Alberto Gutiérrez has lived most of his life on different islands around the world working as a head chef before settling in Lanzarote four years ago. A few months ago he created the company La Canaria Coqueta in Lanzarote and already produces seven varieties of croquettes for supermarkets and restaurants. Three of them, the coquetas, combine fresh Lanzarote goat cheese with leek, spinach, and dates with bacon.
In a recent interview on the Más de uno Gourmet program on Radio Lanzarote, Gutiérrez explains how the business idea came about, where his croquettes can be purchased, and the new gastronomic experiments he is carrying out.
- How did the idea for La Canaria Coqueta come about?
As a head chef, I have bought many frozen croquettes and they were not what I expected, because I really like to eat and I couldn't find quality. One day we were looking for flavors to make croquettes at home and it occurred to us to make them with fresh Lanzarote goat cheese.
"We knead it cold so that the cheese cubes are preserved"
We make the béchamel with leek and then, already cold, we knead it so that the cheese cubes are preserved and thus respect the product, not make a croquette where the cheese is diluted. Then a place appeared that from a hygienic-sanitary point of view met all the conditions for us to develop a small industrial activity and we launched ourselves. We are producing and selling frozen croquettes in supermarkets and we also make croquettes for restaurants.
- How many varieties do you have for sale?
We have seven varieties. On the one hand, there are the ones we call coquetas, with fresh Lanzarote goat cheese. There are three, the original ones, which are with leek, the popeye ones, with spinach, and the Lanzarote coqueta, with dates and bacon. We made this last one in honor of a pizza that is sold in this land and that I really like.
Then we have four other varieties of croquettes: of Iberian ham, of boletus, of cod and of baby squids.
- How did you get to Lanzarote?
I was born in León. I was the typical boy who always got up to clear the table and I began to find pleasure in cooking. When I finished high school I found a hospitality school in Santiago de Compostela and there I began to fall in love with the world of cooking, eating and products.
I finished my internship and started living on islands, first in the Balearic Islands and after a time in London and Rome, I went to Tenerife, where I fell in love with two Canarian products: fresh goat cheese and wrinkled potatoes, my mother would take the mojo by spoonfuls, for us it was a novelty.
"It is very important that the next day, in a restaurant, the croquette you find is the same"
I'm talking about twenty-something years ago. Then I had a journey through other islands. I went to Cape Verde, I was there as a head chef always working in hotels. Four years ago I got an offer and I came to Lanzarote.
- For a lover of fresh goat cheese, what better place than an island like Lanzarote with cheeses awarded nationally and internationally?
I am deeply in love with Lanzarote's fresh cheese. When I go on a trip, I try other fresh goat cheeses, but the quality of the fresh cheese here is incredible. Fantastic, I could say a lot of things, the acidity, the flavor, the texture... You grill it with a little mojo, with palm honey, for me it's a great product.
- Where can your croquettes be bought?
We have been very fortunate because the world of industrial croquettes is not so simple. Our first opportunity was given to us by Chacón supermarkets and then we have also introduced ourselves in Spar. For the moment these are the two establishments where you can find the coquetas. We hope that soon we can reach more establishments.
- You also make croquettes to order for businesses, are they personalized?
Yes, as a head chef I realize that if a salesman comes to offer me a croquette, I would probably first look for a croquette just for me, a croquette that the restaurant next door doesn't have, and then that it is profitable with my ratios.
"Sometimes they ask me for a gazpacho recipe and I tell them that I first want to see the tomatoes"
Croquettes are very laborious and kitchens sometimes have little space for the evaporation that the croquette needs. Sometimes the staff changes. It depends a lot on the cook, and the time he has that day ... It is very important from a gastronomic point of view that you go to a restaurant to eat a croquette and that the next day when you go with some friends it is the same.
- What is the most important thing to offer quality?
The product. Sometimes they ask me for a gazpacho recipe and I tell them that I first want to see the tomatoes. I am obsessed with the product. I would like to communicate that people, more than cooking, enjoy the products. There are many recipes, you put 'tiramisu' on the Internet and you get 2 million results.
- Have you considered creating a vegan croquette?
We have done a vegan boletus test and people who have tried it in my close circle say that it is good, but I have not found the creaminess that I want. We will continue to investigate.
We are also thinking of making a gluten-free variety and another specific one for air fryers. We will try to evolve to be in accordance with what society demands of us.
