“Offal is cheap but very difficult to make”

A few days a year, fried rooster crests or carpaccio ox tongue. Until December 1st, Pep Antoni is offering a variety of dishes made with offal at his restaurant this year.

How did the culinary profession come to you?
– Purely out of necessity (laughs). I had no choice but to take over the kitchen with my mother and the cook left by my parents.

Did you start in a family business?
-Same as I’m running right now. My family opened it 53 years ago and I still carry on the gastronomic legacy here.

How did the idea of ​​specializing in offal come about?
– We always had the most well-known dishes on the menu: fried de Pasqua, tripe, caper tongue, pork trotter. We did a traditional kitchen from the beginning, so I already had some way to go. I thought of looking for something that would set us apart and chose the formerly culinary offal and wanted to elevate its category to a formal restaurant menu category.

A kitchen for the poor?
-It was. Imagine that sixty seventy years ago the standard of living was not what we have now. When an animal was killed, it was necessary to take advantage of everything that could be used. However, many parts consumed today go to waste later. It’s not poor people’s food as some pieces are hard to find now.

-For example…
– Without going any further, this year I found myself getting rabbit kidneys. A slaughterhouse that served me has closed and I have found another, but it is asking me to gain 400 kilos; really complex.

If these pieces go to waste in slaughterhouses, how will you get them?
–I ask the slaughterhouses in question to make them in advance and sell them to me.

Is the raw material expensive?
– Inexpensive but difficult to cook. What makes food more expensive is that it requires a lot of effort and patience. There’s no need to be in such a hurry. It has to cook like we said, chup, chup.

Does the offal cuisine have many followers?
– There are many people who don’t like it but like it very much. I have reservations at my restaurant all over Mallorca.

Do older people like you better because they knew you better when you were younger?
-The vast majority of seniors enjoy it, but at the same time, many young people become truly regulars after overcoming their initial reservations and approving the delicious taste of many dishes.

If I wanted to attend the conferences you are running these days, what dishes would I like to eat?
–I have several offers, but I would undoubtedly recommend tripe; It is our star food. But you can also taste blood cannelloni with onions; crest of fried rooster with mushrooms; Breaded heart candies, lamb’s feet, breaded brains…

Is traditional Majorcan cuisine an offal cuisine?
–Not all, but many useful foods. Probably the best known Majorcan dish friedit is undoubtedly a dish made with offal: lungs, blood, etc.