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VALENCIANO CUISINE STORMS AMERICA By: Cristina Slattery Edited by: Jadan Horyn
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hef Danny Lledo is exposing diners in the nation’s capital to Valencian cuisine and earning accolades doing so. Lledo, who was born in the U.S. and spent his childhood in the region of Valencia on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, is currently the most-awarded paella chef in America, but he wants diners to learn that Valencian cuisine does not consist solely of paella. Chef Lledo opened Xiquet, his new Valencian-focused restaurant, named after a word his father used to call him – it means “local kid” in Valenciano – in 2020, two weeks before the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic. He quickly pivoted to teaching cooking classes for paella over Zoom when the restaurant needed to close, but despite the unfortunate situation of Covid, the restaurant, located above his Slate Wine Bar in the Glover Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C., earned a Michelin star in April of 2021. Lledo has created the completely vegan “arros de marina,” which is cooked in the paella style and is now part of his fourteen-course tasting menu. Plankton, high in Omega 3s, gives the dish a bright green color. Additionally, the plankton adds saltiness to the dish.
Chef Danny Lledo
Chef Lledo is also importing a special prawn called the “Red Prawn of Denia,” from the Valencian region to the United States. This prawn is a specialty of the Mediterranean location south of the city of Valencia where the town of Denia is located and is prized for its mixture of iodine, salt, and lean white meat. Fideua, a noodle dish that includes shellfish, and that originated in Valencia, is often on the menu at Xiquet, 60
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and a favorite technique of Lledo’s is using a smoker to cook meat, so smoked meats are also on the menu. At Mediterranea Gastronoma, a gathering of culinary industry notables that took place in Valencia in November, Lledo was a keynote speaker. He was recognized as a Chef Ambassador of the Valencian Community along with three other chefs from the region. Lledo focuses on the process when creating a dish. He has learned from experiences that vary from working at Madrid’s historic Botin, where he recalls the “respect and kindness” with which staff treated customers, to his time at Jose Andres’ Think Food Group. Lledo says that Spanish cuisine has “come a long way since French cuisine was the dominant force in the U.S. for a long time.” At Mediterranea Gastronoma, the event in Valencia, he shared how he uses a Texas-style smoker to cook meat since he notes that “they don’t necessarily cook with smoke in Spain.” He is hoping Xiquet will earn 2 Michelin stars and emphasizes that success is a team effort. Diners move from the ground floor of the building, where they start with appetizers, to the third floor, the location of the main dining room, and finally finish the meal with dessert on the middle floor. The main dining room has only six tables and diners can see into the kitchen. If you haven’t tried Valencian cuisine, you should try to dine at Xiquet when you are in the Washington, D.C. area. Spanish food is quite varied and Lledo’s tasting menu will allow you to taste the unique bounty of his native region.
