The gastronomic societies, or txokos , are an authentically Basque heritage, an association of friends who, from generation to generation, meet with a single objective: to eat and have a good time. The oldest known is the Artisan Union, which dates back to 1870, but there is a record of approximately 120 more.
Possibly, Calle 31 de Agosto is the most delicious in the entire Iberian Peninsula. Brought to life on the corner staircase of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Coro, it skirts the foothills of Monte Urgull and crosses the historic center of San Sebastián, like a pedestrianized snake that runs from the port almost to the Urumea River. Its extension does not reach half a kilometer and, even so, in such a small space, it is capable of concentrating the most reputable and best-rated tapas restaurants on TripAdvisor, thus turning this coastal city of the Basque Country into the culinary epicenter of Spain.
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That is why that massive wooden door at number 15. Crowned by the solemnity of a triangular roof from which hung the words “Amaikak-Bat 1907” and emblems of castles and caravels carved in stone that flanked it. side and side, it could well pass through the official residence of some high government official. “That? Ah, it’s a gastronomic society, ”said our guide, who began the most fascinating tale I’ve ever heard about modern secret societies hiding in broad daylight.
The gastronomic societies, or txokos , are an authentically Basque heritage, an association of friends who, from generation to generation, meet with a single objective: to eat and have a good time. The oldest known is the Artisan Union, which dates back to 1870, but there is a record of approximately 120 more like that, all of them with statutes signed before a notary, membership fee for their members and official headquarters of stunning elegance scattered around. around the city, consisting of a large fully equipped communal kitchen and long tables to host banquets organized by its members for their special guests. With a demanding income system much more select than that of any other fraternity, Basque gastronomic societies usually have just over 100 members, all of them descendants of the original gang of founders.
But one day a year, every January 20, and on the occasion of the patron saint of the city, the txokos come out of the darkness, disguise their members as cooks and Napoleons, sheathe a barrel poured with baton in each hand, hoist the flag of their gastronomic society and lead a musical percussion parade that takes place through the streets of San Sebastián until after midnight, in what the whole world knows as La Tamborrada . A colossal party that honors the memory of its ancestors and gives part of the tranquility of good health of a solid tradition that overcomes time and oblivion, thanks to the covalent bond of food.
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With the truth revealed before our eyes, on the way to the hotel, we began to identify gastronomic societies camouflaged in secrecy that we previously overlooked: Gaztelupe, Kanoyetán, Gaztelubide, Aizepe, Zubigain, Euskal Billera, Ardatza, Aparture, Ollagorra, Gizartea, etc. Temples of flavor that behind their doors safeguard the gastronomic legacy of an entire nation.