Author: Susannah Grant

Hello, I am British, married to a Madrileño and we have been based in Madrid since 2014, although I have lived here 3 times on previous occasions. An avid traveller and linguist, I have spent time in more than 86 different countries however, my 2 children have restricted me to armchair travels more recently. I have spent my career working in the wine industry although I now spend more time just drinking it. Hobbies include Latin American music (and dancing to it), jewellery making, writing and reviving my tennis.

Spain Rings the Changes in Original Nuptials

Posted on 11 September 202411 September 2024 by Susannah Grant

The sun is still shining, the roses are in full bloom and love is in the air. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), weddings in Spain were up more than 20% in 2022 compared to the previous year. Although the overall picture is less rosy as those figures are still a whopping 45% down on recorded nuptials in 1975. However, despite a downward trend, Spain hosts around 180,000 weddings per year and increasingly, many of those are between couples where either at least one half is from overseas.

My sister in law, Gayle, makes it to the altar against all the odds in Mas de la Serra

Like me, three of my siblings successfully navigated the convoluted Spanish paperwork to make our marriage legal in this country. I was living in London at the time of our wedding and had to google my nearest catholic priest in order to apply for a dispensation to marry in a catholic church near Aranjuez. I am eternally grateful to Father Paddy for his painstaking form-filling duties and guidance. My brother, Alasdair shipped out his own Army chaplain from his Territorial Army regiment whilst both my sisters opted for a civil ceremony. Alasdair runs a beautiful hotel in the province of Teruel and was brave enough to contemplate a March nuptials to coincide with the blossom season.

Unfortunately, a week-long storm had blown most of it off the branches so we were left trying to glue it back on for the table decorations. Minutes before the sit-down lunch, an inquisitive Ibex goat decided to explore the marquee before beating a hasty retreat through one of the plastic windows and ripping a gargantuan hole in it. It´s always worth taking out insurance for every eventuality. I wonder if the meerkats from comparethemarket.com cover natural wildlife damage.

To be fair, things had already started to go awry when Alasdair´s bride had to convince the London Metropolitan police that she was prepared to enter her flat in Bermondsey to collect her wedding dress and suitcase at her own risk. Apparently, they were had cordoned off the area after detecting an unexploded WWII bomb. From then on arrangements escalated into a full-scale Monty Python shambles.

The following day, having ironed out the creases, my sister-in-law boarded my brother´s car in her snow-white finery in the remote Aragonese countryside. After 50 metres the car spluttered its last breath, ejecting the 3 toddler bridesmaids in pristine pumps into a muddy track. As everyone had already left for the wedding venue, frantic phone calls had to be made to recall one of the guests to the rescue. Later on, the happy couple had as much trouble leaving their wedding as arriving for it due to a faulty petrol gauge which left them stranded by the road en route to the first hotel of their honeymoon.

Lucinda’s new wife, Helena, signs the registry in the Teruel countryside

Years later, my sister´s wedding in Teruel was thrown awry by a French airstrike which left many guests stranded near Barcelona. Two of my parents’ septuagenarian friends spent the night curled up in their car outside their boutique Teruel hotel as they failed to rouse anyone to answer the doorbell at 3 am. To this day, Lucinda is still puzzled by the mystery of which Cinderella left their shoe behind after a night of dancing.

Dancing was a major theme at my own wedding. The British Consulate recommended a “caller” who was able to guide the Spanish (and the British) guests through many an energetic Dashing White Sargeant or Eightsome reel. Predictably, the Spanish were a lot better than it than most of the Londoners, especially when well lubricated with whisky and coke.

I finally found the “right” needle in my haystack

Debbie Skyrme has been officiating at weddings in Spain for 5 years after having worked as a registrar in the UK since 2005. Originally from Hereford and now resident near Nerja, Debbie married 28 different nationalities in 2023 alone. This year a significant proportion of her 67 bookings are also from overseas. Her eyes light up as she tells me that elopements are a big trend these days. I was picturing 16-year-old brides sneaking off to the equivalent of Las Vegas or Gretna Green but apparently nowadays this can just refer to couples of all ages who tie the knot in private before having a bigger party back home. Spain is a hot wedding destination for this private type of wedding.

Another “I do” officiated by Debbie. Photo courtesy Michal Carbol

“This is the most intimate public act these couples will ever participate in” says Debbie. Apparently, professional wedding content creators are all the rage; they re-create the whole experience on social media, guests can then witness the intimate ceremony afterwards at leisure. Despite Debbie´s scrupulous eye for detail and decades of experience she still has to expect the unexpected. “I´ve had champagne corks popping into the bride´s cleavage, ants climbing up the bride´s dress and the odd drone crash landing in a swimming pool.”

Trash the Dress! Photo courtesy Michal Carbol

Key figures at the celebration can vary from country to country. As Brigitte from Area 4/5 says, whose daughter got married a few years ago, “the Groom´s mother is a key person at a Spanish wedding, as opposed to the Bride´s mother.”

