The celebrated Catalan chef Joan Roca has dismissed suggestions that he is taking sides in the bitter battle over Catalonia’s independence by hiring out one of his venues for a prize-giving ceremony attended by King Felipe.

Roca, whose three-Michelin starred restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca, has twice been named the best in the world, says he is being unfairly criticised for agreeing to host the Spanish monarch, who angered many Catalans by refusing to denounce the police violence that met last year’s illegal independence referendum.

The Princess of Girona Foundation awards, which promote young people’s professional and personal development, were due to be given out at a ceremony held at Girona’s auditorium on 28 June.



But after the city council said the venue was unavailable because of building works, the event was transferred to Roca’s Espai Mas Marroch, a 15th-century country house on the outskirts of Girona.

News that one of Catalonia’s most lauded chefs was hosting the king did not go down well with some pro-independence campaigners.

Lluc Salellas, a city councillor for the far-left Popular Unity Candidacy (Cup), published an open letter to Roca and his two brothers, urging them not to host the event.

“Rethink allowing Felipe of Bourbon, who justified the violence against thousands of Catalans - including hundreds of people from Girona - into your house, the Mas Marroch, to preach his words in our region,” said the letter.

Others have called for a boycott of El Celler de Can Roca, while a local branch of the Cup tweeted an upside-down picture of the Roca brothers next to the image of a burning photograph of the king, with a caption reading: “Don’t forget, don’t forgive!!!”

Roca responded to his critics on Wednesday, telling them the decision had nothing to do with politics and had been taken only because the auditorium was not available.

“We’re hurt,” he told the Catalan radio station RAC1. “What’s happening seems unfair to us. The only thing we want to say is that we do not have to do politics. We’re cooks. A restaurant is about hospitality. We do our job.”

However, Salellas accused the Rocas of being disingenuous.

“The Roca brothers have a standing and a public reach that means they can receive thanks and congratulations,” he told RAC1. “But it also means they can receive criticism from those who don’t agree with their decision. They’re taking sides: by accepting the king’s attendance, they’re making a decision. That’s legitimate and respectable and we’re not questioning it. But I don’t think it’s right to suggest this isn’t a political gesture.”

Carles Puigdemont, who was sacked as Catalan president by the Spanish government for staging the referendum and unilaterally declaring independence last October, was born in Girona province. The deposed premier also served as mayor of Girona city.

A spokesman for the city council said the auditorium and another venue were scheduled to undergo works at the time of the awards ceremony.

But he said the mayor, Marta Madrenas, who is a member of Puigdemont’s Together for Catalonia party, opposed the foundation’s use of the auditorium in any case.

“The mayor has suggested that the auditorium’s management should not host the foundation’s prizes in future years,” he said. “The reason is the speech the king gave on 3 October, for which Girona city council declared him persona non grata by a wide majority.”

The local council in the nearby municipality of Caldes de Malavella said it would protest against the king’s visit by naming a square to commemorate the holding of the independence referendum.



In a statement, it said: “The king is not welcome in Caldes de Malavella. The municipality has not forgotten the angry speech he made on 3 October, with its absolute silence over the victims of the brutal police repression that saw peaceful citizens in Catalonia beaten and attacked on 1 October.”