Coveting Cova

These “cave men” have the most sophisticated taste buds this side of the New Millennium, and the most cosmopolitan ways.

Patrick “Pat” Hesse, a Barcelona- and Las Vegas-trained chef, and his partner Tatyana “Taty” Guevara, also Barcelona-trained, have dug out a “hidden gem” on Jupiter Street in Makati and made it a haven for those who like to chill out with tapas and sangria (among other drinks) with Barcelona on their mind.

Cova (the Spanish word for “cave”) is literally a niche in Makati, where, as Patrick likes to put it, “people order food to accompany a drink, and not the other way around.”

One gets the feeling of being inside an ultra-modern alcove the minute one enters Cova. Gaudi-style “waves” of curvaceous wooden planks line the ceiling, forming an arc. Soft lighting and music contribute to the relaxing ambience, where guests can talk to as well as listen to their companions as they savor their tapas and sangria.

“Tapas is not just eating, it’s a way of life, it’s socializing,” says Taty, who takes care of the restaurant and the guests.

Thus, people who take blissful refuge in Cova are after “the entire tapas experience — socializing, eating and drinking,” she adds.

Cova is renowned for its sangria, like its Summer Peachy White Wine Sangria and Mint Lychee White Wine Sangria. It has also introduced the refreshing Apple Pie White Wine Sangria. The secret of its  bestselling sangria? “Fresh fruit juices, freshly-cut fruits, Cointreau, brandy and the best Spanish wine,” reveals Taty.  Men who like to impress their dates usually order the Millionaire Sangria, which comes at P1,350 a liter.

The sangria goes well with Huevos Cabreados  (fried eggs, shoestring potatoes, crispy chorizo and alioli), Pintxo de Queso Frito (fried Gruyère, honey, caramelized onions), Fideua (squid, clams, short noodles with alioli), Paella Negra (soft-shell crab, prawn, mussels, squid and alioli), Tartar de Rabo de Toro (fresh beef tenderloin, fresh egg yolk, chives, piparra, migas and crispy onion) and Cova’s own version of caviar pie.

All these are served in “tasting portions,” so that a woman in a Hervé Leger dress need not worry about it bursting at the seams.

***

Both Patrick and Tatyana are children of businessmen (Uwe Hesse and Benjie Guevara) and housewives (Carolina Hesse and Sylvia Guevara). Both the Hesse and Guevara families love to eat, and find real pleasure in eating out and trying new recipes. Patrick’s only sibling is also a chef, and he swears his brother makes the best steak in the world.

Whereas Patrick learned to cook from his mom, Carolina, Taty’s first foray into the kitchen was under the guidance of her dad, Benjie.

“He taught me how to bake brownies,” she recalls. But since she loves to eat more than she loves to cook, she has relegated the running of the Cova kitchen to Patrick.

New recipes come to Patrick’s mind even while driving, and whenever he feels he has struck gold, he calls his cooks at Cova and asks them if the ingredients are available. If they are, voila! He proceeds to try them out the very next day.

 â€œI can’t remember a time when I didn’t eat like this,” Patrick tells us one night at Cova, as he eyes the sumptuous spread of tapas on our table. “The Steak Tartare or Tartar de Toro is originally French, but the Spanish enjoy it. You can make tapas regardless where it’s from, it can be Arabian-inspired, even Japanese-inspired.”

“Even dimsum and sushi are a form of tapas,” adds Patrick, who recalls being told by the chef at the Arola tapas restaurant at the luxurious Hotel Arts in Barcelona that anything you put on a small plate qualifies as tapas.

Patrick likes not only to combine flavors and colors in his tapas. He likes them to be a melody of textures, too. For the Huevos Cabreados, for instance, the contrast between the melt-in-your-mouth fried egg and the crisp shoestring potatoes, is something you feel, not only taste, in your mouth.

***

Patrick was majoring in business at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas when the epicurean delights of the city tickled not just his palate but also his imagination. He then shifted to Culinary Arts. When he returned to Manila, he trained further at the upscale Enderun College at The Fort, where he met Tatyana. They both qualified for an internship program at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona.

Both spent a lot of time training at the hotel’s Arola restaurant, named after chef Sergi Arola, a disciple of the legendary Ferran Adrià and Pierre Gagnaire. Arola is known to combine “creative flair with a passion for local traditions and seasonal ingredients.” His restaurant at the Hotel Arts “showcases imaginative interpretations of traditional Mediterranean cuisine, served tapas style for informal sharing.” I had a chance to savor the tapas at Arola at the Hotel Arts during a visit to Barcelona last year and now I know why Pat and Taty are so inspired in their tapas venture.

Like Arola, Patrick and Taty combine traditional flavors with imaginative concoctions. Though tapas need not be 100 percent Spanish food, 90 percent of the tapas served at Cova are Spanish in origin. (Patrick also discloses that the chefs at Arola weren’t selfish with their recipes.)

Asked what sets Cova apart from other tapas bars, Patrick immediately replies, “Food sets us apart. We like to make it different. We come up with little tasting portions. Everything is more on modern side with a twist.”

Patrick says that ultimately, “We like being artistic and food is an expression of art.”

At Cova, the art is floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall and in every small plate and tall glass in between.

(Cova is located at 22 Jupiter St., Makati City. For reservations, please call tel. no. 478-9700.) (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)