Last week I had to prise my husband and children off the dance floor at 3 am from yet another Spanish family wedding. The last bus was leaving at 4.30 am but my dancing feet were turning into blistered pumpkins by 2.30. Three nephews’/nieces’ weddings down, only 18 more to go if they all get to the altar…..I will have to contemplate dancing Cossack-style on arthritic knees in the middle of a circle of nimble in-laws until well into my 70’s….As the saying goes, “If you can´t beat them….”.

Heavenly ice cream

Posted on 31 May 202431 May 2024 by Susannah Grant

Those of you that know me, will not be surprised that I´m dreaming of ice cream at this time of year. As the barometer soars, I usually embark on an annual pilgrimage to find the holy grail of truly divine helado.

The legacy from my lecturing days at Florence university has primed my gastronomic antennae to search out chilled silky balls flavoured with toasted pistachios or unctuous chocolate as the days grow warmer.

Long time followers of my multiple musings on ice cream will know that I have scoured far-flung lands such as Beirut in search for that authentic scoop.

Green cider apple flavour – a cloistered original

Little did I know that I´d have to come to a convent to find it this year. For, hidden away in the cool sierra of Segovia, the St Clare Order of nuns have come up with an exotic range of flavours that will have you queuing up at the altar for more.

Chilled super food from the order of St Clare

The nuns of the Santa Clara convent at Villacastin moved into the tiny hamlet, which now has 1,500 inhabitants, in the late 17^th century. These days you will find plenty of Spanish monastic orders turning their ancient recipes for jams and cakes into an authentic cottage industry. These enterprising Clarissa sisters in particular however, have gone one step further and are churning a selection of sublime ice creams ranging from pale green avocado to sizzling blood orange. Personally, I am a devout disciple of hazelnut flavour and a happy convert to pure white coconut too.

Those of you wishing to make a weekend of ice cream tasting can opt to stay at the convent´s hospedería for €20/night including breakfast and a further €15 will get you lunch and dinner. If their ice cream is anything to go by, I´d beg you to find better quality or value.

Villacastin has some interesting gastro-cultural events throughout the year, with chorizo and eggs being celebrated in May, Folkloric dancing in July and their young bulls running riot in the annual fiestas during the last week of August.

Fortunately, my friends Mónica Artacho and Alejandra Salinas have brought the convent´s celestial delicacies to Madrid and in Calle Anita Videl in Aravaca you can enjoy a refreshing ice in the garden or buy half a litre to go from their shop, aptly named: Contemplare. There is also an endless array of jams, biscuits, cakes and honey sourced from convents all over Spain.

For those of you looking to cool down in the city centre, I heartily recommend Maison Glacée which has two branches near the Retiro. Their pastry chef, Ricardo Vélez is a man after my own heart when he recommends us to: “Taste Now or Regret Later”. Steer your children towards peach and saffron as opposed to mango and sherry, unless you’re aiming for an ultra-long siesta under a shady tree in the park.

Where do you enjoy your favourite ice cream?

Contemplare – Calle Anita Videl, 8. Aravaca

Maisón Glacée – Calle Alcalá 77 and Calle Ibiza, 42

Friend Dating

Posted on 4 May 20244 May 2024 by Susannah Grant

This past week in the INC social whats app group we´ve been discussing the various ways we make friends as expats or returning Spaniards in Madrid. In a city where a lot of people are born and raised here, with extensive friends and family networks on tap, breaking into new friendship groups can pose a challenge to a 35+ year old from elsewhere. In London, I remember counting down the days to my son´s start at the local nursery so that I could scour the playground for other seemingly-fun and frazzled mothers.

Most UK primary school parents are subjected to a jam-packed calendar of coffee mornings, class dinners and fundraising activities for a new 3D auditorium for the Nativity play. These events are great hunting grounds for the shark parents looking to find fellow finned friends with which to share summer villas in Crete so that Johnny can splash about in the infinity pool with Richard from Class 1B while their parents polish off their second bottle of rosé before 11.30 am.

Enjoying some Spanish equestrian culture

In Madrid Juan and Ricardo´s parents may well be having a weekly bottle of Rioja with their in laws on a Sunday followed by a few Estrella Galicia cervezas or three in their grandmother´s pueblo on a puente weekend or even a copita of fino in their holiday house in El Puerto de Santa María. So where does that leave the midlife expats or Spaniards looking for new friendships in this vibrant city? Well actually, in quite a good position …if you know what to look for and how to find it.

Ana, a native Spaniard from Area 2/3 points out that Madrid is teeming with diverse cultural options ranging from book clubs to dance groups and language classes in addition to the international clubs and societies. “Some examples are the Madrid Players theatrical group, St George’s Church, The Madrid International Choir, The James Joyce society and The Yeats Society. Many of the members of these international groups are Spanish people who value international social contact.” It´s fair to say that compared to when I first lived here in the 1980’s, Spaniards are far more mobile than ever and many are keen to enjoy a parallel social life with an international crowd.

