Basque Country Live

Jon Warren first arrived in Donostia-San Sebastian around 2002 on an ordinary summer’s evening that would eventually prove life-changing.

Stopping off for the night during a road trip down to Portugal, the vibrant atmosphere and sight of copious pintxos on the bar convinced Jon and his friend they had hit fiesta-time: “it was like: wow!”

Such was the draw of the place for Jon that on the way back they decided to spend two nights in the Gipuzkoa capital: “We had such a good time; standing on the Concha (beach) I said to my friend: ‘I’m going to live here one day’.”

True to his word, Jon returned to live in the city, though not after four years working in the City of London.

“Working in London.. I never really felt excited. Everyday on a desk,.. doing something I wasn’t passionate about, you think ‘surely this can’t be it’.”

“I quit my job in November 2007 just knowing I wanted to do something else… Doing this, I absolutely love it because every day’s an adventure, doing my own thing.”

Jon’s “own thing” is San Sebastian Food, his own self-run tour business. The aim of the company is to provide tourists over on a short break to the Basque Country with a culinary insight they may otherwise miss. It is inspired in what Jon calls his “six-month gastronomic adventure” sussing out the bars and discovering the best pintxos.

Jon’s personal interest in food is more broadly centred on the entire experience of eating; something which may be linked to some of his earliest memories: “I’ve got some great food memories, but always linked to the people I’m with. “

Reflecting on what aroused his love for all things culinary, Jon recalls his uncle Paddy, an “adventurer” who lived mostly in Sierra Leone, given to roasting whole pigs and baking bread on visits home to the family. It is an almost tangible memory that evokes warm summer evenings and smells of spit-roast pork wafting over lawns of playing children.

Capturing that more sensuous experience is what underlines a lot of Jon’s tours, which move away from the often sterile sensation of a restaurant, to the shouts and smells of a packed bar or busy farmers’ market; “I love Michelin-starred food but I’m a lot more interested in the social side of things,… pintxos, the cider houses, where it’s all about meeting your friends and chatting”.

Life change

Jon made the move to San Sebastian in January 2008. After an 8-week language course at Lacunza he went “armed with dodgy Spanish, a basic CV but plenty of enthusiasm” to seek work at the Villa Soro hotel in Ategorrieta. He did “a bit of everything.. bellboy, porter, barman…” though it would later prove to be a significant decision.

Aside from becoming for many guests an unofficial guide to the best places to eat, he would also, ironically perhaps, meet his English girlfriend Nicole, who came to stay at the hotel one weekend with a group of friends:

“She moved out here last May and I have her to thank for helping me so much; from brain-storming to proof reading she has helped enormously.”

As far as his success this side of the Atlantic, Jon is unreserved in his praise for the Basque people whom he has encountered over the past three years: “They’ve been so incredibly friendly from when I arrived… such warm, open people, so happy to help..

“Thanks to friends, for example, I’ve been able to make contacts with the cheese farm in Urnieta where we do a tour with the owners,” says Jon.

Jon is modest about his own contribution to his success, a trait that goes down well in this part of the world. He is, by his own admission, sociable and often “gets chatting to people”, a characteristic of a natural networker and one that has helped him to open a lot of doors into the heart of the Basque culinary experience, sometimes literally.

Jon says his “strongest” food memory was in the Rioja with Nicole looking for somewhere to eat. With a predilection for talking to people – “old ladies especially” – they were finally led by one senior citizen to a restaurant that was seemingly locked up:

“She turned the lights on and said ‘right, what are you having?’; she cooked this lunch just for us with a nice bottle of wine…

“It was nothing amazing; the TV was blaring and the food wasn’t fabulous but for me that’s what it’s about: That incredible, unique experience”.

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Last weekend together with three Erasmus friends we went on a trip to the other part of the Basque Country, we went to Iparralde.

My French Erasmus friend was driving and told us on the way their that the French part would be very different from the Spanish one. At first I thought that he was just saying that because he is a Frenchman but once we arrived I could see and feel some differences yes.

We visited Bayonne, St. Jean de Luz, Biarritz and some little villages and castle that we came across. The beautiful views and beaches are just as amazing as the ones of the Spanish part. But the style of the cities is totally different. Most of the houses in Iparrelde are white with red balconies and doors, very charming.

Adriana and me with the waffles at the Christmas market

The people on the street made a difference as well. Most of them spoke French and they were dressed in a different style then the people on the Spanish part. But the Basqueness on this part could not be unnoticed. The man wore barrets, Basque words were used and Basque food was served.

Nor could we escape the lovely Basque rain that we have felt on our heads the last month! The first day it rained like crazy and we were forced to enter bars and restaurants for food en drinks..what a bad thing to do!

Saturday morning we walked true Bayonne and noticed a nice Christmas market! Me and Adriana, my Mexican friend, walked around it and tasted some delicious waffels with a lot of chocolate to make sure that our diets were ruined. A glass of ‘ Vine Chaud’ sounded good after the waffels. We went to the wine stall and orderd ‘ Deux vine chaud sil vous plaît’ when the man respond with a joyfull `a dos vino caliente!´. He turned out to be Basque and from that point we noticed that there were more on the streets! The ‘ Agur’ was all around us again!

At St. Jean de Luz

In the afternoon we went to Biarritz, were it was raining as well. It was a charming little city with a lot of Christmas decoration and a lot of ‘ Olentzeros’ ! Here we watched our first match of rugby. What seems to be the most popular sport in French. I could just see that by the look on the face of my French friend. It made his day! Considering I’m not a big sports fan the rugby is not so bad to watch and it’s even funny when there is a nice tackle going on.

In the evening we went to a nice restaurant in Bayonne that turned out to be Basque! Here I order a stake that turned out to be huge! It felt like I was eating like a man and it was damned good for once. The guys order one kilo of steak for two and finished it all (including a piece of mine). We were very stuffed but we were in France so a big plate with cheese and marmalade and some more wine followed.

Very satisfied we walked on the streets a few hours later when we heard some trumpets and laughter. Attracted by the sound we ended up by a little bar were a live band was playing very cheerfully. The bar was stuffed with drunken and happy people and of course we squeezed ourselves between them. We had a good time filled with rum-orange shots and a huge can of beer that the bar women gave to her guest for free.

The next day we were lucky enough to feel the sun shining on our heads. We started with a nice French breakfast and went to St. Jean de Luz by car. Here we played on the beach, saw some local dancing, made a big tour by foot while enjoying amazing views and ate some crepe before we continued our tour to whatever we would come across.

With a mad Frenchman behind the wheel we came across a lot! After making 10 spins at each round a bout we saw some castles, stopped to enjoy the view at a cliff and ate some cheese and wine on our way back in Hondarribia.

A castle we came across

The good food, amazing views, all the Christmas decoration which made de towns very charming and of course my crazy companions made it a perfect weekend!

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