Hermanos Vinagre, or why bluefin tuna is a sublime tapa
I first set foot in Spain as a gastronomic correspondent back in 1989. And what my bosses got me to explore to begin with was what I then defined as holy ground: the bars of Madrid. Notebook in hand, my bewildered face betraying my stupefac...
Nippon 2: a quixotic story and a cult sushiman
“My name is Yuho Matsushita. I was born in the south of Japan, in Kagoshima province, 57 years ago. It is 30 years since I moved to Spain. I came to the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, because I love athletics. I got my ticket and saw Fe...
The flavourful and well-travelled history of Longino & Carde...
A logbook by Sensei Hiroshi Umi. Their motto says it all, like jewellers crafting gems and precious stones found in far-flung corners of the globe, whether in open-cast mines, sea beds, volcanoes or shadowy grottos: “Rare and precious...
The self-taught Romeo who has conquered Alicante
No restaurant sector consultant or business strategist would wager a dime on such audacity. An intrepid young Italian émigré, with no prior experience and no Japanese roots, investing in setting up sushi restaurants in the heart of Alican...
Kabutokaji: celebrity, empowered tuna
A logbook by Sensei Hiroshi Umi. When Real Madrid legend Raúl González Blanco signed for the German ‘miners’ Schalke 04, bringing to an end his era at the club in 2010, I felt a huge sense of disappointment. I, like many of my...
An odyssey that ends 65 below zero
On the grey, somewhat pitted wall, alongside a tangle of discarded nets and fishing gear, the eye is drawn to a tuna with a Mona Lisa smile, drawn in chalk. There is a somewhat childlike air to the pictured fish, the outline clearly defined...