Jordi Pons, Sa Fonda: “Eating caldereta should be a celebration for the customer”

CM/Fornells – Jordi Pons Villalonga (Es Mercadal, 42) is the manager and owner of Sa Fonda restaurant in Fornells, one of the great temples of Menorcan cuisine. The restaurant has already won over critics and earned the applause and praise of customers, who have recognized the value of its proposal, based on traditional recipes—above all Menorcan, but also Balearic—and a firm commitment to local produce.

What is Sa Fonda’s formula for success?
We try to use the old recipes of our grandmothers, giving them a twist, and we take great care with the ingredients. We try to make them recipes or products from Menorca.

A traditional recipe book with zero-kilometre products...
We also include the other islands. We cook Menorcan and Balearic cuisine. From Ibiza, we make a frita of octopus, a kind of seafood frit that people love because it has vegetables, fennel and a slightly spicy touch. We also do sea bass “Formentera style,” with patata panadera, peppers and garlic, baked in the oven. From Mallorca, we’ve added tumbet, and in winter we’ve sometimes made Mallorcan soups or arròs brut. On the menu we have red-mullet rice, a recipe from my grandmother, or rice with octopus, potato and onion. I remember very well the octopus with onion my grandmother used to make for me. On Sundays, with the octopus and potatoes they had in the kitchen, they would make a rice dish—something I have etched in my memory, because it was a dish we often prepared on Sunday lunchtime. Thank God, I have a very good team, and the front of house knows how to sell the whole menu very well; there is good service, and with all that I think we’ve managed to stand out a little from the rest of the offer.

In these two seasons since Sa Fonda opened, the restaurant has become very well known thanks to taking part in Alberto Chicote’s TV show ‘Batalla de restaurantes’, where it came first. A real success.
Yes, that helped us. Thanks to Sa Fonda’s participation in the show, people at least know the restaurant is in Fornells. Bear in mind that the building where the restaurant is located was the first restaurant to open its doors in Menorca, sometime before 1850, and it is also where lobster caldereta was created—the old Ca’n Burdó. The location, without a doubt, is also very favorable: right in the middle of Fornells square, by the sea, next to the boats. We’ve tried to make a change, opting for a more Mediterranean décor that incorporates natural wood, iron and ceramics. Still, people are looking for Menorcan recipes. I think it’s something that was missing in Menorca. We use Menorcan olive oil, Menorcan salt, and whenever we can, products from the island.

You have very good Google reviews, most of them five stars. People often highlight the caldereta and the rice dishes...
That’s exactly why we try to focus so much on both the caldereta and the rice dishes. We’re also very lucky to be in Fornells, which is already a gastronomic destination in itself. Everyone who comes to Menorca passes through Fornells, whether they eat caldereta or not. But almost everyone tries it. They understand it’s not an affordable dish for every pocket. Eating a caldereta has to feel like a celebration. It’s a special day, a one-off occasion. We try to give it the importance it deserves. We put bibs on customers and serve the pot in an earthenware dish...

Sa Fonda is a family business...
Yes, we’re a family. My sister is involved, as well as my mother and father. We’re all owners. Right now, I’m the one who handles everything related to management. But we’re a great team. I have a head chef, a maître d’, a head waiter... we have a lot of people who help us because we have other restaurants. I can’t physically be at Sa Fonda all day. What I try to do is choose the profile I like and keep the line I believe is the right one.

You have a personal and family story of love for cooking behind you...
We love travelling and we used to go to Mallorca a lot. And in every town you’d see a restaurant serving Mallorcan cuisine. Wherever you wanted to go, there was always an arròs brut, snails... In Menorca, by contrast, that wasn’t the case. There were menus that included a dish or two, but it wasn’t 100% Menorcan cuisine. We bought the building and, although we spent two years without being able to make changes, when the refurbishment works on Fornells seafront promenade began, we felt the moment had come to move the project forward. We’re very happy, because people have really liked it. The work is different, because it forces us to pay close attention to details, but for now we’re very satisfied.

What makes the customer leave with a good experience?
To create a positive experience for the customer, one thing alone isn’t enough. Service has to be excellent; waiters have to be very attentive, and I also think it’s important to try to surprise the customer with a different dish—for example, squid “a la bruta.” We also make croquettes with spider crab and mussels from Maó. We make them ourselves, by hand, one by one... it’s a lot of work, but people notice the difference. Success is 50% the kitchen and 50% the service.