Photo: Jean Luc HERBERT
As all know, a concept is key to the success of any project. The concept of the restaurant Beç (Birch Tree) is based on its name. Birch symbolizes purity, light, femininity and tenderness. Birch sap is a well-known seasonal delicacy, birch is slender and beautiful.
A perfectly balanced menu combined with fusion cuisine, a generous wine list, an eco-friendly interior (you should especially pay attention to the huge photo of a birch forest on the second floor), an open terrace overlooking the city and, finally, perfect cleanliness and snow-white tablecloths. And the serving dishes are always remembered. Lunch or dinner seems much more delicious to a guest when they like how the table is decorated and the food is served.
To attract customers, you should offer something that is not in the neighbouring restaurant, something original.
Chef Rodrigo Martinez talked with us about the originality of the Beç restaurant and gourmet cuisine:
“I decide to become a chef around 1998. I decided to study cooking in Buenos Aires. I admit that I was looking for a quick way to get a job. This was an excuse not to go to university.
I think it’s more than just a profession. It’s passion, love, devotion … that’s life. And, of course, I think that it has a good share of art.
From my point of view, this is one of the few craft professions that will survive over time. Beç is not just a restaurant; it is a dream come true. A dream in which we put a lot of care and effort every day so that everything meets our guests’ expectations.
As a concept, we want to make a sincere restaurant so that our guests understand what we do and how we do our work.
Andorran guests want restaurants to be different, but not crazy. They need places where they can eat well and are taken care of. So simple and so difficult at the same time.
I think that “fusion cuisine” is everything nowadays. Without fusion, dishes would be very boring.
The Beç menu is made with a “mix” of recipes that I have been collecting and learning during my professional career. We have recipes from Spain, France, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Italy and many other countries. And from Spain, we have recipes from leading gastronomic regions such as Catalonia, the Basque Country, Madrid and the Balearic Islands, which are the places where I have been studying as a chef.
I am open to using any ingredient; if a product is of good quality, I use it. I do not like using products that have undergone industrialization processes.
I don’t know what is the secret of a successful kitchen. I only know, from the prism of my experience, that you need to work hard for 100% to make your customers happy.
I use all the tools at my disposal. We work with classic recipes, my recipes, recipes from other professional colleagues, recipes from books etc.
I like different cuisines because each one brings something different, but most of all, I identify with Spanish, Mexican and Japanese cuisines.
My ideals are quality, order and discipline.
Everything inspires me, I can’t say anything specific … But my main inspiration is to cook delicious dishes that customers understand and enjoy.
And I’m for a balanced diet and good food. I believe that quality and calories have nothing to do with each other.
If you buy sea bass that is of good quality, it is low in calories because fish is generally low in calories. But if you buy foie gras, it’s also good quality even if it has many calories.
I think the secret is to find balance at all levels.
The only thing we care about is filling our restaurant with repeat guests so that our customers enjoy and come back.
And if some kind of recognition comes later, it is welcome, although receiving it is not our priority”.
