Croquetas
Alberto Chicote—Chicote to one and all, except perhaps his mum—is a Spanish chef and TV celebrity. He came to fame with a Spanish version of the Gordon Ramsay show Kitchen Nightmares, or Pesadilla en la cocina. That's the programme where Gordon/Alberto is invited to a restaurant, orders some food and, based on what he eats, how he is served, what he sees in the kitchen, and what he gleans from talking to owners and workers, sets about a plan to make the restaurant more successful. In both Spanish and British versions, it seems absolutely essential that there is a lot of swearing. Chicote has often said that croquettes—croquetas in Spanish—are the ultimate litmus test for a restaurant. He always asks for croquetas if they are on the menu. His idea is that a good croqueta is a sign that the cook knows something of kitchen technique and uses quality ingredients. He's looking for handmade croquetas, not the horrible mass-produced and frozen ones that we are so often served. He is q...