Trudy and I were spoiled in Madrid by the wonderful (and crazy) Nathalie Garcia, a creative French/Spanish crackerjack now running ITV Iberia. She is a foodie extraordinaire and the mastermind behind Spain’s Got Talent TV series.
She promised us a wonderful surprise dinner … and wow, did she deliver! We joined her in the Qú bar by Mario Sandoval in our hotel, and couldn’t believe our eyes. In front of us was Nathalie’s close friend and my partner-in-crime since 2002 from FremantleMedia (and now working with us in Red Rose on our UK business) – Nicky Gray, who had flown over specially from London to join us for dinner!!!
Talk about surprised!
And that was only the beginning. From there we walked on air – 50 metres to the classic, old Madrid Casino – now a beautifully preserved special event location, went up to the roof-top and entered the most beautifully designed, uplifting space – home of two-star Michelin chef’s Paco Roncero restaurant. We were warmly welcomed by Nathalie’s friends – the GM and the Sommelier, and during the evening were also fortunate enough to talk to Chef Paco too. A final surprise guest – Spanish TV personality, talk-show host, Got Talent judge and all-round good guy – Risto Mejide joined us – and the conversation – and wine flowed freely until the early hours of the morning.
Here’s the menu (washed down with a R Punto 2008 white and an excellent Flor de Pingus 2019).
Amazing.
Thank you Nathalie.
Thank you Nicky.
Thank you Risto.
Thank you Chef Roncero.
