Snails are animals that move very slowly by stretching and contracting their bodies. With their shells on their backs, they have formed part of Spanish cuisine since the time when the peninsula was a Roman province called Hispania. Known as the ‘oyster of the land’, the perfect place to breed these members of the ‘Helix’ family is the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian peninsula, thanks to the high lime content of the land. Lucky to have this wealth of the lime in the Mediterranean lands and aware that these animals are exquisite to many palates, several entrepreneurs have been engaged for years in creating farming operations which, instead of cows,

  In Bilbao, cuisine is something to take very seriously at any time of day. This is why treaties and discussions naturally start with breakfast. The pastries in the capital of Biscay are rich and have drawn form the subtlest European influences sailing into its port in the last centuries. But if there is something that sums up the pastry essence of the city it is the butter bun.   Everything could be simplified by saying that this is a Swiss roll full of butter and covered with sugar, but the subject is almost a matter of state in the city. Every pastry maker, every bakery makes its own interpretation of the product and the first meal of the day being a universal pl