Anima

Bilingual edition English/Spanish. Values such as sincerity, balance, austerity, naturalness, authenticity, emotion, humility, respect and sensitivity are a constant in the universe of Les Cols. A cuisine of landscape and seasonality, where ‘food not travelled’ takes on the highest level of protagonism. Sustainability in the face of a globalisation that sacrifices authenticity. Fina Puigdevall, who owns and cooks at Les Cols, has run this restaurant in Olot since May 1990. Furthermore, it is located in the masia (traditional farmhouse) where she was born. How is it possible to transmit so much with so few ingredients on the plate? She likes to discard the superfluous until what remains is only the most essential. And all this without it losing its poetry. Sobriety is not at odds with essence. And although it may seem the opposite to the most uninformed, this is the greatest exercise in generosity. The most personal side of a being is presented to the diner as an offering via a contemporary language. Praise for the humility of these raw materials; feeling Nature so that the landscape is an ally and a source of inspiration; using the empty space on a plate as the protagonist of a dish; the luxury of light and silence; the importance of gestures and gaze; the serenity of the surroundings; hospitality. This ideology inspired the architecture of the restaurant. Cuisine of the soul. Producing this beautiful book dedicated exclusively to gastronomy has been an exercise in critical thinking for those of us at this hundred-year-old publishing house that we are thankful for. We have internalised the ideology of Les Cols as our own. Only thus could this book have been achieved. Let yourself go. In silence. Searching for peace. From here, but with the ability to open ourselves to the world and aspire to achieve the universal through the space of this intimacy. The splendour of Nature. The fullness of life.