on fire and we kept in touch when she moved to England to join her husband-to-be, both, incidentally from the rural Spanish wilds of Extremadura. Thanks to her natural affinity for Spanish food and gastronomy and my love of Spanish wine, it took us no longer than you can say croqueta to decide that we should collaborate on a guide to tapas bars in the UK. Of course it would mean eating and drinking our way around our favourite tapas watering holes, but someone has to do it, as they say, so why not us?
We were fortunate. As we mention in our introduction, "never before have we seen such levels of creativity and artistry and the foresight of Spain's bright young entrepreneurs has resulted in a dramatic increase in the presence of Spanish restaurants worldwide". The tapas bar phenomenon been at its most dynamic in London where an expanding array of tapas bars and Spanish restaurants such as Brindisa, Barrafina, Camino, Capote y Toros, Ibérica, José and Morito sit cheek-by-jowl with a growing number of fun wine bars, bistrots and brasseries.
In his foreward to our guide, the great Spanish winemaker Miguel Torres reminds us that the history of the tapas bar goes back many centuries, and to that end, Isabel takes us on a fascinating journey, delving into the history and origin of tapas. There are many versions of the origin of the word tapa, but the most likely one is that its origin lies in the middle ages in Andalucía, where it was the name for the slice of bread, sausage or cheese used to cover the glass of wine or beer in order to keep flies or dust out. This piece of food was in fact used as a lid. At that time it came free with the drink, and the tradition lingers on in some places.
Isabel then talks about the evolution and revolution of tapas and how they evolved from the simple idea of getting customers' saliva juices flowing (and tempting them into buy more drinks) to today's inspiring and sophisticated form of modern tapas espoused by Spain's finest chefs. She explores the cultural side of tapas and how they vary according to regional customs, climate, character and raw materials. As she points out, greater access to local ingredients means that 'tapas are now considered to be creative and sophisticated, including both complexity in the process of preparation and the eye-catching elegance of their presentation'.
It is, of course, impossible to imagine tapas without wine, or beer for that matter. After a tour d'horizon of the new Spain with a thumbnail sketch of each wine region along with recommended producers for each, I also discuss the sherry revival. This is important because despite a depressing picture of long-term decline in the sherry industry for two decades, the tapas bar revolution has contributed to rekindling an interest in this most undervalued of wines. All the more so for appetising dry fino and manzanilla and spin-off new styles such as en rama, i.e. the mouthwatering dry sherry that goes straight from barrel to bottle without the usual filtration.
The meat, as it were, of the Tapas Bar Guide lies in its two major sections, profiles of the tapas bars themselves and a series of signature recipes. As far as the tapas bars themselves are concerned, we select a top 10 of our favourites (sorry, you'll have to read the book to find out which!) and even these vary from the mainstream to the cutting edge.
Ok, I won't be too cagey, so here are three personal favourites: Barrafina for its wonderfully vibrant portions of delicious fresh food served to you sitting, Japanese style, at the counter; Ibérica, for the best of modern classic tapas, its new restaurant in Farringdon a joy; and José at London Bridge, the most intimate, fun space of all, a permanent tapas party.
In the case of the mouthwatering recipes, which form the second major part of the tapas guide, we have selected those we think are the best and most typical of each tapas bar. We aim to give as much of a regional spread as possible, including recipes with varying degrees of ease of preparation, from the simple yet delicious, to those demanding more time and attention and finally to the challengingly, but rewardingly, cheffy. We hope that you'll not just enjoy the recipes that come with the profiles but try them out for yourselves, and we sincerely hope this guide will encourage you to embrace the Spanish way of life and the many varied styles of the best of what Spanish wine, beer and tapas have to offer.
* The Tapas Bar Guide, published by Grub Street, is available in mainstream booksellers, including Waterstones and WH Smith and through online retailers priced at £10.99.