However, as with any fast-paced capital city, lack of time seems to be a recurring barrier as Area 2/3’s Sinéad , who advises expat families on schools explains, “A common disappointment I encounter from clients is how difficult it is to make meaningful friendships beyond the playground chit chat.” Apparently making Irish friends can be equally challenging for Spaniards in Dublin. “A lot of them only have foreign friends despite working with Irish colleagues,” according to Sinéad. A sentiment echoed by many Spanish friends who have lived in London as I recall.

So how can we go about successful friend dating? Holly from Area 2/3 seems to have had some success expanding her and Spanish husband´s social circle beyond his school and university network, “I hosted a dinner party on Saturday for English speaking mums and their Spanish speaking partners, and I think the men were surprised how much fun it was and would probably do it again.” I agree, a bit of social engineering and creativity can go a long way. Why not turn the fact that you have been exposed to other ways of socialising to your (and everyone´s) advantage?

Ten years ago, when I arrived here I decided that an 11.30 am breakfast for flexi-workers represented the ideal opportunity to invite acquaintances to crumpets (good old Warburton´s frozen ones from Carrefour) and a pot of Earl Grey. Whereas lunch is for more intimately acquainted people and dinner is more formal, a rolling breakfast is a bit of a free for all. People perch happily on sofas either indoors or on the porch and come and go as they wish or can. You can mix up lots of social groups, maintain one conversation with a group of 5-6 or enlarge it to several concurrent conversations by inviting 10. I maintain a list of attendees and rotate people so that their common interests are stretched just enough so that they feel they´ve learned something new without them feeling they´ve been beamed up to Mars for two hours. That way everyone leaves refreshed and invigorated for having stepped out of their ubiquitous bubble for a morning.

Another winning formula is dressing up….whilst less common in Spanish circles, this provides the ideal ice-breaker. “Why exactly do you have an axe protruding out of your head?” can trigger an hour-long conversation at the bar area. I once organised a dinner party on a Wednesday (again, breaking with protocol) and 2 of the couples dropped out at the last moment. Faced with a mountain of marinading chicken curry, I managed to creatively fill both spots with 2 couples who had nothing in common with the other 2. So, I rang all 4 couples at 6 pm and explained that they had to come dressed up as someone from the country beginning with the same letter as their first name. Three hours later, a buxom barmaid in Oktoberfest garb rang the bell, at the same time as a flouncy Flamenco dancer and a man with well-worn lederhosen to name a few of the outfits. I finally chased them all out of my dining room at 3 am. Goodness knows if they would actually recognise each other today in a regular suit.

Various nationalities represented at our Leaving London party

Whilst you are coming up with ingenious ways of socialising it´s worth bearing in mind that you are living in a city where “el mundo es un pañuelo” or rather, everyone knows everyone or is even possibly related to everyone. The fact that people use two surnames narrows the potential anonymity further as both the maternal and paternal side of the Spanish family tree can be identified.

Shortly after my arrival here, I took my 18 month-old daughter to a Spanish friend´s house for our weekly informal playgroup. On my first day there, I met a Spanish girl from Andalucía who said she had Scottish cousins. As a Scot myself and having worked with quite a few Jerezanos with Scottish connections in the sherry industry I decided to inquire what their names were. To which she replied with the name of my brother´s best friend from Southampton University in the UK.

That evening my husband went to a funeral and met up with one of his long-lost friends. His friend hadn´t seen him during my husband´s 11-year stint in London and asked whom he had ended up marrying. When my husband replied his wife was Scottish, his friend remarked that his wife had just met a Scot that morning at a playgroup. This “small world” scenario can be played to an outsider´s advantage, as you only need to scratch the surface before you come up with friends or acquaintances in common.

Huge coincidences or twists of fate also happen within INC. Years ago, after an enjoyable Museum Forum visit we trotted off to the museum café for a coffee. At the time I was on the look out for a Spanish INC member to interview for my next Spotlight blog so I deliberately sat next to a woman speaking Spanish. Whilst eavesdropping on her conversation I was bemused by her reference to Claudia and Andrés. Eventually I interrupted her and we discovered that Loreto and I are the exact mirror image of each other. She is married to a Brit and has a Claudia and Andrés whilst I am married to a Spaniard and have an Andrés and a Claudia. Not only that, both our Andreses have ADHD so Loreto has become an invaluable source of tips as I have struggled to navigate the ensuing parental challenges with Spanish psychiatrists. We are firm friends today.

INC is also a source of meaningful friendships for many members long after they´ve flown away from Madrid. In fact, Loreto and several members of INC, both past and present are about to meet up in Scotland later this month with 2 Scots, 2 Spaniards, 1 Japanese, 1 Lebanese and two others flying over from Brazil and Saudi Arabia. This is testament to the bond that this club provides and also to those that take the trouble to cultivate and maintain the relationships formed within it despite busy diaries and the distance that separates them.

For friendships are like plants, they need nurturing and tender loving care. Madrid has many gems to offer, both new and long-term residents. Starting anew or returning home after years away gives us an opportunity to look within ourselves and see how we can enrich other people´s lives before we look to enriching our own. What´s your favourite way to make friends?

