Petit Comité Sevilla: Gourmet Catalan Tapas

This lovely restaurant in the Arenal neighbourhood of Seville, Petite Comité is on the cutting edge of modern-style Spanish tapas, taking Catalan cuisine to a whole new level. Great cooking, like great art, requires talent and imagination, and for tapas to stay relevant, they must keep evolving, and Petit Comité is at the vanguard of this evolution. French chef Thomas Laurent is in charge of the kitchen, and with a refined technique of pure Galician gastronomy, he has perfectly adapted local products and recipes with a touch of sophistication. The restaurant looks like a typical Parisian bistro with ornate tiled floor and seductive French vibe, wooden café-style furniture, hand painted wallpaper, indoor palm trees, and mosaic-tiled bull’s head for a whimsical Sevillano touch. Great cooking, like great art, requires imagination and talent, and chefs like Laurent Thomas constantly challenges himself in search of new ideas, in the same way that a painter faces a blank canvas. Sensational dishes such as Fried Anchovies marinated in Tio Pepe sherry, Risotto with Duck, Pumpkin and Foie Gras, Petit Comité Cured Duck Breast stuffed with Foie Gras, and sensational Octopus with Truffle Parmentier and Egg Yolk bring creative flair to traditional Andalusian recipes, for an unforgettable dining experience. Warm and inviting with superb service and innovative, sophisticated takes on regional cuisine have quickly won Petit Comité a loyal following among locals and tourists alike, so booking ahead is absolutely essential, but your tenacity will be well rewarded.

Set within three small rooms, Le Petit Comité has a charming Parisian ambience 

with outstanding food and excellent service

The menu features gourmet tapas and small plates, all designed for sharing

Serving Spanish Cava Parxet Brut Reserva in chilled champagne glasses

A delicious chilled glass of Spanish cava

Woven basket of Petit Comité flatbreads, biscuits and fresh bread

Extra thick-cut certified White Asparagus from Navarro

The kitchen busy with plating the Duck, Pumpkin and Foie Gras Risotto

Chef Laurent Thomas

Homemade Croquetas

Petit Comité Cured Duck Breast stuffed with Foie Gras

2016 Pazo de Señorans Albariño from Rias Baixas

Basket of Fried Anchovies 'Tio Pepe', one of the restaurant's most popular dishes 

but only seasonally available

Hierba Buena sauce, rather like a garlic-mint aioli, served with the 'Boquerones Fritos'

Octopus with silky mashed potatoes, truffle oil and raw egg yolk

Our server suggested we break the yolk and mix it with the mashed potato and octopus

The dish was a sensational combination of perfectly cooked octopus and silky smooth mashed potatoes  and runny yolk infused with intense flavour and seductive aroma of truffle oil

Lustau East India Solera Sherry from Jerez is a sweet sherry blend of aged drier Oloroso 

and sweet Pedro Ximenez

Burnished by time, full of salted caramel and dried fruits and roasted nuts

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Octopus with silky mashed potatoes, truffle oil and raw egg yolk

Serves 2

Recipe courtesy of chef Laurent Thomas

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup cream

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp paprika oil

1 tsp truffle oil

Maldon salt and black pepper, to taste

1 leek, timed and finely sliced

1 celery stalk, timed and finely sliced

2 egg yolks

1 raw Octopus tentacle, sliced 1/8-inch thick, about 10 slices

To start, cook the chopped potato in boiling water while sautéing the celery and leeks with a little olive oil. Once cooked through, add the potato with the sofrito of celery and leek. In the same pan, add the milk, cream and season with salt and pepper, and mix well to thoroughly combine. Then place the mixture in a Thermomix, blender or food processor and blend until smooth, while adding the extra virgin olive oil and truffle oil to obtain a tasty leek and potato cream.

Slice a octopus tentacle into 1/8-inch coins and place in a sauté pan with a teaspoon of olive oil on medium-high heat, and cook until just warmed through. To serve, spoon the leek and potato cream on the bottom of two dinner bowls, and arrange the sautéed octopus on top of each in a single layer then crown each with an egg yolk blasted lightly with a blowtorch, and finish with a spoonful of paprika oil and salt.

