It is no coincidence that the world famous chef Ferran Adria had his El Bulli restaurant here in Catalonia, a region with a reputation for producing some of Spain’s finest cuisine thanks to a wide variety of fresh, high-quality seafood, meat, game, fruit and vegetables. Grilled meats, stews and locally made sausages feature heavily, as do seafood dishes, often made using locally caught fish served with rice from the nearby Delta Ebro or fideua, a fine thin noodle. Indeed the two can sometimes be combined in a local equivalent of surf ‘n’ turf or mar i muntanya. It’s worth remembering that the heart of the Priorat is less then 30km from the coast.

Breakfast

All the Hotels and Guest houses provide excellent breakfast’s, often offering hot and freshly cooked food for those that want it. The much loved pan con tomate (toast, rubbed with garlic, tomato and olive oil) will usually make an appearance, along with all the usual toast, cereals, jams etc a whole range of teas (including proper English tea)  and of course wonderful fresh coffee, as you probably know coffee is a serious business here. Regardless rest assured you won’t be heading off on the days hike hungry.

Lunch

Lunch in Spain is the main meal of the day and is massively important, so much so that pretty much everything grinds to a halt as everyone shuts up shop and goes for Lunch. Don’t expect to get anything done other then eating and drinking between 13.30 and 16.00.  Typically you will eat in good local restaurants where you can expect a  3 or 4 course meal, with a wide range of choices at each course mostly made from classic, fresh, home made Spanish and Catalan cuisine.  As well as restaurant lunches expect one or two surprises such as picnic lunch in the vineyard, (Monday) and on top of Siurana (Thursday) where the views are just so good it just didn’t make sense to move anywhere else.

Dinner

Evening meals can also be fairly lavish with typically 3 courses, you will either eat in the Hotel or go out to a local restaurant or tapas bar… we couldn’t not have tapas at least once could we?!

One thing is for sure you won’t be going hungry or disappointed.

Please note that all pictures shown are genuine in that they are taken from restaurants visited on the holiday.