Vivienne Sarobe´s Oasis

Posted on 6 April 20246 April 2024 by Susannah Grant

Vivienne Sarobe, psychologist and founder of OASIS talks to us about the place of happiness and wellbeing she has created in La Moraleja and the importance of reigniting our playful side.

Where did you live as a third culture child, constantly on the move?

My parents are both Spanish and we moved a lot because my father is an engineer who helped build the Puente de Salazar in Lisbon and many electrical power plants. I went to 9 different schools and was exposed to many languages growing up: English, Spanish, French, Swahili, Xosa, Zulu, Sutu, Welsh, Afrikaans, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin…I still use three.

What about later when you were in your twenties onwards?

I started a law degree with the aim of becoming a diplomat, but then I was swayed by psychology as I love listening to people and really understanding them. I set up a private practice in La Moraleja, and also passed a public examination that led me to the public sector for several years and I also helped found City Country, an American Spanish Montessori Project School.

You have been a psychologist for 36 years, what lessons have you learned?

We need to understand our individual nature and take into account our own specific needs as well as celebrating diversity. Most difficulties arise because we don´t understand a particular need or uniqueness. You can´t judge a fish for its ability to climb a tree!

Oh, and now that I´m sixty years old I can afford to say, the most important thing is LOVE. Love is not a feeling but a practice of acceptance and understanding that requires discipline, kindness; patience; great courage; imagination; sensitivity and everything you´ve got.

How did you come up with the concept of Eggomotion?

I have a Youtube channel called Vivienne Sarobe, which explains it. One day a client asked me to explain procrastination, so I took some eggs from the fridge and painted the facial expressions that reflected the issues being discussed. I left them in the office and my patients started to relate to them and asked me to paint more, and the concept just grew from there.

One day my dog, Wanda, ate one of the eggs so I began to use wooden “Eggos”! Eggomotion is a narrative to help us see and play with the mind. I have two books on Amazon, “Eggomotion, the mind in motion” and “Learn Eggomotion”. which teaches the method in Spanish and English. I´m currently working on the next book.

You have recently launched OASIS, what is it all about?

It´s a centre dedicated to happiness, wellbeing and learning. We have a wide range of multi-lingual highly trained professionals such our psychologist who qualified at Columbia University; our psychiatrist who has worked for the National Health System in the UK and our art team.

Our mission to is help people to feel at home in Madrid and fully supported as they integrate into life here. We adopt a very practical and dynamic approach. Mental health is particularly important to expats as constant moves, the lack of family nearby and cultural changes are objectively stressful and require very specific tools to help them navigate the course.

Why is play and playfulness so essential our wellbeing?

Play and playfulness are a great medium to rehearse and experiment with facets of life that we find hard. So that we´re better prepared for them. They are even great healing tools for trauma if you know how to use them.

You are also an accomplished singer, what role does music play in OASIS?

Songs are a great way to teach emotional intelligence in a way that resonates with children and adults alike. Apart from being therapeutic in itself, music provides a language with which we can explore our minds whilst at ease and make friends all over the world.

We offer workshops to discover your own voice and music and we create tailor-made workshops to suit.

In addition to expat support what other services do you offer?

We are also culture vultures and thanks to my black book of local experts we can provide top-notch classes in diverse areas such as the arts, psychology; communication; parenting; skills for family life and/or couples; tools to ease adaptation to expat life; what to expect in mourning, …anything concerning the mind.

What makes OASIS different from other wellbeing centres?

We´re a one-stop shop for the international community and returnee Spaniards to ease that transition into Madrid life. We have all experienced expat life first-hand so we understand exactly what it feels like. This enables us to connect with our clients on a deeper level as we speak the same cultural language in all its guises.

We listen between the lines to uncover what our clients really need. We then address the whole self and offer a bespoke plan to focus on those requirements.

What do you do in your spare time?

Believe it or not, I rest…. and write; sing; paint and garden. I have lots of lovely friends to share life with. My latest book and record, about the grief of losing my son, is coming out in April 2024. It´s been such a positive experience putting this together. So many parents lose a child but it´s rarely discussed. Mourning in general is overlooked, so I wanted to share my experience.

My band performs at public and private venues. We do events, weddings, cocktails, house concerts, etc. In fact we have accidentally become professional!

Where is your OASIS?

Right next to La Moraleja, exit 17, in a beautiful little community of houses.

Oasis – Therapy, learning, and art by and for members of the international community

Contact Vivienne Sarobe at 616108013 or viviennesarobe@gmail.com

Do you know your onions? – Susannah digs deeper into the tradition behind this treasured allium

Posted on 22 March 202422 March 2024 by Susannah Grant

March means we´re in full calçot season. These giant spring onions are cultivated in Valls, near Tarragona and are enjoyed from Figuerès to Fuengirola. At this time of year, people drive for miles around Catalunya to enjoy char-grilled stems which are often served in newspaper or on terracotta roof tiles. Once you´ve peeled off the outer part you´re left with a tender gooey stem.

