At Cantueso we are very proud of our team who work so hard in serving the public both in the restaurant and cottages and we would like to introduce them to you.

L to R: Antonio, Ana, Eva, Cipri, Lucia, Nicky

Antonio (front of house) is well known to our visitors as he has spent several summers with us. Antonio is a mine of information about the area, spanish food, and wines, so his knowledge is put to good use helping our many overseas visitors. Other times he has his own bar in the village.

Ana (front of house) - is here for her third year with us, running things out front with Antonio. Her winning smile and efficiency makes her very popular with guests. In real life she is a music graduate waiting for a teaching job in schools.

Eva (head chef) - for several years Eva has worked at Cantueso as sous chef and this year stepped up to the head chef role. She is very passionate about using fresh local ingredients and that all dishes must be "home" cooked. Nothing is bought in, and she has introduced lots of new dishes to the menu.

Cipriano is a student assisting Eva in the kitchen for the summer. Cipri is studying at the Malaga cookery school and brightens up the kitchen with his colourful dress sense, and is keen to use his training in a practical situation.

Lucía (head of housekeeping) - was already here when we took over in 2007. She has been invaluable during our many refurbishments, and makes sure that all ten cottages and the apartment are always properly prepared for guests.

Nicky (the boss) say no more!

All the team are Periana locals and work hard to maintain our number one spot in the area. They look forward to meeting you.

Rutas de los Olivos Milenarios de Periana

We have written before about Periana Gold the verdial type olive oil produced in the village cooperative and it will interest walkers and lovers of the countryside to see that three new walking routes around the olive groves have been established.

These walks are designed to show off some of the district’s ancient trees, one of which is thought to be over 1500 years old. Several others exceed a thousand years and all have been calculated by measuring the girth of the trunk one and a half metres from the ground. Each metre is thought to equal between 200 and 250 years. The oldest to be seen on the walk is known as “El Chato” with a girth of 7.4 metres. Various other wonderful specimens to be seen are known as “The snail”, “The shelf” and “Box Office” all names describing the shape of the trees.

The three routes vary in length and will take between 1.25 and 2.00 hours. The olive oil cooperative are offering guided tours or you may walk independently using maps provided, a link is here. You will see that the routes can be walked separately or joined together for a much longer hike.

The closest route to Cantueso is called “Ruta Cortijo Blanco – Rio Seco” and is 6.3 Km long and should take 1 3/4 hours. In fact Cantueso is along the route so you may start and finish here and no doubt need a cooling drink at the end ? Please make sure that you go prepared for walking in warm weather with proper shoes and plenty of water.

The cooperativo has also produced a special limited batch of Millennium oil using olives from the ancient trees. It can along with several other types be purchased from the cooperative shop in Periana.

The annual festival in honour or the patron saint of Periana, St Isidro, takes place around the middle of May and normally lasts for four days. It always has plenty of entertainment for all ages and features some well known Spanish musical performers. The village will be very much alive during the days and nights of the festival with plenty to see and do. Typically the villagers come out en masse late at night accompanied by their children (who normally sleep during the day.) Highly recommended to those with strong constitutions!

We have been working over the last few months on our new menu and hope you will find something to tantalise your taste buds. As always we can accommodate specific allergies and will guide you through the ingredients of each dish, and whenever possible cook a variation to suit your needs.

Apart from pests a much heard complaint from gardeners is what to do with a bumper crop. Hours and weeks of tender care can so often result in success coming all at once, and not to make full use of the produce is just unthinkable.

At Restaurante Cantueso we grow lots of different fruits, and are fortunate in being able to use many of them in the restaurant, so nothing goes to waste.

Just now, our chef has made good use of the surfeit of lemons, and produced a traditional Spanish Torrija, which is a delightful dessert made with French toast (pieces of bread soaked in an egg and lemon mixture) an orange brandy snap filled with cream, and finished off with a lemon curd sauce. As can be seen in the picture he has also been able to use some kumquat in the decoration.

Diners who have tried it so far have been extremely complimentary. One saying that the French toast seems to “explode in your mouth with lots of subtle lemon flavours, and definitely not a dessert to share!”

Some varieties of lemon can produce a crop all year round, and if you are looking to plant a tree and want year round lemons look for the “Lunares” variety.

We also have lots of Nispero or Loquat which is always a welcome sight, heralding as it does, the summer with many more fruits to follow.

We look forward to seeing you

Summer opening Hours:

The restaurant hours are:

Lunch 13.00 to 15.30 hrs and Dinner 20.00 to 22.30 hrs

Sundays we only serve Lunch

Closed Mondays

Tuesday to Saturday open Lunch and Dinner

Horario de apertura:

El restaurante está abierto: de 13.00 a 15.30 h y de 20.00 a 22.30 h

Los domingos sólo servimos el almuerzo: de 13.00 a 15.30 h

Cerramos los lunes

Los martes hasta los sábados servimos el almuerzo y la cena

New Laws on food labelling of allergens for restaurants and food providers

At Cantueso we have long been able to help people who suffer from allergies and food intolerances because fortunately we produce all our own dishes and do not rely on bought in pre-prepared products.

However new regulations from December 2014 will cause considerable work as it will mean that we have to ask all suppliers of a raw ingredient to similarly identify what is in their product. Even the wine or oil we cook with will have to be analysed for the allergens.
It is estimated that 1-2% of adults and 5-8% of children are affected. This equates to millions of people throughout Europe with a food allergy, but does not include those with food intolerances. This means the actual number of affected people living with a food allergy and/or a food intolerance is considerably higher. (Interestingly when people in the UK were asked about allergies 20% claimed to suffer!)

An allergic reaction can be produced by a tiny amount of a food ingredient that a person is sensitive to (for example a teaspoon of milk powder, a fragment of peanut or just one or two sesame seeds). Symptoms of an allergic reaction can range from mild symptoms such as itching around the mouth and rashes; and can progress to more severe symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, wheezing and on occasion anaphylaxis (shock).

There is no cure for food allergy. The only way to manage the condition is to avoid food that makes the person ill.
When we re-open Restaurante Cantueso on the 20th March 2015 after our winter break, we will have available on request, a menu with the allergens shown and a member of staff to advise.

In the past we have helped many families who come to Cantueso with children (who it seems suffer in greater numbers than adults) and made sure we cook dishes for them that are safe to eat.
No doubt we will also have diners again who tell us they are lactose intolerant and carefully select their starter and main but when they see Carmen’s home made desserts, they look thoughtful and say “well I suppose a little won’t hurt” ? !

The new laws for food businesses relating to the labelling and provision of allergen information centres around a list of the 14 most common triggers.

• Cereals containing gluten namely wheat (such as spelt and Khorasan wheat), rye, barley, and oats.
• Crustaceans and products thereof (for example prawns, lobster, crabs and crayfish)
• Eggs
• Fish and fish products
• Peanuts
• Soy beans
• Milk and milk products (including lactose).
• Nuts (namely almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan nut, Brazil nut, pistachio nut and Macadamia nut (Queensland nut)
• Celery
• Mustard
• Sesame seeds
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
• Lupin seeds
• Molluscs for example: mussels, clams, oysters, scallops, snails and squid.