Previously at the MMB: The Dinner of the Forgotten

The series ‘Dinners of the Forgotten’ reinvidicated the gastronòmic value of a number of fish that for different reasons, don’t make it onto the plate.

Each meal focuses on one species, which is the protagonist for the starter, and the first and second courses. The menu is complemented by dessert and wine from specialist Catalan cellars. It takes place in the beautiful setting of the restaurant Norai within the Museu Marítim de Barcelona. Among the fish served are Phycidae and Forkbeard hake, Conger Eel, Ray, Mackerel, and Blackberry Rosefish.
Buying fish is easy, we only have to go to the market. But what’s also true is that the species we find there are almost always the same: rape, hake, cuttlefish, sole, sardines… However the range of species fished for on the Catalan coast is much bigger. So why don’t we find all of these fish at the market?
The answers are varied. Often they aren’t fished at a big enough volume to supply a big demand. Some fish are much more difficult to clean, or are rejected because they’re bony. Often, it’s because we haven’t heard of them directly, and we don’t buy them.
The fishing community, having knowledge of all these species, take advantage of their lack of visibility at the market and cook seafood dishes as delicious as those elaborated with the fish we can find at any shop. If those who truly know fishing do it, it means that there is genuine culinary interest. The dinners are organized in collaboration with La Platjeta, the Barcelona Maritime Museum, and ‘Cuina’ magazine.