Favorite time of day for Pau Sintes It happens every afternoon, around 6:00 p.m. of work. Back to the boutique hotel Cristine Bedfordwhere he takes care of his gastronomic proposal, he thinks about what dishes he will serve that night with the treasures of the sea obtained.
And his entire cuisine is orchestrated around local and seasonal products, which the chef buys at small producers from the surrounding area and puts at the service of the traditional recipe book with current techniques, on a table of simple, tasty dishes and, for all this, essential to know the most authentic character of the island.
Sintes, a native of the place and only 24 years old, has been in charge of Cristine’s Kitchenthe restaurant of the charming Cristine Bedfor hotel, conceived more as a ‘guest house’ in the center of Mahón and worthy of a Michelin Key.
The establishment, which unites three white town houses to offer a total of 25 rooms and suites -in addition to a gym, massage service, garden and even swimming pool in summer- was exquisitely decorated by Lorenzo Castillo to give it an intimate and warm atmosphere that combines materials, objects and artistic works from the island with textiles and tableware that reflect a certain English imprint, also current in an international destination like Menorca.
The Cristinen Bedford boutique hotel, in Menorca, was decorated by interior designer Lorenzo Castillo
Cristine Bedfor is the host and hospitable alter ego of the businesswoman Cristina Lozanowho created this concept in 2020 together with his partner Daniel Entrecanales and, thanks to the good reception that his proposal and style has had, will soon open other hotels of the brand in Malaga and Seville.
In that concept of ‘slow’ tourism and conscious, integrated into its surroundings and respectful of the environment (it is part of the distinctive ‘Menorca Biosphere Reserve’ and contributes to various causes linked to sustainability), the figure of Sintes fits perfectly, which has dedicated itself to convening small producers and owners of unique valuable projects on the island. Thus, in his cooking for this magnanimous Cristine, the cook uses the fleur de sel from the recovered Ses Salines de Fornells, the cheese (Mahon-Menorca cheese is the only Designation of Origin that exists on the island) and the sobrasada from the Santa Catalina family organic farm, the mushrooms that he picks himself or that the Bolets Menorca farm provides, the sourdough bread from the nearby Amapola bakery, butter from the Sa Canova farm, the fruit and vegetables from a nearby organic garden, meat from Sa Cooperativa del Camp… and so on.
The young chef, awarded the ‘European Young Chef Award’ by IGCAT (International Institute of Gastronomy, Art, Culture and Tourism) in 2022, previously spent time in the kitchens of El Celler de Can Roca or the Hermanos Torres catering, among others, and at the hotel they also take care of their fantastic breakfasts – another exhibition of artisanal products from kilometer 0 – and for Christmas they have prepared a special menu along the same lines – the dinner on the 31st will be the last chance to try it -, which can be prepared individually or adapted to groups.
What is eaten at La Cocina de Cristine



Sintes draws on his training as a chef and his life heritage as a Menorcan closely linked to his land to distinguish La Cocina de Cristine (average ticket, 60 euros). With a work style direct and strippedin which undisguised foods stand out and there is a lot of tradition in the recipes, the young chef works with fish, shellfish, vegetables, cheeses and sausages and with reductions and the very insular ‘xup-xup’ as basic techniques.
Their enthusiasm for local flavors and the stories of their producers is transferred to their dishes. Some are, already, emblematic of what they want to make the diner feel and tell, such as the rock fish bakerya traditional stew of the island made with a tasty broth stock (it ranges from moray eel, serrano, spider, esparrais and beef to roasted bones of larger fish, crab and shrimp and is thickened with potato) with which a fish from the diced soasado day and white patató (the Menorcan potato).
Wave raola d’endiviaa formula that already appears in the Menorcan cookbook ‘Fra Roger’ from the 18th century and is still common in homes today, which consists of a kind of endive fritter, with a dough made with siphon, egg, flour, yeast, salt and saffron. Also, your shrimp carpaccio (the local prawn, smaller and with a sweet touch in its unctuous meat), served with pesto and pine nuts.
There is more, because the menu changes due to seasonality and availability of raw materials. On these dates, for example, it is also possible to try their dish of sweet potato and onionpure autumn, with the first baked and as the protagonist and the second in different preparations: glazed, caramelized, in sauce, pickled. Or the Smashed Cap Roig, for which he uses the new technique for grilled or grilled fish that was popularized by his culinary reference, the Australian Josh Nilland, thanks to a gadget designed by his father. “He has made me several things that I use in the kitchen, utensils that I explain to him and he makes them for me,” says Sintes.
On December 31 he will serve his last Christmas dinner, with individual or group menus in line with his kitchen. In March reopensready to continue delving into his creativity sustained by his roots in the Menorcan recipe book.
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