Donostia-San Sebastian, Mecca for food lovers

The world economic crisis has hit Spain hard, but one corner is continuing to thrive and attract the tourists. San Sebastian in the northern Basque Country, is known as one of the major culinary capitals of the world and has more restaurants with Michelin Stars per square metre than any other city in the world.

Juan Mari Arzak is the patriarch of Basque new cuisine. His restaurant, Arzak is not only one of the world's top restaurants but also the origin of the Spanish culinary revolution that was later headed by Catalonia's El Bulli and its legendary chef Ferran Adria.

Arzak's daughter Elena, named the world's best female chef in 2012 by World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards is joint head chef at the restaurant. Here the Arzaks and an army of chefs from all over the world create strikingly visual yet unpretentious plates.

The house was built in 1897 by Arzak's grandparents as a wine tavern in a village that now is part of San Sebastian. In the 1960's Juan Mari turned the tavern into a restaurant and his exceptional cooking ability was soon noticed by the locals. News of his skill quickly spread and Arzak was awarded his first Michelin star in 1974. He was awarded with a third star in 1989 and has kept them ever since.

Arzak was taught to cook by his mother and when he started his restaurant he specialised in roasted meat. But he experimented and innovated with new ingredients and techniques.

Arzak finds it hard to explain the phenomenon of the New Basque Cuisine movement. He puts down its success to local tradition and an obsession with good cooking and eating. "The only thing that I know is that we have a passion for cooking," says Juan Mari Arzak, head chef and owner of Arzak restaurant. This also applies to the regular people in the city that love to cook as well."

The service in Arzak is friendly yet refined. When it was a tavern this room was known locally known as "the vinegar tavern", because of the poor quality of the wines that the family served.

The city of San Sebastian is located in the Basque region. It is the world's second city when it comes to Michelin stars per capita behind Kyoto in Japan, but when it comes to Michelin stars per square metre San Sebastian tops the list.

A Michelin star is considered the world's most exclusive food award. The stars are given by the French Michelin Guide. Restaurants are awarded between one and three stars and rankings are revised every year.

There are five three-starred Michelin restaurant in Spain, two of them in San Sebastian. There are 26 restaurants with Michelin stars in the Basque Country, 16 of them in San Sebastian.

Every year 800 food critics designate the World's Best 50 restaurants in the world. In 2012 the top ten includes two restaurants in San Sebastian. Two- star Mugaritz occupies the third place and Arzak, with three stars is ranked eighth.

Mugaritz

Mugaritz, the world's third best restaurant is situated in the hilly countryside just outside San Sebastian. Its owner and head chef Andoni Luis Aduriz belongs to the generation of young Spanish young chefs headed by Ferran Adria who's revolutionary cooking made El Bulli in the town of Roses in Catalonia, Spain the most famous restaurant in the world.

The world economic crisis has hit Spain hard, but the tourists have not stayed away. Aduriz says that despite the crisis diners continue to come from all over the globe.

"We notice that despite the crisis we remain the centre of attention from clients coming from all over the world." says Andoni Luis Aduriz, head chef at Mugaritz restaurant. "It isn't unusual to have 17 or 20 tables full throughout the day and all of them are tourists from abroad."

The food served in Mugaritz is the result of a blend of cooking and science. Diners are expected to take participate in the dining experience. At a given time all the diners in the restaurant are given a bowl with seeds, a plate with delicate and multicolour flower petals and a jar with cold fish broth.

Everybody is then asked to start grinding the seeds with a pestle. The only noise that can be heard in the wooden room is the pestle circling around the iron bowl as the seeds turn into coarse flour. Flowers and broth are added before eating. The idea is that everybody in the room is sharing the same unique experience.

For these Mexican tourists the "soup surprise" added to the excitement of eating at Mugaritz. "It isn't just about coming here and sitting at the table to eat." says diner Elizabeth Cicino, "You also live an experience, and this experience consists not only in sharing it with the person sat at your table. It is an inner experience that makes you break the rules one has about conventional dining."

Gastronomy scientists

As a former pupil of world renowned chef Ferran Adria, Aduriz also experiments with ingredients and chemical reactions. The chefs at Mugaritz could easily be called scientists. They create between 75 and 100 new dishes every year, taking over 200 hours to create each new one.

If you are after a conventional meal then head elsewhere. the dishes served here defy and challenge all senses. Here a stone can be chewed, a piece of wood tastes like a delicate fish  and a cardboard tube stuffed with a rare bird's liver comes on a bed of edible grey gravel.

Away from the Michelin star restaurants, the local taverns which are packed with locals after work are finding their way onto the culinary map with their inventive "pintxos".

Also known as "cooking in miniature" the pintxos are ingenious extra small size tapas (snacks) served on toast that are becoming increasingly complex and creative.

Iñigo Galatas is a food and wine critic in San Sebastian and says the local culinary tradition is behind the success of San Sebastian as a world class dining destination.

"The fact behind this success is a unique gastronomic culture that can't be found anywhere else in the world." says Iñigo Galatas, journalist and food and wine critic. "There is a local culture of cooking well and also eating out at good restaurants. This is something that doesn't occur in many places."

With just over two million inhabitants and 7.000 square kilometres (2.800 square miles) the Basque Country has five of the best restaurants in the world. The ongoing revolution unwittingly started by Juan Mari Arzak in his grand parents' wine tavern seems unstoppable.

Now Arzak's daughter Elena is bringing the experience of  Basque Cuisine to London with a Arzak outpost opening in the five star Halkin hotel in Belgravia next month.