In 2004, a vegetarian restaurant was a rara avis in Mallorca. In fact, at that time, there was only one in the whole island. However, it was clear to Joan Coll that he was closing one stage (to date he had run businesses in the meat industry and, until 2000, a catering service) and opening another. While we chat in Es Ginebró (Inca), the chef, now retired, tells us how the idea came about:
"It had been a while since I had changed my diet due to health problems and I had been able to see firsthand a great improvement".
It was then that he told his daughter, María, about the idea of opening a vegetarian cafeteria or restaurant. At first, the idea surprised the people around him. Many wondered whether the project, located in the heart of Mallorca, would be successful. Fifteen years later, there is no room for doubt. "My wife, my daughter and I started it. Obviously, the beginnings were not easy, but I tried to weave a human social network and surround myself with people to make us known. I visited associations, gave cooking courses and talked to people I thought might be interested in vegetarian cooking, even if they didn't follow this type of diet in their daily lives", says Coll. That work, almost commercial but very human, came to fruition and even today it is still noticeable: since he has arrived at the restaurant, which he visits daily, he has not stopped greeting and talking with diners who savor the menu.
For Joan Coll, the restaurant's philosophy was clear from the very beginning. In fact, four words are enough to define it: "eat what we have". And so, working and trusting in what he was doing, Es Ginebró was simmering. Since then, the restaurant has offered a different menu every day made with organic produce. Most of the vegetables they use are from Joan's garden so, although he is now retired, every day he and his daughter think about the daily menu according to the harvest and the season. Once they have it clear, they get down to work and prepare their own bread, dishes and desserts. As for the garden, Joan continues to work in it meticulously and takes the harvest to the restaurant himself in the mornings.
"I like the energy of the garden. It is, in a way, a return to the agriculture of our ancestors: sowing, tending and harvesting as it was done in the old days. With respect for the product, for the land and for the people".
The rest of the ingredients he needs, always organic, he buys directly from the same people he has been working with for years. Although at the beginning it was difficult to find specific products, he has been working with the same people for years: "I like to talk to the person who sows the grain, picks it and grinds it. No middlemen. This is the only way to know the story behind each product and it is a way to support their work and share values". In addition, in this collaboration, there is some conservation work. As he tells us, "talking and working with each other I have seen the recovery of grains such as xeixa or blat mort, and varieties of vegetables that were being lost because they were not very commercial".
Long gone are the initial doubts and fears. Es Ginebró receives loyal customers, others sporadically and, in summer, many tourists. "Many people come here who are not vegetarian or vegan, but who value eating local and organic products", says Joan. When asked if he feels satisfied with the road he has traveled, he is clear: "For me, it is a great satisfaction to meet people who have been coming to the restaurant for fifteen years and I am also happy to say that, although I do not know if I have achieved something in favor of environmentalism, I know I have done what I thought was the right thing to do".
