Spain has made its presence well known in Toronto as of late, but for at least one night this month, Spain is getting a taste of Toronto. On Sept. 20, chef Grant van Gameren and some colleagues — Brandon Olsen (chef de cuisine at Bar Isabel), Mike Webster (head bartender at Bar Isabel) and Colin Tooke (of Grand Electric and Electric Mud BBQ) — are hosting a pop-up dinner at Caravelle, a restaurant in Barcelona.
The one-night event will be part of a two-week research/relaxation trip through Spain undertaken by van Gameren and company. The pop-up began appropriately enough: while researching restaurants in the country, van Gameren googled “hipster restaurants Barcelona” and stumbled across Caravelle. He got in touch with owner Zim Sutton and everything fell into place from there. Van Gameren and his team will put out their own menu while working with Carevelle’s existing staff.
As for what will be served, van Gameren says it’ll mostly be a mixture of familiar items from Bar Isabel and Grand Electric. The Toronto crew is leaving its options open, but dishes likely to make an appearance include whole fish ceviche, tongue sandwich, blood sausage, spicy squid tostada and more.
Caravelle is handling the booking for those who happen to be in Spain for the event (Buca’s Rob Gentile and Grand Electric/Electric Mud’s Ian McGrenaghan are expected to show up). For the rest of us, van Gameren says he’s not opposed to making this an annual tradition if it works out well, so there’s always hope for next year.
