The folks at Rooftop, in Sant Antoni, never cease to amaze us. First there was the gastro pop-up Horse and Heron. And now, they’ve dedicated themselves to the art of smoking, inside a Priorat barrel on their own terrace, with a range of unusual products from local sources: octopus and mackerel, duck breast and pastrami are just a few examples. The team, each coming from their own place, make up a very special melting pot: Buster Turner (London) and Jakob Zeller (South Tyrol, Italy) are the chefs; Niki Robinson (Jersey, UK), Joe Fletcher (Somerset, UK), Lena Vogele (South Tyrol, Italy) and Carla Ridamilans (Lleida) are in charge of the organization, design, packaging and even the aprons.
Their philosophy is to always think about food that wouldn’t be easy to find in Barcelona; food that reminds them of their origins.
How did the idea for this project come about?
The Rooftop Smokehouse inadvertently began from a few things. We think the main motivation was that we missed a lot of things from our home countries, for example smoked products, and we want to make them more accessible here.
As chefs, we’re always interested in getting to the root of gastronomic culture and tradition. This was another reason we’re interested in smoked products; not just to have them here but also because we were curious to learn the techniques for conserving, curing and smoking. And so we decided to smoke various unusual products in an artisan style, and after a lot of experimenting we found something we liked.
You also make your own beer, right?
Yes. Since smoked food makes you thirsty, our menu comes with homemade beer we make ourselves. A German Alt Beer and an English Pale Ale.
How do you distribute the work among the team?
Our team is made up of six people, two of whom are professional chefs (Buster and Jakob). The other four, at our “real” jobs, are fashion and shoe designers, DJs, movie directors and event planners, and so we share the responsibilities among all of us; from the design of the packaging, to finding new locations, designing and creating a good ambiance for the event (including the decoration and the music), social media, relationships with clients, etc.
What products can we find at Rooftop Smokehouse?
What do you want to do for your next project?
Lots of things! For the near future we’ve already got a few things in mind – a smokey brunch, some workshops at the Rooftop and the third edition of the Horse and Heron gastro pub.
Right now we’re also really interested in the culture of street food in places like London, New York or Berlin. And we’re always thinking about new concepts and ideas, some of which are sure to stick.
What do you think we’re missing here in Barcelona on a gastronomic level?
We’re missing a good English gastro pub where you can spend a calm Sunday reading the newspaper. We’re missing places to eat a good knudel – typical food from Tyrol – and we’re missing food trucks with a variety of artisan street food.
And so we’ll be at the next event they put on – we don’t want to miss out on that homemade knudel.
Text: Alba Yáñez
Photos: Bea Janer and Bernat Mestres
Vídeo: Joe Fletcher and Bernat Mestres
Translation: Annie MacDonald
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