The Annual Fiesta de la Calçotada in Valls

Farmers from the town of Valls in Tarragona were the first to harvest these onions. As the stems began to grow, they piled on earth around the shoots to force them to grow upwards to the surface, a bit like a leek. The name hails from this growing technique as the process is called calçar in Catalán which literally means “to cover the bottom part”. It also serves to keep the subterranean roots snow white in colour. The coveted long spring onion shape ensures a more even grilling than the bulbous variety.

Every year approximately 55 million of these alliums are harvested from November to May although only 10% originate from the heartland of Valls which is now a protected designated area.

Legend has it that a 19^th century farm-hand called Xat de Benaiges accidentally burned some onions he was cooking on a fire. Eager to preserve the insides, he peeled them, only to discover that the inner layers had reduced down to a tasty unctuous delicacy and the trend took hold.

By the 20th century, the tradition of families and friends gathering around communal barbecues of the calçots from December to May had given rise to the phenomenon of calçotadas. Today this popular ritual is responsible for long queues of cars snaking their way out of Barcelona and Tarragona in search of their favoured blackened vegetable in local masías or farmhouse-type restaurants.

Eating these wobbly long onions is a bit of an art and bibs or “pitets” are handed out in a mandatory fashion. The onions are not completely cleaned as a little earth protects their outer skin. You have to hold a ‘calçot’ by the leaf with one hand and stretch out the peel downwards with the other hand. Calçotadas can last for several hours and usually take place on Sundays as most participants eat as many as 25-35 per head. There are many eating competitions and calçot festivities as far afield as Dublin, London and New York if you haven´t been struck down with indigestion.

Calçots in romesco soup – A creation from the infamous Torres Brothers

Almost as appreciated as the vegetables themselves is the sauce that accompanies them. Most restaurants up and down Spain serve them with Romesco. Yet the real die-hard aficionados stick to the local salvitxada which is a bit sweeter as it contains dried ñora peppers as opposed to the choricero variety found in Romesco. The other ingredients include toasted almonds and hazelnuts, roast tomatoes and garlic, olive oil, garlic, vinegar and parsley, which can either be ground in a pestle and mortar or liquidised for a smoother sauce.

Some chefs have come up with various innovative versions of these prized scallions such as confit calçots served with a meat and butifarra sausage gravy or even a crunchy calçot tempura dipped in curry sauce in Barra Alta restaurant in Madrid and Barcelona.

Barra Alta restaurant offers a modern twist

I am also a fan of the jarred calçot sauce, made with tomatoes and toasted almonds from most sizeable supermarkets. It goes down very well with fish and grilled meat, especially when accompanied by a chilled beer or copita of fino. On occasions I have been known to adulterate calçots with some tabasco but only because I eat chilli with almost everything. Apart from the chocolate stash I´m saving for Easter Day.

The Right Move with Cris Barbi

Posted on 29 February 202429 February 2024 by Susannah Grant

Italian- born Cris Barbi, an experienced estate agent talks to us about the property market in Madrid and her passion for photography

What do most expats look for in a house or an apartment here in the suburbs of Madrid?

Most clients are interested in light, space and proximity to their children’s school. Outside space is also an important attribute such as a terrace for an apartment and a swimming pool for a house. These are also key reasons why many clients prefer the outskirts of the city, in addition to getting a bigger bang for their buck in the city centre.

Do you specialise more in sales or rentals?

I do both. My clients are both Spanish and Expats and as an expat myself I appreciate how hard the leasing process is here in Spain. I also help a lot of foreign buyers to understand the sales process here with all the legislative foibles there are this jungle market, ensuring they don´t fall into the wrong hands.

How did you first get into the real estate business?

I´ve been an Expat for more than 20 years and although I have dealt with some good real estate agents, I’ve never found one that I´ve been 100% happy with. I wanted to be that agent I never had. I started in Brazil in January 2016 and continued on my return to Madrid later on the same year.

Which nationalities are the most and least demanding clients?

Americans are used to professional service, transparency, modern and well-maintained houses, none of which is easy to find here.

Overseas clients coming from troubled areas are often happy to overlook some of a particular house´s issues and to sacrifice some of their requirements in order to settle here quickly.

What is the key to a successful estate agent?

Listen, listen and listen some more and apply oodles of patience. Good negotiation skills go a long way too!

You lived in Curitiba for 10 years, how do your Madrileño customers differ from the Brazilian ones?

Brazil is closer to the American Real Estate market in so far as you need a licence to work in this field, unlike in Madrid, where anybody can start up in this industry with no experience whatsoever and this is often reflected in the poor image that Spanish property owners have of my profession.

How did you get into photography and how has it shaped your life?

I have always loved photography as a way to capture a detail that trigger an emotion ten years from now. I like photos that tell a story. I´d love to incorporate a bio-engineered camera in my eyes!

What trends do you see in the real estate business in Madrid in general?

Some say that AI will take over even in Real Estate and some Companies are already using impersonal online sites to list properties, charging a fixed minimum amount. However, I still feel that buying a house is such an emotional process which must be taken into account. For example, some people have to downsize for heartfelt reasons. I work with people, not bricks. AI wouldn´t know the difference….at least for the time being.

Where would you buy a flat or a house if you could choose, budget aside?

