News

Despite consuming it in quantity, Canadians sometimes forget just how cool maple syrup is. Not Catalan-Canadian chef Jordi Artal, who last week received his first Michelin star, the much coveted restaurant accolade.

Mr. Artal and his sister, Amelia, are proprietors of Barcelona's elegant foodie hot spot, Cinc Sentits (Five Senses), where each meal starts with a maple-syrup-based "ode to Canada" - a layered shot of rock salt, warm Canadian syrup, chilled fresh cream and cava sabayon, a whipped custard flavoured with sparkling wine.

"In many ways it's like a combination of my two halves," says Mr. Artal, who was born in Toronto to a Canadian father and a Catalan mother.

"There's the cava sabayon, which is Catalan, and the warm maple syrup, which is Canadian. The shot itself is warm and cold, and salty and sweet, and rich and creamy, all at the same time. ... Everyone loves it."

Spaniards consider maple syrup a novelty. "You tell them that it's juice from a tree that's been boiled down and they flip out," says Mr. Artal, whose kitchen turns out sophisticated Catalan classics with a modern twist.

No doubt it's Mr. Artal's creativity - which he credits to his ability, as a Canadian, to see new possibilities in Catalan classics - and his admitted obsession with detail that earned him the coveted Michelin star.

This attention to detail is most profoundly expressed in Mr. Artal's approach to ingredients: "You have to begin with great ingredients if you want to make great food," he says, recommending local and in-season products whenever possible.

He has deconstructed pan con tomate, a Catalan staple usually made by rubbing bread with olive oil and tomato.

Mr. Artal's version is centred on a taste-bud-popping tomato sorbet made with freshly picked heritage tomatoes from a small-plot organic farm an hour outside of Barcelona.

As for his suckling pig, a dish that makes even the most self-possessed eaters want to lick the plate, everything from the cinnamon that goes into the brine (from Sri Lanka) to the pig itself (from a farm in western Spain) has been carefully vetted by Mr. Artal.

Remarkably, the chef has no professional training, nor has he spent any time in the kitchen of a restaurant other than his own.

He is, however, a "committed foodie" who started cooking at 12, learning the basics from his mother.

After studying microbiology at the University of Toronto and later working as a tech consultant, Mr. Artal left Canada in the 1990s for a job in Calfornia's Silicon Valley. There, he honed his culinary skills by throwing elaborate dinner parties for friends. Amelia Artal, now the restaurant's sommelier and maître d', was his sous-chef.

When the tech bubble burst, the Artal siblings moved to Barcelona and the once-outlandish idea of running their own place became a reality.

They opened Cinc Sentits in 2004 to almost immediate critical acclaim.

Mr. Artal credits the restaurant's success to Ms. Artal's front-of-house work as much as he does to his cooking.

"Without her involvement, this restaurant would never have gotten off the ground, there would have been no stars," he says.

And, of course, the Artals are thrilled to have received the star. "The Michelin Guide is the most prestigious of all the food guides in the world ... so the fact that they've anointed us is very special," Mr. Artal says.

Given that Michelin has yet to produce a restaurant guide for Canada, this is one star Canadians can feel free to claim as their own.

***

PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS WITH JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE PURÉE AND ONION ESCALIVADA SAUCE

WHAT YOU NEED

25 jumbo scallops

Oil for cooking

WHAT YOU DO

Clean the scallops by removing any tough muscle still attached. Sauté them in a little oil until crisp on both sides.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE PURÉE

WHAT YOU NEED

2 kilograms Jerusalem artichokes

50 grams butter

250 millilitres heavy cream

What you do

Peel the Jerusalem artichokes, placing them in a bowl of water as they are done to avoid oxidation. Chop them and sauté in butter, covered, until tender, stirring occasionally. Pour in the cream and reduce until thick. Blend on high speed and season to taste.

ONION ESCALIVADA SAUCE

What you need

5 kilograms sweet onions

1 litre chicken stock

What you do

Roast the onions at 350 F with their peels on until soft and the peels have a few black spots. Chop roughly and then simmer with the chicken stock for three to four hours, covered. Strain, pressing down hard on the solids to extract all the liquid. Discard the onions and place the liquid in a new pot. Simmer until reduced to a thick syrup.

JAMON CHIP

What you need

75 grams serrano ham

250 millilitres vegetable oil

What you do

Slice the ham as thinly as possible, or ask your shopkeeper to do so on the deli slicer. Simmer in warm oil until crisp, about 30-40 minutes. The oil should not be too hot or the ham will burn. Dry on paper towels.

To serve

Place a spoonful of Jerusalem artichoke purée in the centre of the plate. Drizzle onion sauce on top. Place a scallop in the centre of the purée and arrange a jamon chip on the side.

Recipe courtesy of Jordi Artal