Josep Roca i Fontané, sommelier and head waiter at the El Celler de Can Roca restaurant. /
The most prestigious hotelier in the country defends the dignity of the trade, but warns that it is time to order the sector
He needs no introduction, but Josep Roca (Girona, 56 years old) is, in short, the most prestigious waiter in Spain. Yes, waiter. The head waiter and sommelier at El Celler de Can Roca (three Michelin stars and Best Restaurant in the World in 2013 and 2015 according to 50Best) proudly defines himself as a waiter. Now that vocations are scarce in the sector, he defends the dignity of a job that has to change a lot so that everything continues as it is.
Why doesn’t anyone want to be a waiter anymore?
-Not only are waiters lacking, but also nurses or doctors. What we have in front of us, beyond the lack of arms this season in the tourism sector and in the hospitality industry, is a generation of 20 to 35-year-olds who are very emotionally burnt out. They are the most prepared academically, but we have only given them a crisis and we are not leaving them a good future. The planet shows signs of exhaustion, they know that they cannot undertake as their parents or grandparents did, they are hurt with previous generations. It is normal for them to demand a fair salary, personal conciliation and living conditions compatible with leisure, which is the only thing they have. It is logical that they do not want to give it up! Instead of asking ourselves why young people don’t want to be waiters, we should ask ourselves what we have done to make them that way.
–Then place the waiters at the level of nurses or doctors…
-I do it intentionally, because the work of a waiter is not so different from that of a nurse. In a way, we are both in the healing services sector. I think that serving is caring, it is a very beautiful job. It is usually a youth job that later opens up other avenues for personal growth, but it is a very good entry into the world of care.
–What can be done to convince people to want to wait tables?
–It is time to order the hospitality sector. To accept a new reality. The challenge today is in labor dignity, in respect for the lives of the people who collaborate in your business. You have to change the paradigm. It is no longer acceptable that the hotel industry is like that. Especially since this generation is not like the previous ones. She is very emotionally sensitized, she has a feeling of permanent deception. You have to give them room to grow.
So it’s not just a matter of money…
-There must be a fair exchange between company and worker. But people not only want to charge more, they want to feel listened to, cared for, respected and accompanied in their personal and professional growth. That is why we must encourage talents and motivate passion, which is the fire of knowledge.
–In your case, did you ever think of being anything other than a waiter?
-Nope. This is my job, like my brother Joan’s is cook or Jordi’s dessert. Then we can add other adjectives there, but basically I’m a waiter. It is what I have dedicated myself to since I was a child, first helping the family, and since I was 16 years old, voluntarily. But I have always continued to educate myself. Nowadays being a waiter is much more than bringing dishes to the table. It offers many possibilities for growth and establishes connections with many disciplines, from neuroscience or artificial intelligence, information ethics, the agri-food sector, tourist movements and all areas of that section of the great culture that we call gastronomy.
-As a sommelier, what gift is more important, the sense of smell, the palate or the word?
-The ear. Learn to listen, understand and interpret. Accept discretion as your own, understand the expectations that may exist in a request and manage your ego, especially our own. It is possible that sometimes the passion of the word gets out of control and also that in the subconscious of the sommelier there is certain jealousy towards the chef’s social recognition. That sometimes makes us say more than necessary, but the word is a precious tool that must be measured.
–What does a wine need to have to excite you?
–Naturalness, a frank dialogue between the life of the soil, the balance of the plant and the intuitive or creative gesture of those who work it. What is valued in the world is the authenticity, the honesty of the wines.
–What do you think of those robots that transport plates?
-Well, in the same way that there are tractors for farm work, it is possible that some day some gestures and tasks of the waiter will be motorized. But we have to see if we want a society of angels or robots. It is a very deep philosophical debate about humanism and artificial intelligence in which a balance must be sought.