In truth, Catalan cooking - with its energetic use of all the best ingredients that Mediterranean food has to offer - hasn't had to struggle to become modern.
It's a fine introduction to Catalan cooking.
The cuisine of southern France, corresponding roughly to the extent of Occitania, had far more in common with Italian and Catalan cooking than with northern French cuisine.
Orwell, fighting his war, objected to Catalan cooking, describing it as "always the same rich, greasy cookery, with everything sodden in olive oil."
Catalan cooking is among the most refined and inventive in Spain, rivaled only by that of the Basques.
Salted cod, garlic and tomato are the building blocks of Catalan cooking, and nowhere will you find them more skilfully assembled than at this rustic-looking restaurant in the business district.
Don't miss the Catalan cooking.
For traditional Catalan cooking, this is an address that loyal locals come back to time and again.
But you can still get a taste of yesteryear and traditional Catalan cooking.
This restaurant is popular for its hearty Catalan cooking using fresh produce, mainly sourced from the busy market next door.