Ludwig Amiable, Palo Verde

Ludwig Amiable, head chef and co-owner at Palo Verde in Barcelona, how do you choose the meat that is served at the restaurant?

– We don’t serve a lot of meat – it’s used as a compliment to the vegetables. And – we make sure to buy the whole animal and serve it “nose to tail”. For example, bones are used for broth, and we make skewers with chicken hearts. The meat come from small producers nearby that we can go and visit. That way we see how the animals are treated.

How do you build that kind of relationship with your producers?

– I talk to them every week. It’s very important to have a link to each person who is related to the restaurant. Almost all of them – if not all – have been here to eat. We have also been eating at one of the farms with the whole team, and we’ve seen the fields and the animals. Still, we would like to do even more outings like that.

Do you have the same philosophy when it comes to wine?

– Yes, our sommelier Dani goes to visit all the suppliers. Generally, they are very small producers, who have all these stories behind them. And when Dani brings a bottle to a guest, he’s able to tell the same story.