As an investment maybe Tetuán, Embajadores or Pacífico…although prices are already going up.

Otherwise, I love Chamberí, Justicia, Lista and some parts of Hortaleza and Charmartín as they are quieter than the more touristic areas such as Recoletos. In terms of the suburbs, both Pozuelo and Majadahonda tick my boxes.

Email Cristina.barbi@remax.es

Tel – 34 636 47 58 29

Spotlight on María Elena Laufs

Posted on 26 January 202427 January 2024 by Susannah Grant

Before our Co-Vice President moves back to Germany we take a heady nose dive into big hitter, María Elena´s multi-faceted life as a British-born university lecturer, author and motivational trainer and former globetrotting fashion buyer who spent her formative years amongst colourful peacocks in the heart of the English countryside.

Your parents are from Spain, do you feel at home here?

I do feel totally at home in Spain, especially in Galicia where my extended family live.

How has being brought up in an English fairytale castle where your parents worked shaped your life?

It undoubtedly gave me my fascination with clothes. Living at such a grand 356-room castle gave me a glimpse into a world where the ladies were all beautiful and glamourous. It prompted me to go into fashion retail.

As a daughter of 2 chefs, are you a culinary goddess?

Yes, I am a good cook. However, I do not enjoy cooking and the happiest period of my life was when we lived in Hong Kong and I didn´t cook anything for almost four years as we had the luxury of a live-in helper who did it all. Absolute heaven.

María Elena with her brother on a visit to Belvoir Castle

How did you cope moving round the UK every few years?

I had a big enough ´why´, working in fashion retail, to make the ´what´ of moving around the country at a moment´s notice manageable. I made sure that in every town I moved to I had certain elements in my life that brought me joy, such as a nice home, a friend and tennis. I called this my ´Joy Backbone´ and you can read about it in my chapter in The Book on Joy.

Do you have any amusing stories about adapting to life in Hong Kong?

As an English teacher, I would be despatched to various government schools in places far away from the glitzy Central district. Hong Kong has these fantastic minibuses that take you everywhere, but they don´t have proper bus stops. You just shout out to the driver when you want to get off. As the only Westerner on these buses, I found the thought of shouting out in my tourist Cantonese so excruciatingly mortifying that I just used to wait until someone else got off, meaning that I regularly ended up miles away from where I was meant to be and had a pretty long walk back.

You coach people on how to add more joy into their lives, how do you add more to yours?

By keeping the things that bring me joy at the forefront of my mind and ensuring that I follow them as a guide to how I live my life. l have my current top 5 on my noticeboard as a constant reminder.

What is it about being a motivational speaker that inspires you?

Having the opportunity to influence people´s lives for the good.

What was it like bringing up your husband´s 3 German-speaking children in a suburb of Dusseldorf?

As a non-German-speaking career girl, it was both a baptism of fire and a comedy of errors, involving lots of hand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions.

What´s your favourite podcast?

Best Friend Therapy, which mirrors conversations I love to have with my own best friend. I also like My Wardrobe Malfunction, which is all about our relationship with clothes.

Which lesson has been the hardest to learn?

The reality of the words about friends in the poem, Train of Life, and how we never know when they will step down and vacate their seat.

https://allpoetry.com/poem/16173387-The-Train-of-Life-by-Vincent-Moore

Are you a natural sportswoman?

No, definitely not. However, I have always loved tennis. Nothing beats hitting a scorching winner down the line. I came to yoga during my Hong Kong years, learning it from an array of Indian yogis who manoeuvred me into positions I didn´t believe possible. I love the stretched-out feeling yoga gives me, coupled with the sense of accomplishment when conquering a tricky pose.

Which fashion website should we consult for the latest trends?

My daily guilty pleasure is the “moda” section of Hola.com. I´ve also recently gone back to my first love, fashion magazines, which are great here in Spain.

Why can´t you stay still?

I spend so much time immersed in the world of personal development, it´s almost impossible not to be. Being surrounded by positive, enthusiastic people lifts you to new heights.

Where´s next for María Elena?

My third collaborative book, The Book on Abundance, is released mid-February. My chapter is all about what a wardrobe purge tells you about yourself. I´m launching an online course, English for Fashion Buying and Retail, in the summer and following that, my friend and I are planning on creating our own podcast in the latter part of the year. The working title is ´Would I do that differently now?´ and it´s a light-hearted reflection on life with the benefit of hindsight and experience.

María Elena strikes a pose in yoga in Granada

The Best Fabada in the World

Posted on 12 January 202415 January 2024 by Susannah Grant

The Asturians are baying for blood, yet the jury has spoken and as of March last year, the Best Fabada in the World is in Madrid! The winners of last year´s competition was none other than the Mesón Asturiano Sidrería Arturo in the Hortaleza area of our capital.

Originally run by Asturians, today the Mesón is in the hands of chef proprietor Carlos Guillermo García, a former pharmacist from Peru. Unable to find work in his previous profession, he was forced to take a cooking job to make ends meet. “I´d never even been near a saucepan in my life”, confesses García timidly. The original Asturian owners treated him like one of the family and passed on their secret recipe for their winning bean stew on their retirement in 2015 and García has been working his chemistry on it ever since.

