El Jardín de la Kalifa.
Credit: El Jardín de la Kalifa.
How did a 24-year-old Scottish surfer wash up on the shores of Cadiz and bring back the flavours of North Africa to Andalusia with him?
It’s 1988, and James Stewart is practising his surfing skills on the waves of Caños de Meca, in the province of Cádiz. Back then, there were no chiringuito bars to speak of, so he searched inland for a sandwich to sate his hunger.
Coming across a pyramidal hill with a quaint pueblo blanco perched on top, he decided to stop and try a typical sandwich of the locality, a pork loin shortening bocadillo. As he munched, he fell in love with the extraordinary charm of Vejer de la Frontera, a remainder of a Moorish fortress town.
Credit: El Jardín de la Kalifa.
Now captivated, he began by setting up an ‘active tourism’ company in this spot well off of the tourist radar, offering mountain bike tours. Such was his success, he acquired various abandoned houses, including one wreck in the main square, Plaza de España, which he converted into what would become the fashionable boutique hotel, La Casa del Califa.
24 years later, and he is the king of Vejer, with this hotel, some holiday houses, four restaurants, a teahouse, and even a hammam. A true empire that has become one of the most substantial in the area since the Moors.
James Stewart had spent his childhood travelling with his father from Lebanon to Saudi Arabia and later worked in Morocco, where he fell in love with the culture of food. Tired of the Spanish Tortilla de Patata, he took the flavours of Morocco, along with his collection of artefacts collected from his north African travels, and created El Jardín de la Califa restaurant in the grounds of his central hotel, one of the finest hat-tips to the occupation of the Moors there was.
Credit: El Jardín de la Kalifa.
Moroccan spicy harira soup, beetroot gazpacho, Aleppo aubergine caramelised in tomato, Malfouk, pine nuts, and mint yoghurt cream, and grilled halloumi cheese with caramelised figs and date syrup all indicate where this dining experience is headed. There are specialities of the house including leg of lamb in saffron sauce, chicken Sufa with Moroccan noodles, and Tagine Oasis, an exotic beef tagine with spiced pineapple and prunes.
Nestled among palm trees and other tropical plants, the old rustic house built upon ancient Moorish ruins, appropriately whitewashed, provides the most romantic yet quirky setting for a short stay in the whole southwest of Spain. Don’t even think about just turning up like a washed up, hungry surfer, though. Both the restaurant and the hotel get booked up long in advance.
