The province of Alicante, along Spain’s southeastern coast, offers a rich tapestry of Mediterranean flavors, from its celebrated rice dishes and seafood to a vibrant, and notably female-led, restaurant scene.
The journey begins in the coastal city of Alicante, famed for its rice preparations. A visit to a long-standing local restaurant reveals the area’s culinary heart. A conversation with a British chef who has made the region his home highlights its defining characteristics. “Alicante truly embodies the Mediterranean—its rice, seafood, and artichokes are exceptional,” he notes, also pointing to unique local specialties like a robust turkey stew.
This spirit of culinary innovation is matched by the prominence of women in the local gastronomy, a distinctive feature in a country where professional kitchens are often male-dominated. This is partly attributed to historical economic factors, where cooking provided a vital career path. The trend is championed by a leading local chef, who founded an association to unite the area’s many talented female chefs. She now oversees several successful establishments.
Another testament to this movement is a modern restaurant run by a chef who transitioned from landscape gardening two decades ago. In an elegant dining room overlooking a square of ancient ficus trees, the menu features a delicate rice dish where the seafood is pre-peeled, a convenience that speaks to thoughtful preparation. The rice, sourced from a nearby freshwater lagoon, is cooked to perfection in a complex broth.
A short ferry ride leads to the island of Tabarca, a marine reserve with a rich history of various settlers. Here, the quest is for a unique fisherman’s stew. At a local eatery, the owner explains the two-part meal: first, a succulent dish of potatoes and fish in a rich, garlicky broth, followed by rice cooked in that same flavorful liquid. The experience, enjoyed with a view of the harbor, is a highlight of the coastal cuisine.
Inland, the city of Elche offers a different landscape, renowned for its vast palm grove, a UNESCO World Heritage site. A tour of a palm museum reveals the tree’s deep cultural, agricultural, and even spiritual significance. The local date production is small, making its varieties, including a particularly exquisite local kind, a gourmet treasure.
The final rice dish of the trip is found at a decades-old, family-run restaurant south of the city. There, a chef masterfully tends to a fire of grapevine branches in a large, open hearth. The result is a flawless paella with rabbit and wild snails, its quality rivaling the fresh artichokes from the garden and the memorable sweetness of Elche’s dates.
