Getting to know Fua Querida and the Barcelona of Joana Choquet
August, 2nd, 2024. Written by Clara De Nadal Trias
@inandoutbarcelona
How nice it is when you meet someone and feel like you've known each other your whole life. And how nice it is also when you meet a person and think, 'I wish I had met you sooner'.
That is the feeling I got after meeting and interviewing Joana Choquet, a lively, traveler and brave woman who enjoys sharing life with her family and friends.
She describes herself as a nonconformist person (positively speaking) and states that what she likes most in the world is to ENJOY everything in capital letters and, of course, to eat.
Hello Joana, it is a pleasure to interview you today. Please, tell me a confessable secret:
I like junk food and I eat sweets very often.
To situate those who still don't know you... What do you do for a living?
I am dedicated to Marketing and communication in the gastronomic sector and my work focuses, above all, on the digital world.
Please tell me how you started, what has your career been until today?
I started in the working world as a music journalist but quickly jumped into the world of communication agencies in the social media department and then as a digital strategist. I worked in agencies for more than 12 years until I decided to specialize in the gastronomic sector and create Fua Querida, a project that I started mentally in my adolescence. I used to save tickets to all the places I went to eat, with the dream of one day creating a restaurant route.
Finally in May 2023 I jumped into the pool and created my own agency fuaquerida.studio.
Interesting but then what is @fuaquerida?
@fuaquerida is a profile where we show gastronomic recommendations that are not necessarily the “coolest” or “fancy” places. The most important thing is the authenticity of the places we propose, genuine places and places to repeat. We also show recipes, interviews, and any content related to gastronomy.
Speaking of Fua Querida, what’s the dream (yet) to be fulfill?
To ensure that Fua Querida and Fua Querida Studio become a leading media and gastronomic agency in the world of gastronomy. Although, honestly, I am already very satisfied with what I have achieved so far.
What is your favorite corner of the city?
My favorite corner of the city is my house, because I make it mine.
And the most curious thing about Barcelona?
The most curious thing is that most of us from Barcelona say that 'we would never live in a place that does not have a beach', but ours, Barcelona, we never set foot on it.
What are your 3 favorite restaurants or bars in Barcelona and why?
- Casa Mari y Rufo, for its gastronomic offer, the quality of its product, its quality/price ratio and above all, for the state of mind that being in a family restaurant managed by the family itself gives you.
- This year's discovery: Âme, for its wonderful and surprising tasting menu that in many places would cost twice as much. And because when you go, two hours of maximum enjoyment await you.
- Bar El Pollo, -because beyond the fact that Rosalía has made it fashionable by mentioning it on her Instagram-, it is a traditional place that transmits the essence of Barcelona (well, let's be honest, modern Barcelona), you have very good tortillas Made and traditional dishes of Basque gastronomy with a great quality/price ratio. I think it is a place that has managed to give a very interesting twist to a traditional establishment and, furthermore, it is the place that I featured in my first @fuaquerida Instagram post and I am very fond of it.
If someone who has never been to Barcelona asks you, what can I not miss, do, or visit?
To discover Barcelona on foot. This is a very accessible city to explore. I would also tell them 'not to fall into the typical' and not leave without first discovering the neighborhoods of Sants and Poble Nou.
What is your favorite plan in the city?
Go to eat in good company and have a very long after-dinner meal. And, why not, end up dancing at Apolo.
If you didn't live in Barcelona... Where would you live?
Madrid, without a doubt. In fact I have already lived there for 6 years.
If Barcelona was a person... Who would it be?
Albert Pla, because it is like Barcelona itself: controversial, provocative and makes you think.
Last but not least... Please mention someone I should do this interview to:
Cristina Tosca Capel. She is a very interesting woman, lived and with firm values; She is also the Director of Código Nuevo.
Thank you very much for everything Joana. Good luck with everything and I thanks for all your recommendations.
Interview and translation by Clara De Nadal Trias
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