Vicent Vila, from Molí de Foc, retires

At the end of October, the master rice cook, Vicent Vila, will retire, who has been in charge of the kitchen and management of Es Molí de Foc, a reference place for rice lovers on our island as well as a successful menu of classic dishes and of author cuisine that have made Vicent’s cuisine a benchmark.

Far away is that May 16, 1996 when Vicent and Clara inaugurated the new stage of Es Molí de Foc, which they run as managers until 2006 when they took ownership of it, giving a plus of excellence and quality in the kitchen and especially in the local product of Menorca, because something that must be recognized in Vicent is that he was one of the restaurateurs who firmly believed and opted for the local product of Menorca, for small producers and this has been the seal of quality from Molí de Foc to throughout these more than 25 years, 27 to be exact.

The cuisine of Vicent and Clara first, and then with the incorporation of the head chef Mario Delgado Jr, has made this small great temple of gastronomy a benchmark, and not only on our island but its well-deserved fame has crossed borders and It has been the cult restaurant of figures such as Joan Manuel Serrat, or the actor Daniel Craig (James Bond) with his wife Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) or members of Monthy Python have enjoyed its dishes, as well as journalists and writers, people of culture and good food that, like all clients, have been served with the expertise and good manners of Vicent and his team.

These are the last days to go to the Molí de Foc and be served and recommended by Vicent, as we have done, having let ourselves be seduced by the squid with young garlic and chanterelles as a starter to share, and his winter paella with chicken, duck, meatballs and artichokes that takes us to Carcaixent, where he started in the kitchen, in the Valencian garden, but with local products from Menorca, with what Josep Pla called a rarely traveled product.

But the good news is that Molí de Foc is not closing, but will continue to be open with the same staff and in the kitchen with Mario Delgado, who has learned all the secrets of Vila and Tent and who for a few years has been running the stoves that cook. heavenly rice and also these dishes of culinary intensity chosen by Vicent in his menu such as the mussels from the port of Maó a la bourguignon, the baked cockles, the baked fish bakery, the holoturia, the grouper ceviche, the all i fish of monkfish, prawns and eels, as well as pig’s feet stuffed with porcini and prawns, Café de Paris beef sirloin, thrushes with pomegranate sauce, rabbit with figs… that fill our taste memory with intense moments gastronomic dishes that invite us to travel the world.

Have a good retirement, dear master of the kitchen and rice dishes in Menorca, and luck and happiness to those who continue your mastery to whom we wish all the achievements in the world of Menorcan gastronomy. I would like to thank Vicent for his commitment to the product of Menorca, to let many know that what we have here is not inferior, something that many decades ago thought.