With a flick of the wrist, Antonio Flores flourishes his caña — the long-handled cane traditionally used to extract sherry from a barrel — and extracts a glass of fino, not spilling a single drop. British chef Jason Atherton marvels at his skill before knocking back the glass of pale, dry sherry.
We're at Jerez de la Frontera, on the southern tip of Spain, famous not only for its sherry but also its tapas. Jason is something of an expert on Spanish cuisine: his innovative twist on traditional tapas at London's Maze restaurant, in partnership with Gordon Ramsay, has won him a Michelin star. Now he's going it alone. Last year, he opened a restaurant in Shanghai, and this year, he's launching Pollen Street Social in London's Mayfair, where he plans to serve raciones, a larger-sized portion of tapas.
The Andalusian city of Jerez is more than just a gourmet destination, however. Dating back to Moorish times, it is steeped in history, with its 11th-century fortress, palm-lined squares and wide, shady streets, and sun-baked countryside of brilliant white soils, fields of sunflowers and bodega-capped hills.
But we're here predominantly to eat and drink, and, as we make our way through a plate of beef shin braised in amontillado, a darker sherry than fino, at Las Banderillas, a tapas bar in Jerez, I have a feeling we might be seeing something similar on the menu at Pollen Street Social, albeit in a refined form. 'I could make an intense apple purée with whole baked apples and serve it with amontillado braised beef cheeks and tongue,' says Jason. 'It could be called tongue and cheek.'
The beef shin has been cooked slowly using a whole bottle of the nutty mahogany-coloured amontillado, and the result is sublime. 'Don't bother with oloroso [an even fuller-bodied sherry] — just cook everything in amontillado,' says chef owner Rafael Navarro Delage. Jason promises to follow his advice.
