Interview with Chef Daniel Rueda about Restaurante TAPEO from Barcelona

Lifestyle - Interview

by Beren Dere

22 years of culinary experience, passion for cooking, love of Tapas, yes, I am talking about chef Daniel Rueda. When he decided to open his own restaurant, he wanted to create the meeting point for friends and families with a neighborly atmosphere. With a wide variety of classic and modern tapas, friendly welcoming and open kitchen concept, Restaurante TAPEO offers 'Tapas in Barcelona' experience for their guests. I asked chef Daniel Rueda about his career, Barcelona cuisine, and Restaurante TAPEO.

Daniel, could you tell us about yourself and your culinary experience?

I started to cook 22 years ago. In all this time, I have been in many and different places (paellas restaurants at the beach, even in a restaurant with a Michelin star!)

In 2006, I started to work in Tapas 24 and, with the owner and chef Carlos Abellán I discovered a new way of seeing the kitchen through “the tapas”.

Tapas break all the traditional style of restaurants! (At least for me, until then, I had not experienced something similar) His open kitchen and the informal customer service makes the work more happier and bearable.

Restaurante TAPEO

How did you decide to establish Restaurante TAPEO? Please tell us the story behind.

Tapeo is born from the need to find a place in life. Not all professionals stories end well, and after the last experience I had working for someone else, I decided to put by myself my own business. Is a family restaurant.

Pushed for friends and family.

Restaurante TAPEO

What is your overall restaurant concept?

Catalán, Spanish and contemporary food. We always try to create something new!

Who is the audience for your restaurant?

We don’t have a defined audience. People come from all ages.

Restaurante TAPEO

How often do you change up your menu? What are you paying attention to while selecting new drinks and dishes for your new menu?

We don’t change too much the menu. But, is truth I paying attention to the wines, and our suggestions. We work with seasonal products.

Could you tell us about your menu? Which dishes are your customer's favorite?

Definitely Iberian Pork ribs honey and mustard.

Restaurante TAPEO - Truffled eggs with Foie Gras

If a customer asks you to make all the choices instead of him or her, which drinks and meals do you offer?

Oh, I do that a Lot! Well, the pork ribs, Truffled eggs with Foie Gras, Tuna belly marinated, Octopus... and a really nice wine from Catalunya or a Good Ribera del Duero.

Chef Daniel Rueda - Restaurante TAPEO

Barcelona has lots of restaurants. How does Restaurante TAPEO differentiate itself from other restaurants in Barcelona?

There are many similar restaurants in Barcelona, where you eat very well.

The difference is the way we have to understand the kitchen and the human factor. It is really hard to find a restaurant with a good beer “bien tirada”

We received a lot of emails asking for our homemade sangria recipe. We have a wine list with over 100 selection of wines.

We have a menu based in Catalan and Spanish products.

Restaurante TAPEO

What are the most popular and traditional dishes or drinks in Barcelona cuisine?

About drinks, cava. Of course. We have Fideuá, Canelones with “butifarra”, broken eggs with black sausage... we can’t complain we have a very good gastronomy!

What do you think about the advantages of purchasing from local suppliers? What percentage of your needs comes from Barcelona local suppliers?

It’s very important to introduce the products from here, at the end who comes to our restaurant (and city) want to know what is done here, is obvious.

Work with the local suppliers benefit our trade, and trust in quality standards.

Restaurante TAPEO

If you have only one weekend in Barcelona as a first-time visitor, in this limited time, what are the best things to do?

Sagrada familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila , Born quarter, Gotic quarter, Montjuic and... Tapeo!

How do you describe Barcelona in one sentence?

Barcelona is a great city in a small space! We have everything at your fingertips with a bicycle. Inexhaustible sources of culture, gastronomy, turismo, and art.

Restaurante TAPEO

How can our readers find Restaurante TAPEO when they visit Barcelona?

We have a lot of people who comes from “boca a boca” that means: the friend of a friend of another friend, recommends our restaurant.

But, of course, we are on the internet. Our website is www.tapeoborn.cat

Thank you Chef Daniel for this delicious interview.

For more information, please visit website of Restaurante TAPEO

This interview was conducted in a Question-and-Answer format. The answers were checked for grammar and punctuation and published without any additional editing. Wednesday, September 19, 2018. All photos are the property of their respective owners.