Saturday in Palma, half past one, twenty-six degrees. We are sitting outside under white parasols, between olive trees and a dry stone wall of Mallorcan stone. Wing and Juan married two years ago, quietly at the time, without a party. Today we are making up for it, with family and friends on Mallorca. It is not a wedding reception. It is a celebration that was postponed. It is just family and friends.
Wing and Juan
Wing is wearing her red cheongsam with lotus flowers, Juan a sage green linen shirt. They laugh and lean against one another for a moment. No bouquet, no music for an entrance. Family instead, friends, the long table, the garden.
Lume und Co Palma, just for us
The setting is Lume und Co, a quiet address in Palma. An open kitchen, natural materials, Mallorcan stone, nothing showy about it. For the day the house has been reserved exclusively for our group, no other guests, no coming and going. Exactly what Wing wanted: not loud, not staged, but with room for a long table and for family and friends to be together. The service is friendly, the food is good, and for a celebration of this kind the setting is simply excellent.
Welcome drink
An hour outside first. Cava, cool white wine and five small appetisers with it. My favourite: a spoon with fish ceviche and passion fruit. One mouthful that wakes you up at once. Sharp, salty, a little tropical. An opening that makes you want the rest.
Lunch at the table
At half past two we sit down. A three-course menu, with monkfish, suckling pig and artichokes to choose from. Around the table, both the monkfish and the suckling pig are ordered and shared. First the monkfish with couscous and green pesto, with a floret of broccoli in between as a small green accent. Firm fish, a clean taste, the couscous spiced with tomato.
Then the suckling pig with pea sprouts and a dark glossy sauce on a dab of tomato and pepper purée. Both served on the large cream-coloured plates, both quietly and beautifully arranged.
For dessert the caramelised torrija with vanilla ice cream. A caramelised crust on top, soft underneath, the ice cream melting into the warm pieces of apple. I have loved torrija for years, and this one is among the best I have had on Mallorca.
Behind the arch, open bar and DJ
From four o’clock we move inside. An open bar, a DJ warming up, and outside the light softening into the olive trees. It is the most unhurried celebration I have been to in a long time. Nothing has been staged for an audience. Everything is simply there for whoever feels like staying.
My day in violet
I put on the Hovman Deco mid-length dress in violet. Mid-length, because I wanted to dance later and not carry a floor-length skirt around. With it the Raffaella di Montalban Cordina sunglasses, the Doubleice reading glasses, the small Cute Stuff bag and the Ekaterini Princess Dream in pink. One of those days when everything falls into place.
At the end
We sit for a long time, until the shadows turn. Wing and Juan walk once through the garden and come back, a glass in one hand, one eye already somewhere else. What made this celebration special was not the programme but the fact that there wasn’t one. Only family, friends, a long table on Mallorca, and a couple who have finally taken some time for themselves.
Lume und Co · Palma de Mallorca · excellent as an exclusive setting for celebrating among yourselves
To read the Sunday lunch that followed: Sunday lunch at the Agapanto in Port Sóller.
For long tables at home: my maritime napkins in the shop bring a little of this summer evening with them.
Warm wishes from Hamburg
