In 2010, while she was on her way to a property in Toledo to consider buying it, a train hit the car of Blanca Entrecanales Domecq (Madrid, 61 years old) at a poorly marked intersection. The car – she shows photos on her phone – flew through the air and became a poem, but she, one of the heirs to the Acciona empire her father founded, was unharmed. Yes, he bought the farm, but since it was being renovated inside due to what he had just been through, he renamed it a more appropriate name: El Milagro. There he started a personal project: an organic farm that has been offering 100% organic meat, fruit, vegetables and eggs since 2014. The products consumed by Queen Letizia all come from the 302 hectare Toledo farm inaugurated by Alberto de Monaco.
There, Entrecanales offers coffee in a cozy, beige room, accompanied by Gustavo (the person in charge of production) and Gustavo (the agronomist). Through the window you can see a huge, white-spotted horse pulling a stroller. A couple of chefs with a huge “Blanca” print on their aprons run from here to there (their children and grandchildren will arrive this weekend), while Bianca and Gina, two of their little dogs, jump from sofa to sofa and indulge themselves caressed. from the photographer. When he suggests going into the stable to photograph them on a wall covered in ivy, Entrecanales is enthusiastic about the idea. It starts to rain, but he doesn’t care. “I don’t mind getting wet.” It’s clear he’s in charge. In fact, she begins the interview.
Answer. Do you know what a capon is?
Questions. Well, a stuffed chicken.
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R. No, it is sold stuffed, but it is a breaded chicken.
Q Like oxen to make them fat?
R. Exactly.
Q Hey, how does someone like you become a farmer?
R. I am a restless woman. It’s true that in life you make plans but then what happens happens. In a moment of change in my life (I also separated), I knew since I had the farm that I didn’t want to hunt and said, well, I’m going to produce food.
Q This life change was associated with an accident.
R. We came from Oropesa, there was a hill that hid the train. He threw us into the air. We were born again. People then asked us if we had seen the tunnel.
Q Did you see it?
R. Nothing. I saw smoke and dirt, but I didn’t review my life or anything like that.
Q Did you do it later?
R. Well, a friend, a psychologist and a bit of a witch, told me that my life would change in six months. It was like this. Surely everything has changed on a subconscious level. It was a miracle of redemption in my personal life that changed a lot. The farm gave me a lot of hope as I struggled every day. It is also a meeting place for the family. I love that my grandchildren see me as a farmer.
Blanca Entrecanales Domecq, at the organic farm Dehesa El Milagro.Samuel Sánchez
Q What was the first step?
R. I saw a regenerative agriculture course in Ronda offered by a man from Australia. They talked about interesting things that you have to approach with a clear head: about the importance of soil, about how good it is to have animals in addition to agriculture… They gave us the holistic concept.
Q Holistic?
R. Holos, everything. It must be applied to the concept of the farm. Taking care of everything, not doing too much of one thing, but a little of everything… Everything well managed.
Q In balance?
R. For me, balance is the best word in the vocabulary. If you apply it to anything in life, it works very well; Extremism is deadly. But specifically it applies to livestock farming: small plots with livestock rotation, good use of water, care of the soil: because the families of microorganisms are very important.
Q What is the star product?
R. The Capon. Last year we didn’t have any because we opted for stuffed chicken. Chicken farci, that sounds better, right? But this year we went back to the stuffed capon. And now we have made very good, elaborate meat in sauce.
Blanca Entrecanales Domecq, on the farm.Samuel Sánchez
Q When will you receive the environmental certificate?
R. This is important. It’s in a lot of places, but it seems like no one knows what it is, right? They watch it a lot, suddenly an inspector appears and checks the soil, the eggs… whether everything is free of chemicals.
Q If there is one thing that sets The Miracle apart from everything else, what would it be?
R. Look, I really like a phrase: excellence from the source. I like perfection and want to reach the consumer by doing things right from the first step. I am very picky with my palate. From farm to table, everything is taken care of.
Q Hey, what did Albert of Monaco miss here?
R. Well… he came here by accident. He has a foundation to protect the environment, he was in Madrid and the director of the foundation there told him about the farm and he came to see it.
Q How do you welcome someone like that?
R. He came at seven in the afternoon and spent the night, we organized a dinner. In the room where we ate dinner, I set up a small ethnographic museum of the area, with a painting by Sorolla that my grandfather had given me.
Q It is said that the queen buys products from him…
R. Well, the royal family. Yes, they buy chicken, carcasses and bones for broth, which is very fashionable… Hey, they like to eat well and take care of themselves; and I’m thrilled.
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