David Coca Serra, chef: “I want chefs to come and eat at my restaurant”

Silve Pons/Ferreries - Born in Ferreries in 1977, a chef by vocation, a defender of hunting done properly, a lover of the well-being of our island, incurably curious, knowledgeable about the world’s cuisines and deeply in love with Menorca’s produce — and, by the way, he never tires of lobster! David Coca Serra runs the restaurant Sa Llagosta in Fornells together with his wife, Mónica. Nearly three decades have passed since it opened, and today David can say he has spent more years of his life with Sa Llagosta than without it.

“Chef by vocation” sounds great, but where did that vocation begin?
In Cala Galdana! My parents ran the restaurant “Tobogan” there for many years and I grew up in it. I started helping out very early on — setting tables, clearing up, serving ice creams… the restaurant world has always been part of my life.

Do you have formal training?
Yes, I studied Hospitality Business Management at the Autonomous University of Barcelona for three years. In the final year we had to present a restaurant project, and our internship had to be abroad. The project also had to be presented in a language other than our own. I went to Tunisia, to the island of Djerba, planning to present the project in French, but the company moved me and I ended up in Zanzibar, presenting it in English. For a time I worked there as a Food and Beverage Controller, overseeing costs, measurements, quantities and prices of everything coming out of the storeroom and eventually being served, to prevent waste or misuse. In other words, pure management! And believe me, it has helped me a great deal in running my own restaurant.

And all this happened when you were…?
Twenty-one years old! And at that age we opened Sa Llagosta in Fornells. At first I did a bit of everything, mostly front of house — and I didn’t like it much! Because of my personality, I much prefer being in the kitchen. Once Mónica joined the front of house — and she really knows how to do it well (they both laugh) — I was happy to stay in the kitchen.

What is the pace like in a seasonal restaurant located in the port of Fornells?
At the start of the season you really enjoy it. You have energy and excitement to see how the new dishes on the menu will perform, and you can work comfortably. In peak season, you know you’ll be serving 300 tables a day, and you get into a frantic rhythm — but you’re doing what you love. It’s a bit like “Groundhog Day”; you know exactly what’s coming. As we said at the beginning, if it weren’t a vocation, such sacrifice wouldn’t make sense.

Who is more appreciative when eating lobster stew — the Menorcan or the visitor?
Menorcans are more demanding and more critical, because we already know the dish. Most of us have eaten it at home; everyone has their own way of preparing it. Visitors may like it or not, but they won’t usually comment much.

Foto: David Arguimbau©

How has Sa Llagosta evolved over these almost 30 years?
It has changed enormously! At the beginning we even served meat dishes. But the important thing is to define a roadmap and follow it. A restaurant facing the sea should serve fish. And in Fornells, it should cook lobster. You keep refining until you find the point that defines the restaurant’s philosophy, personality and soul.

What about when it’s not the season?
The six months we close are also productive. On one hand, we get to enjoy Menorca peacefully, which is wonderful. I’m also a hunter, so I take advantage of this time to go out into the countryside. Hunting and cooking go hand in hand. Woodcock, partridge, thrush… what incredible culinary richness we have!

But I hear you also travel the world! It seems Tunisia and Zanzibar at 21 left a mark.
In the early years I travelled and worked just to learn, without earning a penny. I trained with Arzak, Mugaritz, Ángel León at Aponiente, and at El Celler de Can Roca. I’ve worked and learned in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Belgium, Peru, Japan… Earlier I mentioned that here we serve around 300 diners a day; in Kyoto we once spent more than 10 hours preparing a menu for just 12 people! Every place has its own way of understanding cuisine. We’re fascinated by Asia — Thailand, for example, has an incredibly rich culinary tradition.

You mentioned great Basque chefs — sometimes I think of them as alchemists…
From them I learned the importance of experimenting, playing, discovering. Curiosity is a huge asset in the kitchen.

And that’s coming from a man who knows how to make stone soup!
That came from a wonderful exhibition by Tònia Coll, who invited me to cook — stones! That’s what we mean about experimenting. Of course, we should clarify that the stones weren’t really stones…

You recently took part in a talk in Miami about Menorcan cuisine. How did that go?
In November I was invited by the Faculty of Arts and History at the University of Miami, together with Paul Freedman, professor at Yale University and a medieval expert, to speak about gastronomy in medieval Catalonia. Since the oldest written culinary reference we have in Menorca is the Receptari Caules, I prepared three recipes from it in a showcooking format: mayonnaise, fish balls and an omelette with aubergines and spinach. What I enjoyed most was explaining what Menorca is, sharing a bit of our history, and placing Menorca in context in Miami — where so many Menorcans emigrated to Florida. It was a unique experience.

Foto: Silve Pons©

What does David Coca feel when Dabiz Muñoz — pioneer of avant-garde cuisine and holder of four Michelin stars — says that Sa Llagosta serves the best lobster in the world?
Dabiz is a friend, and we let him say whatever he likes. Regardless of what he says, what matters most is that he comes. I’m very clear about this: I want chefs to come to my restaurant. I want it to be a meeting point for people in the profession. And when I say chefs, I mean all of them — Michelin-starred or humble tavern cooks alike.

What do Dabiz and David have in common?
Probably a love for the product. He is obsessed with perfection in his work and in the final result. I might be a little obsessed with our local produce.

David, what do you aspire to?
To improve what I already know how to do.

David describes Mónica, his wife and head of front of house at Sa Llagosta, as “indispensable.” And she says of him that he is “a chef of true character.” To finish, I’ll borrow a phrase that says, “cooking is a universal language that connects us all”… and I truly believe it.

Thank you both.