Today has been a great gourmet experience, firstly because at last we have visited Fosh Foods, a gourmet food store/lunch restaurant/cooking school run by Mark Fosh, the noted English chef at Rectori in Palma where we have had two excellent dinners. We only called in to find out what the store was all about and to buy any useful goodies, but discovered we could have lunch there so of course we did! The restaurant is set up as counters and stools in the same area as the open kitchen where chefs are mostly preparing catering food for events such as weddings or for some of the large luxury yachts (motor and sail) in Palma, plus food for drop in diners. The food changes daily, with a 3 course special for only 15 Euros or an a la carte selection. We chose a salad of mixed greens with tiny cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, small strips of fried jamon and croutons plus a double dressing, the first with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil base and then on top of the salad a dollop of a creamier dressing, like aoli, with parmesan as a major ingredient. It was delicious and made me determined to experiment more with salad dressings. As we chatted with the executive chef while he was cooking a huge pot of polenta he told us they always double dress their salads and gave us lots of information about how our next course was made - mini meatballs with thin strips of grilled capsicum and a sauce flavoured with Thai spices. With such delicious food we had to have rose. We didn't order dessert but we received some anyway and it was exquisite, something like a cumbled biscuit served with the creamiest, richest, most devine chocolate ice cream. What a great find - we will definitely return, both to eat lunch and to do a cooking class.
In the afternoon we drove to the charming Hotel S'Oliverat, on the road from Alaro to Orient, to stay for 2 nights of relaxation and pampering. It is one of our favourite areas in Mallorca because it's a narrow terraced valley in between two magnificent mountains with sheer cliff faces and the hotel is nestled at the foot of one with a view of the other. Like most old buildings in Mallorca the hotel is made of the local sandy coloured stone with shuttered windows and cobble stone paths and it also boasts a very pretty garden with a huge deep pink bouganvillea (spelling?) climbing up one of the hotel walls.
Drinks and dinner were on outside terraces on a perfect still night, but the most special treat was the full moon rising from behind the cliffs of the mountain across the valley. A glorious end to a lovely day.
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