Let’s “go for it” with Jacobo Astray at Broken Eggs

“Why do you remove it? It’s the best part!”, said Jacobo Astray when he saw someone remove the fat out before eating Iberian ham.

Well, we can imagine the spirit of Chef Gordon Ramsay scolding someone for that. The fat really is the best part of Iberian ham. Jacobo, as a Spanish chef from Galicia and the owner of Broken Eggs, seems to be passionate about cooking what Thai people would like except for that part of removing the fat, of course. Before, Jacobo had been a private chef in a company named “Gula” for 5 years. The name Gula is in Spanish and means gluttony. There was nothing wrong with the occupation, though. He just needed a place for preparing something prior to going to a house to cook there. Then, the idea of a gastrobar just came up to him.

The origin of Broken Eggs seems so random, however, one can absolutely tell that he is loving his gastrobar like his own son! I mean, look at the painting on the wall when you have a chance to go to the restaurant. There is this octopus that seems to be cooking for the elephant that is happily holding the octopus itself. Under those two buddies, there are eggs; and some are broken. Get it now? The octopus comes from pulpo a la gallega which is a popular Galician dish. The elephant symbolizes Thai people; and, the eggs are broken. Yes! It means the Galician chef or Jacobo himself cooks Broken Eggs for Thai people. How neat that is!

Not only this sweet wall painting can show his affection for the restaurant, but also a concept that is developed along with. It is not the case that it is not good for Jacobo to work as a private chef. He even admits that he makes more money with it. However, sometimes one just needs a little bit of a tapas bar. Private dining and fine dining are the exact opposite of that. We can’t speak too loud when we go to a fine-dining restaurant. We can’t really share food and talk to strangers when we have our own chefs at home. Those tend to be the nature of Spaniards and even of any person who simply wants to just casually have fun while having dinner. A gastrobar or a tapas bar is the perfect choice for Jacobo to choose for that reason. When he talked about this with us, we just felt so moved by his words because they were so honest. We felt that we could relate to that.

This is not to mention the freedom to do what he wants there in the restaurant. He proudly presents that Broken Eggs is not a typical Spanish restaurant that only serves traditional Spanish food but a Spanish-based gastrobar that serves traditional Spanish food and fusion Spanish food. Take the Burrata cheese with raspberries for an example. The cheese is more Italian but because you spread it on a piece of bread, that piece of bread becomes tapas. Because of this, we can see that Jacobo enjoys using his creativity and learned techniques of cooking to make dishes more meaningful, more interesting, and more than food.

Certainly, Jacobo cannot have that high-level autonomy to do what he wants because he is still caring for the customers. But, the way it is now is just enough for him to enjoy. That’s why to add more from the fact that Thais like to remove the fat from Iberian ham, there is still the predictable formula for Jacobo to cook for Thais, which is to make it spicier and less salty (for some menus). I know right? Why does Spanish food have to be so problematic just for Thai people!? Well, we discussed this with Jacobo and received some interesting cultural notions from him.

Thai people may get to be surrounded by good herbs, but they are not so lucky to get to practice enduring the heat in everyday life just in case they are going to hell after their lives end and they won’t feel a thing down there. The climate of the country is significant for the equation here. The heat somehow makes it harder to maintain good products and to some extent to grow plants or to raise animals. That is why Thai people need to season their food very strongly in order to make it work.

However, that’s not a bad thing for Jacobo, though, because it makes Thai cuisine what it is, and he loves it. Once you get used to the strong flavor, you get to enjoy Thai food, according to him. Also, it requires a culinary skill to get those various flavors under control. This only gives the difference between Thai cuisine and Spanish cuisine. While Thai cuisine needs to effectively combine those flavors, Spanish cuisine needs to elevate the essence of products. In Spanish cuisine, it is as simple as good tomatoes with olive oil and salt; and that’s a salad. Whereas, for Thai cuisine, we need tons of ingredients, spices, and sauces to mix before it becomes a bowl of curry.

Moreover, the products are very seasonal in Spain. Spaniards tend to pay attention to that though we all now have global markets providing everything all year round. Good seafood is in winter; and good tomatoes and good pimiento de padrón are in summer, for instance. So, is this not a problem for Jacobo cooking Spanish food in Bangkok? Again, he is not cooking traditional Spanish food; he is cooking Spanish fusion food. In terms of any specific or seasonal ingredients that cannot be found here or are too expensive, it’s more flexible because cooking Spanish fusion food allows him to use the more various kinds of ingredients. (It’s not the case for Iberian ham, though. This one is too good to exclude from the menu! Jacobo still needs to import it.)

The journey of Chef Jacobo is not yet to end. It should be believed that a whole lot of experiences in cooking for Thais and running a gastrobar await. Learning and experiencing tend not to be a problem for Jacobo since he stated boldly that he would not get bored with this in spite of the nature of a restaurant that is quite tricky to manage.

For the last thing to point out, Jacobo loves Iberian ham so much that if he could throw a party for the hungriest people in the world, he would choose the ham to be the food.

Anyway, the ham is good, guys. Don’t remove the fat when eating it. Try it until you are gordo/-a como un ceporro! Well, Jacobo said it’s healthy fat. We don’t know that for sure, but we know that the black label on a ham tells us that it’s the best kind of ham in the world. Therefore, “¡A por ello!” (Go for it!), Jacobo would say.