For those of you unfamiliar with Spanish pulses, fabada is a slow-cooked white bean dish with various guises of pork. Ranging from morcilla (blood sausage), chorizo, tocino and pancetta (lard and bacon). Slightly similar to its French cousin, cassoulet, yet without the silky duck confit. This is potent fare and the resultant gases when eaten in “fartura”, which ironically means abundance in Asturiano, and harnessed correctly could probably power the whole of Pozuelo.

People travel from miles around to sample the Mesón’s Asturian fare

On an icy cold day I am rather partial to a steaming bowl of fabada and on a recent trip to Asturias we had the pleasure of sampling a delicious variety at Casa Belén in Villaviciosa, just 20 minutes inland from the beautiful coastal town of Gijón. Asturians are known for their hearty appetite so the Menú del Día comprised an ample starter of Sopa de Ajo, alias a garlic and pimentón soup thickened with bread, a giant chalice of Fabada and then the other regional speciality: Cachopo (2 breaded veal fillets filled with melted cheese) & chips washed down with cider and Belén´s special natillas (custard) to follow, all for the paltry sum of €15. The Macdonalds Happy Meal with its meagre soggy burger and mass produced French Fries for the same price wouldn´t do very well in this area…..

Playa Rodiles, near Villaviciosa makes for a popular holiday spot

Funnily enough, if you´re looking for a quick fix, whilst not being a huge advocate of tinned food, the Litoral brand of ready made fabada is surprisingly tasty and the giant catering can sizes of 5 portions have served up many a happy winter lunch to me and my 51 immediate in laws at the farm near Aranjuez where we got married. Think of it as gourmet Baked Beans with all the porky trimmings. It certainly takes pride of place as a Spanish storeroom staple and I´m hoping to get my hands on some of Jurgita´s prize Lithuanian chillies to perk up my next Asturian ration.

My go-to Fabada, sssh, don´t spill the beans

So watch this space for a possible visit to an Asturian restaurant with the lunch bunch coming soon….

Belén serves up a mean bean feast for two

Mesón Sidrería Arturo – Calle del Mar Bering, 9. Hortaleza, Madrid. Tel 917 63 12 39

Casa Belén – Calle General Campomanes, 1, Villaviciosa, Asturias. Tel 696 05 37 21

Hit the sweet spot this Christmas with heritage candy

Posted on 30 November 202330 November 2023 by Susannah Grant

What do the late Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Infanta Pilar de Borbón, Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner or Spanish politicians and senators past and present have in common?

They have all been avid patrons of Madrid´s oldest sweet shop, La Pajarita. Named after a popular origami figure that the literati made out of paper napkins in the tertulia cafés, La Pajarita first opened its doors in the newly done up Puerta de Sol in 1852.

The founder, Vicente Hijós Palacio was a regular fixture at the intellectual social gatherings in the fashionable local tea and coffee houses of the day and a good friend of writer and philosopher, Miguel de Unamuno.

I have to admit that I find it a lot easier to digest copious quantities of artisanal candy and chocolate than weighty tomes of 19^th Century Spanish literature, which nearly finished me off at university. However, I can imagine a generous dose of La Pajarita´s violet sweets would probably make any literary tertulia considerably more palatable.

Unlike many other businesses, La Pajarita remained operational during the Civil War, and their underground cellars provided a welcome safe haven for neighbours in which to shelter during the bombings with many a clandestine mass being celebrated for those seeking spiritual relief.

In 1969 La Pajarita moved to Calle Villanueva 14 in the Barrio de Salamanca where you will find 17 different flavours of candy and a wide assortment of chocolates from 32% to 70% cacao. Upstairs in a tiny office bustles the great grand-daughter of the founder, Rocío Aznárez Ramos, who left her investment banking career to take up the helm of La Pajarita alongside her husband, Carlos Lemus. The dynamic duo are responsible for bringing the business into the 21^st century without foregoing any of its quality vintage character.

Before he died, Rosa´s grandfather was amazed to see that sales could still be made while the shop was shut thanks to the internet. He had never used a computer and all of his business dealings were sealed with a gentleman´s handshake.

La Pajarita´s signature sweets are the violets and they jealously guard their original recipe that has been perfected over the years and which enables them to stand out from the more commercial varieties available. La Pajarita violets are crafted with a touch of acidity and a layer of contrasting sweet syrup unlike the more cloyingly-sweet versions.

It´s always heartening to see a 171-year-old family business thriving on the tradition of producing high quality products whilst preparing the company to flourish for the next five generations. So I shall definitely be adding my mother in law to the long line of illustrious La Pajarita customers this Christmas. Knowing her, she´d appreciate a few volumes of Unamuno as well.

www.bombonerialapajarita.es

Banibanoo – a slice of Persia in Madrid

Posted on 9 November 20239 November 2023 by Susannah Grant

I thought I wasn´t a pudding person. And I probably wasn´t. Until I tasted a life-changing chocolate, pomegranate and pistachio pavlova at a delectable Iranian restaurant, called Banibanoo. Forget those brittle, synthetically sweet friable toothpaste white meringues sold in Mercadona. Instead drift off to your wildest gastronomic dreams as you imagine sinking your teeth into a crispy shell of a fluffy pillow stuffed with gooey marshmallow-textured chocolate and rubicund fig quarters, oozing rosewater-scented cream adorned with sherbetty pomegranate seeds and crunchy pistachios.

