Pope’s Visit to Tenerife Sparks Culinary Delight for King Felipe VI
During Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Tenerife, social media was abuzz with AI-generated images placing the pontiff in local eateries, guachinches, and even fast-food outlets. However, it was another dignitary who enjoyed the island’s culinary offerings: King Felipe VI. After lending the Falcon jet from the Air Force to Pope Leo XIV due to a mechanical issue with the plane intended to fly the Pope back to Rome, the king found himself stranded in Tenerife for several additional hours. During this time, Felipe VI savoured one of the island’s most popular dishes: ribs with potatoes and pineapple from Casa Tomás.
Traditional Menu
According to Televisión Canaria, the monarch dined on a traditional menu from the renowned restaurant in Tegueste. Casa Tomás owner, Víctor Galván, informed the regional television station that the order was for takeaway. The meal featured garbanzas as a starter, followed by the famed ribs with potatoes and pineapple served with cilantro mojo, and concluded with quesillo for dessert. Galván recounted that they received the order with very little time to spare, necessitating a quick response in the kitchen.
“We started fast because we had little time to prepare everything, but it all turned out well,” he noted. Additionally, they later received a call to inform them that the dinner had been well received. “For us, it is both an honour and a joy,” asserted the owner of Casa Tomás, one of Tenerife’s most celebrated bodegones, particularly famous for this traditional dish.
Unexpected Anecdote
During this unforeseen delay, according to Televisión Canaria, Lieutenant General Julio Salom, a classmate of the king and aide-de-camp to King Juan Carlos I, invited him to his residence at Capitanía for some rest. There, they took the opportunity to dine on Casa Tomás’s menu, turning a potential crisis into a delightful culinary anecdote infused with a taste of Tenerife.
