Interview with ANNA and PAU, from the restaurant La Vinya

 

How are you?

Paul and Anna: Well, very well.

What can we find today in the Vineyard?

Q: Today we have Vichisoise, strawberry salad with Manchego cheese, which is a classic of the house, fresh fish from Vilanova,…

Why do you bet on this type of dish and not on others?

Q: From the very beginning we focused on traditional cuisine. We make small variations, but always quite a bit in this type of food.

And where does this commitment to traditional cuisine come from?

Q: About my love for this type of cuisine, Catalan and Vilanova gastronomy.

Do you have a lot of experience in the world of cooking?

Q: God forbid! I’ve been doing it for 20 years now.

And have you been around kitchens all over Catalonia?

Q: Yes. With my father we have travelled almost all over Spain.

Where have you worked?

Q: In many places. The last one at the Plaza hotel in Plaza España in Barcelona.

This hotel is where you met Anna, your partner, right?

P: Yes, that’s where we met.

How long ago did he find you?

Q: About six years ago.

And how do you end up in Vilanova?

Q: I already knew La Vinya. It is a place with a lot of history, and as a child, when I was 16 and 17 years old, I used to come to eat their tripe with chickpeas. And the opportunity arose to keep it.

Anna: We had wanted to set up something of our own for a long time, to our liking. Let out our creative vein, our way of seeing things. And one day Pau’s father told us that the Vineyard was being transferred. It was like a signal. For Pau, this place was a reference. And we both liked it, because it was small and we could manage it as we had thought.

You both lived in Barcelona at the time, didn’t you?

A: Yes. We were scared because it was a time of full economic crisis. And we left the job voluntarily, without receiving any compensation. We took a risk, but it worked out well.

Ana, you were born in Galicia and then you have lived in the Val d’Aran, in Lleida, Barcelona and finally in Vilanova,…

A: Yes, I lived in Galicia until I was 17 years old, when my parents decided to come and look for a life in the Val d’Aran.

Did they also work in the world of catering?

A: No, it does. Nothing to see. My father is a builder and my mother was a seamstress.

And what attracted you from the world of catering to come to La Vinya?

A: I actually started working in the sector in the Val d’Aran to earn money for the summers and weekends. It is not a profession that, from the outside, particularly caught my attention, but once inside it did attract me. Each table is a completely different world and you have to treat the customer well, that they leave happy, that they have met their expectations,… Now it’s like a vice, I like restoration more and more and I always want to know more about it.

The hospitality industry has many things: wines, service protocols,… I like it, I’m good at it and I want to continue learning more. Today I like it so much that when I finished my degree, instead of dedicating myself to what I had studied, I dedicated myself to the sector.

What did you study?

In: Early Childhood Education.

And have you never dedicated yourself to it?

A: No. As soon as I finished my degree, I decided to take up the restaurant business. I didn’t really know in what field, but I was clear that I wanted a place for myself, made in my own way. And when I met Pau we decided to go ahead.

Q: In fact, before taking over La Vinya, we had already talked about the possibility of having our own premises. We had ideas, but it was unacceptable. Until this possibility arose. And here we are.

I imagine that the family, at first, when you left your job, must not have seen it with good eyes…

On the contrary. The family has helped us from the first moment. He has supported us in everything. They were scared, as we were, but they saw us with such enthusiasm….

As Vilanova residents by adoption, how do you see the city?

A: When I arrived it seemed to me that it was a village. But then you see that it is not, that it is a city where many people live but who know each other. This happens especially in the center, where we are. People greet each other by name. The city has been growing, but it has not lost its identity as a town. It is also a very family-friendly city. There are many playgrounds, children on the street. It’s what I liked the most about Vilanova.

And as for the customers, do you see a very peculiar style of diners among the people of Vilanova?

Q: Yes, normally the Vilanova native has no problem saying what he thinks about food, whether he likes it or not. The people of Vilanova know what they eat and how things are prepared. Here there is a very strong gastronomic culture, many people know how to cook, more than in Barcelona, and the recipes and products are known. A Vilanova native doesn’t miss anything.

 

MORE CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS: https://www.gestingral.com/category/entrevistes-socials-a-vilanova-i-la-geltru/