A bit of
history
| 1960 |
Pere Massana was born in 1960 in Sant Pau d’Ordal, a small village with winegrowing traditions in the heart of the Penedès region. His childhood was shaped by the love of his parents Pere and Carme and his brother Joan, enveloped by the smoky aromas of the firewood grill and the smells of the barrel room of the long-established winery of Cal Pere del Maset, the family restaurant. |
|---|---|
| 1975 | In 1975, he arrived in Girona to begin his training in the field of hospitality and catering. His quest for these studies led him to the Girona School of Hospitality, a prestigious centre where he began to learn the skills, resources, possibilities and requirements of modern catering. |
| 1980 | It was here that Pere, from 1975 to 1980, began to prepare the basis of his later career as a chef. After completing these studies, he supplemented them by studying tourism with excursions to the Penedès, but the seduction of the Girona region would not leave him alone. |
| 1985 |
In 1985, he bought his first premises in carrer Bonastruc de Porta, where he opened the Restaurant Massana in September 1986, just after marrying his wife Ana in August of that year. Ana Roger, a native of Blanes, had always been connected with the food industry, coming from a family business which for over a hundred years had traded in quality charcuterie and groceries, before going into the restaurant business. It was here that, with enthusiasm and great desire to work, a journey into the unknown began. The Massana began as a restaurant where customers from business and industry met during the week, and Girona families who were looking for the essence of well-prepared, traditional grilled cuisine got together on Sundays. Pere had always been clear about the foundation of his cuisine, the produce. Quality produce of the land, well selected and with fundamental preparation. The simplicity of the hot potato with a mild allioli, accompanied by toasted flatbread and tomato with a glass of cava to start became the authentic style and symbol of the restaurant. Little by little, the evolution of the fish and meat cuisine, of the seasonal cooking, of the introduction of exquisite mushrooms or spices came to be appreciated, faithful to a culinary savoir-faire deeply rooted in the family. Pere, as a self-taught cook, evolved and experimented, always aiming to avoid falling into mimicry and reductionism, and this earned him the trust of those who saw an innovative idea and a coherent and well-devised culinary philosophy. |
| 2002 | In 2002, now with the accoutrements and the route that had been taken up to that point, the kitchen was extensively renovated and expanded, and an area reserved for small groups was created. |
| / 2007 | Surrounded by a highly-enthusiastic young team, Pere continued his process of evolving by introducing ideas and avant-garde techniques to the cuisine, but always respecting the restaurant’s traditional foundation. In 2007, this carefully-devised extension and the perfecting of the menu led the Massana to be awarded a Michelin star, the reward for a trajectory packed with effort and dedication, but above all, passion for work. |
| / 2008 | A year later, the Repsol Guide included the restaurant in its list and recognised it with its first Sun distinction. |
| / 2010 | The restaurant’s upward path and the demands it imposed upon itself were again rewarded in 2010 when it received its second Repsol Guide Sun, which further strengthened the mentality and desire to continue evolving. |
| 2011 | In 2011, the Massana family was extended with the opening of the Nu restaurant in the heart of the old quarter. A modern location with its own stamp and a diversified and extensive range, where each dish is a culinary mix of gastronomic contributions from various parts of the world. |
| 2017... | With heroic effort and dedication, the projects that Pere and Ana started have been consolidated, always safeguarding and caring for the family's different premises, but never ceasing to think about the next step. |
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