Mesón de Cándido

Hola! 

Today, Marta and I were chatting over dinner when I asked her, "Is there any food that is typical of Segovia?" She replied, "Yes- Cochinillo! It's famous!" 

I remembered hearing about this dish. The Segovia 2012 group told us all about it, and even included it on their "Bucket List" for us:

"Try cochinillo (Segovian famous dish)"
is on the bucket list!

Cochinillo 

I started to ask questions about it. What is it? Where do you eat it? Do you like it?

She graciously answered my questions, then commented "My grandfather invented it."

WHAT? I thought I misheard her! 

Marta proceeded to tell me about the history of her family. Apparently, her family has owned the restaurant Mesón de Cándido for multiple generations, and her grandparents made it famous by creating the dish cochinillo. Now, this may not seem like a big deal (I know I would have brushed it aside), but it became so famous that people started coming from around the world to try it. There are pictures of her family with U.S. presidents (e.g. John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon), members of Spanish royalty, and countless other celebrities. There are even three books written about her family! The pictures posted below are photos from one of the books:

Cary Grant in the Mesón de Cándido

Sophia Loren in the Mesón de Cándido

Salvador Dalí in the Mesón de Cándido 

The Mesón de Cándido is still famous today and continues to attract famous people. There are pictures around our house of Marta posing by royalty, such as the King and Queen of Spain. It's incredible. 

Also, I should note that her family also owns a five-star hotel and another restaurant. They also own a foundation called the Fundación Cándido. My friend recently informed me that my host family is part of the "richest family in Segovia" - and now it makes sense! She is so humble though, I would have never known this unless my friend told me. 

Monument dedicated to her grandfather located in central Segovia

If you want more information about her grandfather, feel free to check out his Wikipedia page and foundation page:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1ndido_L%C3%B3pez_(cocinero) 

http://www.mesondecandido.es/ingles.html

Oh, and here are just two of the YouTube videos about the Mesón de Cándido:

Segovia, Spain #7 Restaurant Meson de Candido

Homenaje Candido Mesonero Mayor de Castilla Parte 1

Cheers,

Anna