Xerta is a luxury eatery that opened in Barcelona in 2016, run by chef Fran Lopez.
The restaurant, located in the luxurious Ohla Eixample Hotel, boasts a coveted Michelin star, but no, you will not find the word "kosher" on the doorstep - in any language - as its menu includes forbidden Jewish dishes, including seafood-based and the like.
But here comes the twist in this bizarre culinary plot, as some describe Xerta, perhaps unjustly, as "the first Michelin-starred restaurant in the world to win."
The reality, it turns out, is a little different: first of all, Xerta does offer a kosher menu led by Lopez, with dishes prepared in a separate kitchen and under the supervision of the local Chabad rabbinate. This is undisputed.
The point is that this kosher meal can be enjoyed by prior reservation only, and in groups of a minimum of 25 diners.
Even then, the meal will not take place in the main space of the restaurant, but in a special banquet room.
In other words, if you visit the Catalan city and your mind craves a kosher, intimate and spontaneous Michelin meal, you will remain hungry and disappointed.
Still, Xerta has recently become a popular meeting place for the Jewish community of Barcelona and the surrounding area, and the restaurant is examining whether the complete removal of Corona restrictions and the peak of the tourist season will lead to an increase in demand for kosher events.
If demand does rise, it is possible that the venture will expand and become permanent.
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Therefore, for now it is better to define the restaurant as one that offers the first kosher Michelin events, rather than as the first kosher Michelin restaurant.
Some will say it is a minor difference, others will insist that things should not be compared.
Either way, have an appetite.
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