Melon with ham

Celler de Can Roca
Cuoco: Joan Roca
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 17007 Girona (Barcelona)
Indirizzo: Ctra. Taiala, 40
(+34) 972222157

The creative capacity of the Roca brothers together, Joan, Jordi and Josep, is something inarguable. As a testimony to this, it suffices to mention the sheer number of Best Artistic Dishes of the Year awarded to them in the last few years by this publication. Counting the two this year, they have already amassed ten, a number only surpassed by Martín Berasategui and, of course, Ferran Adrià at El Bulli.
The Melon with ham is really more of a dish of ham and pork with melon than the other way around. With regard to the pork ingredients, they are wisely expressed, each one boasting an unsurpassable conceptual and technical preparation. The jamón is served in slices, the Iberian consommé takes on the role of sauce and the pancetta is cooked at low temperature, browned on the grill just before serving and cut into crispy cubes that melt in your mouth. And if the central character of the pork is vital to the dish, the role of the melon is equally important. To such a degree that we aren’t sure if this should be ‘Ham with melon’ or ‘Melon with ham’. Perhaps the title “Melon and ham” is the most representative. The melon is artistically denaturalized in the scene, taking on a consistency with a fresh ice-blended element, though not cold, in the shape of a slice. A round slice of fruit that calls one’s attention, both visually and in terms of flavor, especially considering that the denaturalization does not affect the palate in any way: pure melon.



La Ricetta