Cocina a la Fresca: Andreu Genestra's Vision for a Simpler Kind of Luxury

he luxury of opening up your doors to dine outside, eating foods that were grown around you with friends and family. This is the vision of chef Andreu Genestra who, since this spring, is responsible for the entire gastronomic offering at Rotana La Reserva resort in Manacor.

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Set on an historic 17th-century estate in southeastern Mallorca, Rotana La Reserva includes a 5-star hotel, private golf club and the agritourism property, Es Mayolet. The property was founded in 1997 by Juan Ramón Theler and his wife, Princess Loretta Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, and for years it was a high-end destination. After many years, the property was taken over, renovated, and is now seeing a full reopening with a focus on protecting the Mallorcan heritage of the building and also, the Mallorcan way of life.

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Genestra, who holds one Michelin star and one Michelin Green star, for Andreu Genestra his restaurant at Zoëtry, and also runs Aromata, in Palma, is assisted by Irene Lluch, who is overseeing the daily operations of La Reserva Rotana and Es Mayolet’s kitchen, refining its palette according to the seasons. Lluch has been working with Genestra for more than four-years and has become one of the island’s most distinctive chefs in contemporary Mallorcan cuisine. Like Genestra, her philosophy is rooted in organic, top-quality produce that is treated with the most subtle means to maximise flavour. Lluch sees flavour as a balance between knowledge and emotion - experiencing memories from the bite of a tomato or the taste of olive oil.

Irene Lluch

Es Mayolet

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oth La Rotana and Es Mayolet were recently reopened with a clear vision of connecting to the land and appreciating the simple luxuries that surround us. At an event in early June at Es Mayolet to announce the new culinary project, Genestra spoke about the importance of offering guests a connection to nature and to each other, a connection that can be increasingly lost in today’s world. Forget gold plated dishes and crystal chandeliers, Genestra and Lluch are tuning in to how Mallorcan’s ate in the 1950s or 60s - when you could open up your door and enjoy a meal outside with friends with foods grown locally. Es Mayolet takes inspiration from the traditional Mallorca cellers, with a reinterpretation of classic dishes that are shaped by the purity of the ingredients.

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The properties are surrounded by vineyards and feature several extensive gardens. Manacor is one of Mallorca’s most important agricultural areas and what they are not able to source onsite is received by the nearby farm, Hort de Sa Vall. As Genestra explains, “We were looking to create an experience of pure Mallorca - cocina a la fresca. We focused on the magic of this place - the vineyards, the valley, the architecture - that can be available to intimate meals or celebratory events.” This is the new luxury in dining, one that impresses through its purity and its purpose.