Sevilla’s third Noche en Blanca is TONIGHT. Organised by @SevillaSeMueve, the 2014 edition of this all-night cultural event is the most amibitious to date with more than 100 spaces participating, including theatre, music, boutiques, galleries, cinema, gastronomy, walking tours and much more.
Have a great White Night everyone!
Noche en Blanco Programme
Twitter hashtag: #nocheenblancoSEV
Introduing Sevilla’s first Gastronomic Heritage Guide to tapas (and the best places to find them). The first printing of the guide is out and about and you can also download the free APP, which has both Spanish and English versions. It’s a perfect way for both locals and visitors to discover the diverse and delicious gastronomy of Sevilla, one bar at a time. Handy maps and recipes are also included in the APP.
“Establishments suggested come from a popular survey conducted by Tourism Board of City of Seville website between April 15 and September 15, 2013, as well as from a selection prepared by a technical commission of experts composed of Julio Fernández, Chef of the Michelin Star restaurant Abantal, Fernando Huidobro, president of the Andalusian Academy of Gastronomy and Tourism, Javier Compás, wine tasting technician, journalist and gastronomic writer, Shawn Hennessey, best gastronomy Twitter 2013 and author of Sevilla Tapas gastronomy tours, and Paco Sánchez, historic bar-restaurant owner in town, former owner of Bar Giralda and Bar Estrella. As a rule, these establishments are limited to the traditional and touristic heart of the city, although some other establishments are also included beyond that area because of uniqueness, quality and tradition.”
~ Visita Sevilla
I am very pleased and proud to have had a part in the creation of this very special guide.
Download the APP at Visita Sevilla
Love the dim light of the mysterious deeps? Fascinated by fish? Shocked by sharks? Well, now you can indulge yourself with a visit to Sevilla’s newest visitor attraction, the Acuario de Sevilla.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to the press preview for the grand opening on September 30th, and be one of the first people to see the new facility and its 400 species of marine life. The layout of the exhibits within the aquarium was designed to represent the first circumnavigation of the world by Magellan, who set out from Seville in 1519, and the creatures he would have met along the way. Inevitably, everyone will come to look at the sharks (you can even spend the night with them), but sharks are not the only fish in the sea (so to speak). There’s gliding rays, flotillas of brightly coloured tropical fish, as well as a pair of caymans, sea turtles, octopus and less obvious creatures like starfish and sea urchins.
You can buy a souvenir of your visit in the aquarium gift shop, and fortify yourself (either before or after) with a drink at the bar. Check the Aquarium website for courses, special events and activities.
Calle Santiago Montoto (Puerto las Delicias)
Opening hours Mon-Thur 10am to 7 pm (Nov-Feb)
10am-8pm (Mar-Oct)
Fri- Sun 10am – 9pm (10pm Mar-Aug)
Tickets €15 adults €10 children, disabled, pensioners.
Discounts for families and groups.
Thanks to Cayetano Gómez, the slightly mad (in a good way!) creative force behind the quirkily kitsch Puratasca in Triana, Sevilla now has its first food truck. It’s been Cayetano’s dream – obsession? – for some time now to bring street food culture to the streets of Sevilla. Many may ask why bother as there are bars on pretty much every street and street corner as it is… but I think this idea has wheels (sorry!) if only to offer actual street-style food to the people of Sevilla.
La Cayejera (a play on words: Cayetano/Callejera) is a third-hand purchase that has been fitted out with a gas kitchen, and electrics that run off a separate generator. It’s an eye-catching bright blue truck festooned with cute catch phrases and also necessary info about what the concept is all about. There are 12 locations around Sevilla that will be chosen weekly, for either lunch or dinner, and these will be announced at the beginning of each week on the La Cayejera Facebook page and on Twitter. As well as the weekly schedule, La Cayejera is also available for private parties and events, which I think is a fantastic idea and one that is going to become very successful.
Check the La Cayejera FB Page for daily schedules and locations. On Twitter: @lacayejera
co-owners Rafa and Cayetano in front of La Cayejera
It was definitely not your average Tuesday morning. I had been invited (along with a few journalists, bloggers, photographers and friends) to a “ronqueo”, the skilled cutting of an almadraba tuna. The almadraba (Arabic for “the place of striking or beating”) is an age-old technique for catching blue fin tuna that continues to the present day. Every year during the tuna migration from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean (May-June), mazes of nets are set, creating a channel of nets which direct the tunas to a larger “floor net” which is then raised to the surface, enclosing and capturing the tunas.
La Azotea had arranged to have a tuna delivered to their Jesús del Gran Poder location to give us a demonstration of the traditional cutting art know as as the “ronqueo” – the name comes from the rasping sound made when the knife cuts through the spine (from Spanish “roncar”- to snore). The 233 kilo tuna arrived and, with some difficulty, was transferred from the truck to the restaurant, which had been stripped of all tables and chairs and had a protective layer of plastic covering the floor. The master cutter then wasted no time in getting down to work.
First the head was removed and it was discovered that the tuna had been killed “Japanese style” with a bolt to the head while still in the water. Then the belly (ventresca) was removed and shortly afterwards we heard the rasping sound of knife against spine. The massive upper and lower loin and tail sections were next to come out and then the cutter went to work on the head, removing the cheeks, mormo, morillo (don’t know how to translate those last two).
Then we were treated to the freshest tuna tataki ever – straight out of the fish and onto the griddle. It was a fascinating experience and, as with jamón cutting, it was easy to see that hand-cutting the tuna in this way is truly an art form. I’m so glad I got a chance to see my first ronqueo. Thanks Juan!
This is pretty much the end of the almadraba season for this year so make sure to get over to La Azotea this week while the fresh tuna lasts.
La Azotea
Jesús del Gran Poder 31
Zaragoza 5
Mateos Gago 8
chefs Jesús and José María with La Azotea owner Juan