From the markets of Spain to Vancouver homes: El Mercat is all about regional Spanish foods
With experience at Michelin-starred restaurants, chef Jonathan Sanz is cooking to order
Basque cheesecake, croquetas, and canelons are among the Spanish foods chef Jonathan Sanz makes at El Mercat.
FOR CULINARY TRAVELLERS to Spaín, markets are a top draw, from Barcelona’s sprawling El Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, with origins dating as far back as 1217, to Valencia’s Art Nouveau Mercat Central (famous for its Valencian paella) to the Galician Mercado de Abastos de Santiago de Compostela and beyond. Jonathan Sanz has been on a gastronomic journey himself, having grown up in the Catalan city of Sabadell and trained at Michelin-starred restaurants before coming to Vancouver for love and landing a position at Il Giardino. Now, the chef is sharing the varied, vibrant flavours of Spain with locals through his new venture, El Mercat.
El Mercat is a virtual, or ghost, restaurant, meaning people order dishes (like its croquetas and canelons) online for home delivery.
Sanz came to pursue culinary arts in a roundabout way, but a love of food runs deep. As far back as he can remember he was fascinated by his mother and grandmother’s cooking skills; his mom had moved to his hometown, about 10 kilometres north of Barcelona, from Granada, in the country’s south; back home, he enjoyed a fusion of Catalan and Andalusian cuisine.
“Food and cooking in Spain are almost part of our DNA,” Sanz tells Stir. “We are born surrounded with this culture, and for me and for most of Spaniards, it is hard to think of cooking in any other way. You can feel it in all the food markets, in tapas bars, restaurants, at school, and of course at home.
“Food in Spain is fun, sharing, long conversations, and connection and also is really interesting historically, as Spanish cuisine is the mix of centuries of different cultures, religions, and regions,” he says. “Northern cuisine is almost a completely different cuisine than south. It’s like having tiny different countries inside the same country. You can even find different recipes and food traditions from town to town.”
While he always loved making food for friends and family, Sanz worked as a truck driver for his father’s company until he was 30. In 2015, his partner signed him up for a popular national cooking contest—without his knowledge. After months making it through different stages, Sanz ended up winning the final competition.
“The funny thing is that almost all the other cooks were professional except me,” Sanz says. “That achievement changed my life, and it made me realize that cooking was what was making me really happy, and that’s when I decide to enroll to a cooking school to learn the basis of cooking in a professional way.
“Then I started working in some of the best restaurants in Barcelona and Madrid,” he says. “It was in Madrid when I worked in Santceloni restaurant, a two-star Michelin restaurant where I learned what perfection really means in cooking. It was a hard and extremely demanding job, but it was also one of the best experiences in cooking I ever had.”
Tuna empanadillas are on the menu at El Mercat, Spanish-born chef Jonathan Sanz’s new Vancouver virtual restaurant.
The following year, Sanz’s partner, an art director and novelist, accepted a job offer in Vancouver. Sanz came to visit him, and they both fell in love with the city. Sanz got hired at Il Giardino, where he continues to work, balancing his time there with El Mercat. “It is a great restaurant and we’ve become almost like family,” he says. “They welcomed me when I arrived in Vancouver.”
Before COVID-19 hit, Sanz had contemplated opening up his own restaurant, but his strategy changed as the pandemic went on. “As our gatherings with friends were cancelled, some of them asked me to cook some dishes for them, and the idea of bringing a piece of Spain to people’s homes came to me,” he says.
On his menu are croquetas, one of Spain’s most popular tapas and a staple in most Spanish kitchens. He fills the the small rounded masses with Iberico ham, Spanish chorizo, or spinach and blue cheese, all coated with egg and bread crumbs for deep-frying at home. “They are tiny bits of heaven,” Sanz says, “a classic dish that reminds me of the family Sunday lunch at my grandmother’s house. These tasty little bites are everything you look for in a comfort food: crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.”
Spanish garlic prawns.
Sant Esteve canelons are one of his favourite recipes. The cannelloni are traditionally served on special occasions like Sant Esteve Day (Boxing Day) in Catalonia and stuffed with slow-roasted beef, pork, and chicken. Sanz has introduced a personal gourmet twist by adding foie. The meat is rolled inside delicate pasta tubes and covered in a smooth and creamy béchamel sauce.
El Mercat also offers tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelette), tuna empanadillas, Spanish garlic prawns, and salt cod buñuelos, or fritters.
Then there’s Basque cheesecake, which Sanz say originated in 1990 in San Sebastian. “Some people also call the Basque cheesecake ‘burnt’ cheesecake due to its iconic rich, dark surface with a super smooth interior that almost melts in your mouth,” he says. “It’s one of my favourite cakes and now I'm also experimenting with new flavours such as the truffle Basque cheesecake.”
El Mercat may have a bricks-and-mortar location some day; in the meantime, Sanz plans to continue expanding the menu.
“For me, cooking is culture; it’s family, friends, and parties, and I enjoy it so much,” Sanz says. “Before COVID, we always organized big dinners with friends here in Vancouver; they are our family here. And in all dinners, specially the big ones, such as Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving I always cooked for them. seeing my friends enjoying all the food I prepare is a blessing for me. Those of us who are away from home sometimes miss our roots and somehow when I cook I transport them back home. And for the ones who are not Spanish, it’s like travelling.”
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