This walnut-coloured concoction that reminds me of my erstwhile Latin teacher: hard on the outside and soft on the inside. When she was pleased with us she´d soften her hard-set jaw and draw a blue moon on the blackboard…signifying the once in a blue moon event of no homework. In her classes she used to buzz in around our desks in a terylene black skirt scrutinising our declensions.

On one occasion, aged 12, I decided her funereal attire needed a spot of decoration and decided to see how many white circle reinforcements, (remember those?…they were supposed to stop the holes ripping on your printouts in a ring binder file), I could stick on her hem as she was craning over my neighbour´s excrutiating rendition of Hannibal crossing the Alps. Unfortunately, my audacity and dexterity were not appreciated as the other girls’ sniggers gave me away and I bore the full brunt of the wrath of Miss Jewell when she realised the back of her entire skirt was embellished with tiny white donut rings, rather like those Polo mints actually. Personally, I thought I´d done her a bit of a favour in the trendsetting department but she wasn´t having any of it and I was duly sent to detention.

Black quinoa with grilled aubergine, zucchini, feta, pomegranate and lime salsa!

Anyway, there´s no pain in Banibanoo…just pure pleasure. And a very varied clientele. Everyone seated in eyeshot of the riotously coloured dishes piled high on the counter so that you can choose your dishes from real life as opposed to your phone screen.

Flamboyantly dressed, with ebony-rimmed eyes, Banafsheh Farhangmehr´s striking attire matches the mesmerising boldness of her culinary creations. I caught up with Bani, as she is known, to find out a little more behind this Iranian corner of Madrid.

Iranian food is all about slow cooking as there are lots of stews and very elaborate dishes. At Banibanoo they start cooking at 07:30 prompt in order to have the multitude of seasonal salads, meat and vegetables and rice dishes stacked up on view by 1 pm.

Bani´s earliest childhood memories are of her mother taking leftover stews to the neighbours. “Iranians want to spread the joy and share it”, she explains. “They lavish so much love and attention on each dish they know it´s going to be really delicious so each meal is savoured in company.”

After completing a Cordon Bleu course in London, Bani decided to open a restaurant in Madrid where she had been working in marketing for several years. Keen to capitalise on the novelty factor of Iranian food in Madrid, Banibanoo opened its doors in 2015 and is still very much a daytime affair. Breakfast is a popular phenomenon as tahini and date toasts or avocado and poached eggs in tomato sauce are devoured by a diverse Spanish and international clientele.

Other than the use of saffron I discover that there isn´t much similarity between Spanish and Iranian food as “we don’t tend to fry many dishes and our meals are more akin to a rolling feast than specific courses”, Bani explains.

Banibanoo is very much a mixture of authentic Iranian dishes as well as a place to champion fusion food. Bani likes to add an original twist to classic dishes.

At lunchtime diners are invited to choose 3 dishes from a sweeping list of options such as spicy grilled cauliflower with pumpkin seeds, broccoli and dates; chicken, almond, saffron rice with orange peel or baked aubergines with meat and pomegranate molasses for set price of €16.95. Ruby-red pomegranates, toasted nuts and rich caramel dates feature heavily and most of the rice dishes can be served without meat. The exotic range of flavours and textures make for a very exciting collage of flavours both for the eyes and the stomach.

One of my favourites: roast cauliflower with yoghurt and pomegranate

Most of the combinations are not accidental as in Iran all dishes relate back to some science or medicinal qualities. “Pomegranate is cooling, whilst walnut is hot so you get an ayurvedic balance,” elaborates Bani.

I am amused to see “No Libanesa” pasted across Banibanoo´s extensive menu. “After 8 years I was fed up with the reviews on Trip Advisor saying mine was the Best Lebanese restaurant in Madrid.” Bani explains wrily.

The pièce de resistance – chocolate fig pavlova

Finally, I try to tempt the recipe for those tantalisingly exquisite chocolate pavlovas out of Bani. “We have a Russian chef”, she explains, “as they also eat pavlova in Russia and we add vinegar to the mix to get that chewy texture”. It all sounds very haphazard to me so I think I´ll be sticking to Bani´s moreish version for now.

Before I go I ask Bani how easy it is for an Iranian woman to fit into Madrid. She explains that the adjustment has been very easy as Iranians share a similar culture. “Even the layout of the streets in Madrid are similar to those in Tehran”, she says wistfully.

Keep an eye out for Bani´s next project as she´s contemplating opening an ice cream shop with Iranian flavours in Madrid´s Justicia barrio. Knowing my penchant for an authentic rosewater ice I will be first in line.