Prada’s first dream was born in his old shoe shop in Cacabelos which was more than just a shoe shop. It was a hubbub of encounters, people, artists, locals with a simple and rounded philosophy... it was a forum of ideas, quests and liberties.

At that time it was fashionable to snub all things indigenous and to dabble in invading tastes and influences. A whole heap of plastics and aluminiums swept the length and breadth of Spain, ephemeral materials, aesthetics which would disintegrate before the year was out. The rural population drift was firmly sealed with the shameful exodus to the towns and their slavery. Traditional values and ways were lost in an abyss of haste and greed. Popular customs and heritage were spurned. Even the fertile lands of El Bierzo saw their seasonal richness lost due to the lack of an industrial base for agricultural processing.

So why not roast peppers, and bottle them as had always been done in every home in El Bierzo? Why not prepare and preserve sweet or sour cherries in brandy, chestnuts in syrup, figs in the drink of gods?...