"It's fine to have a Michelin star. I had three, and it's better having it than not having it, but I'd like to have a hundred places with the quality of Bar FM. They would be just as good as the Michelin stars", he said in an interview with Granada's IDEAL.

The establishment run by Francisco Martín and Rosa Macías, a couple who have definitely turned their tiny premises into one of the Meccas of cuisine in Andalusia. And beyond. The only produce that makes it into Bar FM is the best. No exceptions. Paco and Rosa only work with the most and best accredited suppliers. The Carril clams or "zamburiña" scallops come from Galicia. Or those oysters just in, straight from Perpignan. "And the best fish from the Motril exchange, of course", says Paco. Our supplier is “Pescados Espinete”. I tell everyone who asks in complete confidence. There's no secret there".

Down through the years, many caterers in Granada have tried to follow in their footsteps by ordering the same fish as FM for their businesses. "But they get bored with it after day three. It's very tough to pay 20 euros for mullet when you can find them for 12. This is a long race, and it's a difficult act to keep up. You aren't successful as soon as you start out; that only comes gradually. It takes a lot of work, and I can't see many people doing that kind of thing, when we sometimes pay double the market's asking price for fish". 

And so Paco insists on a mantra: "There's no secret at Bar FM. If there's anything that could be considered a secret, it's the quality of the produce, the fish and also the vegetables and oil. If you have good produce, you can come up with great recipes". For example, to date there has been a biological shutdown in the Mediterranean, and there were no crayfish. "There were none like the variety on our coast, and they're back at last", adds Paco, who has not used any lower-quality substitutes, and devises his menu in accordance with the market and seasonal produce.

Since 1985

Bar FM opened on 13 June 1985 at the same premises. To the present day. They never moved or opened any subsidiaries. Over the years they merely extended the dining room a little to make room for four high tables, and opened the terrace due to the pandemic. "The way we work is so personal and so artisan, with carefully chosen produce, that you can't be in two places at once and maintain the quality standards", explains Paco.

From the outset Rosa and he were sure they wanted to focus on fish, following the inheritance handed down by Paco's mother, since this was what she worked with in her bar. Using top-quality products has also been part of Bar FM's DNA since the beginning, following the philosophy of Cafetería Frico where Paco cut his teeth. "Rafael Fandila used only the best: the best coffee, the best milk, good butter and oil, select eggs, fresh prawns in Russian salad ... and that's stayed with me".

We move on to discuss the factor Rosa Macías, tasked with the gastronomic alchemy in Bar FM's small kitchen. She plays down what she does and also puts the emphasis of quality, of both the fish and the oil. "Always extra virgin olive oil, and always clean. The secret is to fry with the best possible oil". In her case, the Quaryat "picual", a Granada oil produced in the foothills of Sierra Nevada. "And dressing oil, Oro Bailén". One thing is that sunflower oil "doesn't cross our threshold. Some people say it's better for frying, but we don't share that opinion. At 160 or 165 degrees, extra virgin olive oil starts to fry. We put the fish in at 185 degrees. With sunflower oil you have to go up to 220 or 230 degrees, and at that temperature if the oil has no chemical additives, it boils instead of frying". And what about grilling? "At 360 degrees".
As for vegetables, the Raf tomato is from Almería. In the first days of spring, from the La Palma cooperative, "which has two harvests. Artichokes from Huétor, in season. Aquilino's", says Paco, bent on a full exercise of transparency. "Aubergines, from the market, since no producers have any particularly special aubergines".

Another essential ingredient: flour. "Always fresh from the baker, wheat flour. We bring it in from around Cádiz. Very fine, so that the fish uses just enough of it and isn't completely swathed in it. Flour can't mask the product. And careful with thicker flours: you cook them for too long and they burn", explain Paco and Rosa.

And here we take another step for an understanding of the alchemy mystery of Bar FM: cooking times and, as Paco exclaims in genuine veneration, "Rosa's blessed hands". Hands with a wealth of practice by long years in the trade. "Hours, hours and hours. It's a daily task, every day, until you master all cooking points through time". Like the decisive instants of a Cartier-Bresson, you have to know exactly when to put the fish on the grill or into the fryer and give it enough time to cook", not too long, and also so it isn't still raw".

See? Although Rosa and Paco say there is no secret, there actually is one. The alchemy of Bar FM is the exactness of the moment, the experience that makes them masters of temperature and time, no easy feat. "In haute cuisine, it's all written down. It's science. Here it's all manual: sight, head ... and practice. A lot of practice", Paco insists.
In late 2021, when they were asked about the prospects for 2022, Rosa and Paco mentioned a few clouds on the horizon due to rising prices. After January and February, they feel that "things have gone back to normal and prices have stabilised. We're dependent on whether or not there's any produce available, although some products always go up, like Denia red prawn or crayfish. Elite product is always there, but you have to pay for it, like the 'cañaílla gorda' [spiny dye-murex snail], which never comes in at less than 50 to 60 euros. People know this and they accept it, and they come to Bar FM to enjoy the product".

Between spring and summer seafood goes down, and fish goes up. This is the law of supply and demand. The most popular food with customers? Besides the popular cuttlefish 'puntillitas', "shrimp, a typical Granada food we serve raw with salt, and nothing else. Also grilled or in tartare, with an avocado dressing. Boiled, below 1%. The nature of shrimp has to be explained, which leaves no grease in the mouth as other seafoods do, so you can eat it raw and get all its flavour".

This is FM, that prodigy of gastronomy, where the secret is as simple as it is elusive: top quality of product and experience and dexterity in combinations of cooking times and temperatures. Nothing more than that. But nothing less either.