Arròs de l'Art de Lloret de Mar

The Rice Gourmet Days are an event that is organized by the Hospitality Association (‘Gremi d'Hostaleria’) of Lloret de Mar and the Association for Bar, Restaurants and Cafés, during which we offer gastronomic delights with this fundamental ingredient in the Mediterranean cuisine as its protagonist.

During these Days, Mas Romeu in Lloret de Mar offers its ‘Arròs de l’Art’, an ancestral dish of our town in which we are emotionally involved.

The ‘Arròs de l’Art’ is a tribute to the legacy of an ancestral culinary tradition and deeply rooted in our town.  It reflects the purpose that Anna and Jordi had when on November 20, 1981, they opened the restaurant Mas Romeu with their project to offer a menu with a variety of traditional dishes of the area, with local products and always respecting the procedure and its origin, although using innovative trends.  

Esteve Fàbregas, author of several books such as “La Cultura Tradicional i el parlar de Lloret” or “Senyora i Pastora” … among other well documented Works about the traditions and customs of our town, often came to Mas Romeu. Being aware of Jordi Garriga’s curiosity and interest in finding sometimes forgotten traditional and ancestral dishes, which form our Gastronomic legacy, he told him the most outstanding ones: “L´Arròs de l´Art” or “El dinar dels eixugadors”

The ’Arròs de l´Art’ comes from the old fishermen’s community of Lloret de Mar, it was a dish that used to be cooked in Cala Canyelles just after having caught fresh fish. Most of the town people would go there to taste it every time it was made.  

The name of ‘ l´Art’ comes from the way of fishing, which consists of throwing nets a few metres from the beach from small rowing boats. After some time, these nets were pulled by hand from land.

For this rice, the skipper chose the best fish and the vocation and conditions of those fishermen for cooking are proverbial, thanks to them, Catalonia can boast of a first-class seafood cuisine.

All this was explained with great enthusiasm by the now deceased Esteva Fàbregas to Jordi Garriga and he added: “Now that thousands of people from all over the world go to Lloret to enjoy life, I think that some restaurant should resuscitate the ‘arròs de làrt’ and include it in their menu”. That same week, Esteva Fàbregas brought the writings of his books where he explained the elaboration with all its ins and outs and which ingredients were needed.

Jordi elaborated the recipe and introduced it to the Menu of Restaurant Mas Romeu, recommending it to its clients. Once having recovered the recipe, the idea was to promote it even beyond the establishment itself. Thanks to the invaluable collaboration of his good friend and renowned chef Francesc López Joaquina, with European certifications in his curriculum, and the support of the Tourist Board as well as of the Local Government, ‘Arròs de l’Art’ is now one of the distinctive dishes of Lloret de Mar.