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Tapas are typically Spanish. Small portions of food, often served on saucers, usually consumed in combination with alcohol. A few pieces of baguette are almost always included. Every self-respecting bar in Spain has a tapa menu with both cold and hot dishes such as olives, salads, meatballs, alioli, pieces of fish, or cheese or serrano ham and so on. The variation is endless. Many temporary or permanent visitors from abroad now regularly indulge in the culinary delights of the unsurpassed tapa.
As is usually the case, a good idea is followed. In the western world, especially English-speaking countries such as Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and America, the tapa culture has taken root. Since the turn of the century, the number of tapas bars and restaurants in those countries has exploded. This is a development that can hardly be separated from the popularity of Spain as a holiday destination. It therefore seems likely that other Western countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the Scandinavian countries will also experience a steady growth of tapas bars and restaurants in the coming years.
Countries with a historic Spanish past have already given up. Despite minor variations, the basic idea of the tapas is also widely seen in Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, the Philippines and Brazil. Trend-sensitive countries such as Japan and South Korea have also adopted a tapa-like formula in their bars. The combination of alcohol and a light snack has become extremely popular there.
And the end of the tapa advance is not yet in sight. In Spain itself, culinary competitions for small bites and tapas routes, which involve a series of establishments, have become commonplace in more and more towns and cities. There is also a wide choice of tapas routes on the costas every year.
How and when the phenomenon of tapa was introduced to Spain is a fact that historians have been a bit of a bickering about. The most common explanation is that during the Middle Ages a lid (the literal translation for tapa) was placed on drinks in taverns. That was to prevent fruit flies from getting into the drink. Then came the idea of putting a little free food on the lids. The owners hoped that this would make their guests extra thirsty.
Another explanation is that King Felipe III introduced the tapa around 1600. The monarch was said to have been shocked by the noisy behavior of drunken soldiers and seafarers. He passed a law that made it mandatory for bars to put food lids on drinks. On the contrary, he hoped that compulsory eating would somewhat mitigate the worst effects of public intoxication.
No one knows which explanation is the correct one. But the fact is that tapas and alcohol are still a popular combination.
