{"id":16523,"date":"2020-03-04T12:33:04","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T12:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devoursansebastianfoodtours.com\/?p=2924"},"modified":"2020-03-04T12:33:04","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T12:33:04","slug":"inside-a-basque-gastronomic-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/inside-a-basque-gastronomic-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind Closed Doors: A Deep Dive into Basque Gastronomic Societies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">At the heart of the Basque Country&#8217;s famous cuisine beat the many gastronomic societies\u2014the mysterious birthplaces for many typical Basque dishes.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Eating well and the importance of food have been an inseparable part of Basque identity for as long as we can remember. There are many secrets, traditions and rituals related to the gastronomy here, including a very unique and special concept that only exists in the Basque Country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Txokos<\/em> or <em>elkarteak<\/em>\u2014gastronomic societies, or the Basque version of a private dinner club\u2014are the hidden places where Basque gastronomic magic has happened for more than 150 years.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"img-responsive\" class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inside-a-basque-gastronomic-society-1.png\" data-pin-description=\"Somewhere in between the Michelin star restaurants and the tapas bars (we actually call tapas \"pintxos\" here!) lie the gastronomic societies of the Basque Country. Serving up original recipes with unpretentious presentation, this is where you can find the best food in Donostia guaranteed.\" alt=\"Step inside a Basque gastronomic society with locals!\" class=\"wp-image-2926\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Txokos of the Basque Country<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you ask locals in San Sebastian about their weekend plans, you&#8217;ll find that many of them will meet up with their <em>cuadrilla<\/em>, or group of best friends, to cook lunch or dinner at a gastronomic society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These societies are typically places \u201c<em>de toda la vida<\/em>,\u201d meaning that a lot of times, the same members have always been there and they all know each other. Most of the <em>txokos<\/em> are for members only, meaning that the doors normally stay closed for passersby, but as a member you can invite anyone you feel like cooking with.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite all the exclusiveness, gastronomic societies are not a rare phenomenon\u2014in the Basque Country, there are more than 1,300 registered gastronomic societies in total, all contributing to the development of refined Basque cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"img-responsive\" class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inside-a-basque-gastronomic-society-san-sebastian-guide-team-1.jpg\" alt=\"Devour San Sebastian guides eating dinner inside a Basque gastronomic society\" class=\"wp-image-2927\"\/><figcaption>The Devour San Sebastian team enjoys dinner at a <em>txoko<\/em>!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Long Traditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The tradition of the gastronomic societies started around the midst of the 19th century and the first official record of a <em>txoko<\/em> in San Sebastian dates back to the year 1870. This is when the societies were known as spaces exclusively dedicated to cooking, eating and socializing\u2014but the tradition of eating and spending time together dates even further back in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the beginning, the <em>txokos<\/em> were, and some of them still are, all-male\u2014a place where men could cook together on their own terms, while exchanging news and talking about politics. These days, more and more societies have opened their doors to women too, but in many places they\u2019ve kept the tradition of cooking only for men\u2014no ladies needed in the kitchen!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Txokos<\/em> have played an important role in Basque history. During Franco\u2019s dictatorship from 1939 to 1975, gastronomic societies\u2014thanks to their closed doors and privacy\u2014were one of the few places where Basque people could speak <a href=\"\/blog\/basque-phrases\/\"><em>euskara<\/em>, the Basque language<\/a>, since Franco forbade the language or any other activity related to Basque culture.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Peek Inside a Society<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite all the mystery around these private societies, at the end of the day most of them are everyday venues for locals. For many of them, a dinner in a society with their <em>cuadrilla<\/em> is no bigger deal than a normal way of spending a Friday or Saturday with their friends.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martin Larrea Albisu, a <a href=\"\/\">guide<\/a> here at Devour Tours and a member of a gastronomic society, tells us that almost every Friday he meets up with a group of four or five of his closest friends to cook dinner together at his society in San Sebastian.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNormally we prepare some appetizers and we chat and drink some wine while I cook the main course. Later on, after dinner, we prepare mixed drinks or pour <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spanish-wines.org\/spanish-liqueurs-pacharan.html\" target=\"_blank\">pachar\u00e1n<\/a><\/em> in our glasses while we talk about what we did during the week or discuss politics,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Normally societies have a big industrial-like kitchen, but there\u2019s neither a chef nor any kind of staff working. The idea is that the members and their invitees bring the ingredients for the night\u2019s dinner and cooking together is part of the deal\u2014without forgetting the socializing, which plays an equally important part!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"img-responsive\" class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inside-a-basque-gastronomic-society-martin-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Cooking dinner inside a Basque gastronomic society\" class=\"wp-image-2928\"\/><figcaption>Members of Martin&#8217;s gastronomic society prepare the day&#8217;s meal.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cradles of Basque Cuisine&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s typically on the menu in a gastronomic society? There isn\u2019t one correct answer to that\u2014it could be anything that the designated chef that night feels like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Martin\u2019s case it\u2019s often <em>tortilla de patatas<\/em>\u2014Spanish potato omelette\u2014and some fried green padr\u00f3n peppers. Sometimes, when his friend Andrea feels like taking control in the kitchen, they feast on some delicious <a href=\"\/blog\/mama-carmens-fideua-recipe\/\"><em>fideua<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em>a paella-like dish where the rice is replaced with noodles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"img-responsive\" class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/tortilla-de-patatas-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Spanish potato omelet\" class=\"wp-image-2929\"\/><figcaption>Tortilla de patatas is a Spanish classic.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people like to cook their family specialties that they\u2019re famous for\u2014recipes that have been passed on from generation to generation. In fact, gastronomic societies are part of the reason (and a significant one!) for the evolution of the one-of-a-kind gastronomy that Basques are famous for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gastronomic societies rarely open their doors to outsiders, but keep your eyes open when visiting San Sebastian\u2014maybe you\u2019ll make friends with a local and get an invitation to one of the legendary <em>txokos<\/em> of the town. That\u2019s a true local experience to seek out!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the heart of the Basque Country&#8217;s famous cuisine beat the many gastronomic societies\u2014the mysterious birthplaces for many typical Basque dishes. Eating well and the importance of food have been an inseparable part of Basque identity for as long as we can remember. There are many secrets, traditions and rituals related to the gastronomy here, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":16510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1558,1560],"tags":[1666,1294,1710],"ppma_author":[2369],"class_list":["post-16523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink-in-san-sebastian","category-san-sebastian-blog","tag-basque-culture","tag-basque-food","tag-gastronomic-societies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Devour Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the Basque Country, there&#039;s no temple to local cuisine quite like a gastronomic society. 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