La Feria de Abril: Seville Annual Spring Fair

Spring in Seville has a special atmosphere, garlanded with the sweet scent of orange blossom and jasmine, and a frisson of excitement, as the city's two most important events take place: Semana Santa and then the Spring Fair, the Feria, which takes place in Los Remedio in the south-west of the city, next to the river. Seville's April Fair, one of Andalucía's most famous fiestas which begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week, is an opportunity for locals to dress in their best flamenco costumes and be seen strolling along the wonderfully decorated streets. Begun in 1847 as a cattle trading fair, it took only one year before an air of festivity began to transform the fair, due mainly to the emergence of the first three casetas, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier, the Town Hall, and the Casino of Seville. During the 1920s, the fair reached its peak and became the spectacle that it is today, a riot of colour, noise, music, dancing and round-the-clock partying, attracting around one million visitors from all over Spain and far flung corners of the globe.

The fair officially begins at midnight on the Monday, and runs six days, ending on the following Sunday. Each day the fiesta begins around noon with the parade of carriages and riders carrying beautifully dressed prominent Sevillians to the bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet. For the duration of the fair, the fairgrounds and a vast area on the far bank of the Guadalquivir River are covered in rows of casitas - individual decorated marquee tents which are temporarily built on the fairground. These casetas usually belong to important families of Seville, groups of friends, clubs, trade associations and political parties. From around nine at night until six or seven the following morning, at first in the streets and later only within each caseta, there are crowds partying and dancing sevillanas, drinking Sherry, manzanilla or rebujito, and eating tapas. For tourists and visitors to the city, the Feria is a golden opportunity to wander the grounds and soak in the sheer spectacle of this annual event. 

Hundreds of horse drawn carriages bring lucky invited guests to the Feria, 

but first saunter around the grounds for the 'paseo de caballos'

Elegantly dressed Sevillian couple dressed for the Feria

Couple arriving at the Feria on horseback, with the man wearing a 'traje corto' - short jacket, tight trousers and boots, and a hat called cordobes, and lady with her traje de gitana

Horses wear colourful pom-poms and bells, their manes and tails braided, 

with some beautifully-preserved carriages are pulled by one or more horses

Children are very much a part of the parade, either as occupants of the carriages, 

or even as the carriage driver

Young rider wearing dark colored riding jacket, long skirt and flat brimmed hat

sitting up very straight and confidently holding the reins in her hands

Father and son riding together 

Horses clip-clopping through the streets are one of the wonderful sounds of the Feria

A bandolero carriage driver enjoying the shade on a hot Feria afternoon

Ladies being helped down from the carriage in front of the striped casetas, 

each with its own hand-painted pañoleta

Dressed in ruffled dresses with fringed shawls and silk flowers in their hair,

some final adjustments are needed before arriving at the family caseta

Seville's feria is a celebration of family and friendship

One of only two Public Tents at the Feria, getting a seat at a table is close to impossible

The next best thing is elbowing up to the bar and having a beer and tapas standing up

A hot day at the Feria — a cold beer was just the thing

The menu was not sophisticated but was popular with many who would be drinking all day and night at the Feria, and needing lots of carbs

Fried chicken with patatas fritos

Seafood Paella

Croquettes and more patatas fritos

Chicken Kabobs

Pescado Frito

After a few drinks and too many tapas, our servers become like family

Young and old take to the stage and dance their best flamenco

The flamenco spirit moves in mysterious ways

Groomsman waiting with his horses

Once the carriages have dropped off their guests, they all line up along the cobbled lanes waiting for the revellers to return

Dressed in formal riding wear with top hats and shiny leather boots

A mule in full regalia with yellow and purple pom-poms and 'necklace' of little bells

For one week each year, Seville is transformed into a colourful celebration of flamenco, music and dance, 

horses and bullfighting and of course, food and drink

Flamboyant flamenco dress with the traditional polka dot design - the oldest and most popular

Mothers and daughters often have matching dresses

After a full day at the Feria, we hired a horse drawn carriage to take us back to the Alfonso XIII

Arriving back at the Alfonso XIII with Mateo and Cioccolata