The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks

Level 3 l Advanced
1 Warmer
Briefly discuss these questions.

• How long is your lunch break?

• Where do you usually eat lunch?
• What do you usually eat for lunch? For example, a sandwich, a three-course meal, leftovers …

2 Key words
Find key words in the article that match the definitions below. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. Then
read the article in full and note how the words are used in context.

1. the basic part of something, on which everything depends _______________________ (para 2)

2. the beautiful qualities of something _______________________ (para 2)
3. the process by which an area of a city where poor people live becomes an area where middle-class people
live, as they buy the houses and repair them _______________________ (para 2)
4. businesses, for example restaurants _______________________ (para 4)
5. something that is considered to be permanently established in a place _______________________ (para 4)
6. causing harm or stopping the development of something _______________________ (para 5)
7. provide someone with the things that they need in order to live _______________________ (para 7)
8. not willing to do something _______________________ (para 7)
9. a sudden increase in number or amount _______________________ (para 9)
10. do what you promised to do or what it is your duty to do _______________________ (para 9)
11. a profit on money that you have invested _______________________ (para 12)
12. lasts for a long time, despite difficulties _______________________ (para 14)

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NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Advanced
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The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 3 l Advanced
No more two-hour lunch breaks: the
slow death of Spain’s menú del día
Restaurants offering fixed-price three-course
menús have been a cornerstone of the country’s
urban life for decades, but tourism, shorter lunch
breaks and gentrification have put them
under threat.
Stephen Burgen
11 November, 2019
1 Food is at the heart of Spanish culture. From
social life to business deals, everything revolves
around food – above all, lunch. How did Mariano
Rajoy, then prime minister, react in 2018
when faced with an unprecedented vote of no
confidence? He went to lunch. For eight hours.
2 The three-course menú del día (menu of the day)
has been the cornerstone of Spanish cuisine
and social life for generations. Consequently,
the restaurants serving these menús – generally
low on aesthetics and high on value for money
– have been a feature of the urban landscape.
Now, though, their existence is threatened by a
combination of rising rents, changing tastes and
working hours, tourism and gentrification.
3 The fixed-price menú del día as we know it
was introduced in the mid-1960s to ensure an
affordable meal was within reach of all Spaniards.
All of these restaurants had to offer one until the
law changed in 2010.
4 These family-run establishments soon became
a fixture for millions of Spaniards who had long
days, typically working from 9 am to 2 pm and 4 pm
to 7.30 pm, but who couldn’t go home for lunch.
5 But now working life has changed. Fewer people
split the work day with a two-hour break for lunch.
“People are realizing that an hour is long enough
for lunch,” says José Luis Casero, president of
the National Commission for the Rationalization
of Spanish Schedules, which campaigns against
the long working day, seen by many as outmoded
and inimical to work–life balance.
6 Furthermore, a decreasing percentage of
Spaniards have full-time jobs or any job at all.
Trade unions estimate that 33% of jobs created
since 2012 have been temporary and a high
proportion are also part-time. Deliveroo riders
and others in the gig economy do not get paid
lunch breaks.
7 Restaurants serving menús del día often make
just enough to maintain the families that run them
Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.
NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Advanced
– the catering equivalent of subsistence farming.
When owners retire, the next generation can be
reluctant to take over.
8 All over Spanish cities, family restaurants are
being reborn as a kebab shop or, in tourist areas,
a tapas bar. “There are certainly fewer menús
del día in major Spanish cities than there were
15 years ago, but then again, there are fewer
Spanish and Catalan restaurants,” says Sally
Davies, author of the Time Out guides to Madrid
and Barcelona.
9 “There’s been a huge proliferation of Asian and
South American restaurants, in particular, and
those are less likely to honour the
menú tradition.”
10 Twenty years ago, a vegetarian risked dying of
hunger in Spain; now many restaurants offer
vegetarian or even vegan options. Sushi and
kebabs arrived about 15 years ago, ramen within
the last five and poke bol less than two years ago.
11 In central Barcelona, on top of rising rents,
existing licences are changing hands at an
average of €350,000 because the city authorities
are no longer issuing new licences. Opening a
new restaurant in the popular Ciutat Vella area
would cost around €1m, and consequently,
the days are numbered for independent
establishments.
12 Joan Fumaz, head chef at LaVolta restaurant
in Molins de Rei near Barcelona, agrees. “My
bosses are investors,” he says. “You get a better
return on your money from a restaurant than from
a bank, maybe 6 to 7% compared to 1%.”
13 Nevertheless, Fumaz believes menú culture has
adapted and made a bit of a comeback since the
financial crisis hit. “In 2006, the place I worked
at didn’t offer a menú del día because we were
all nouveau riche and ordering a menú was for
poor people,” he says. “But it came back when
companies withdrew staff credit cards. At LaVolta,
we offer two dishes for €12.50 – six dishes to
choose from.”
14 But in some places, tradition endures. Bar
Restaurant Cervantes in central Barcelona has
survived by not changing at all. Just around
the corner from city hall and with Mayor Ada
Colau a regular, Cervantes has been a
family-run restaurant since the early 1980s. It
is now managed by the Esteve sisters: Glòria,
Cristina and Gemma. The €13 menú of classic
Spanish and Catalan dishes is chalked up on a
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The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 3 l Advanced
board in Catalan. It changes with the seasons but
only slightly.
15 “I cook more or less what my mother cooked,”
says Glòria. “I know what I know and people like
that. It’s all homemade.”
16 “We don’t mind if tourists come, but we don’t
need to make an effort to attract them,” adds
Gemma, who says Cervantes supports five
families. “I grew up right here; it’s a family
restaurant. All kinds of people eat here, from
executives to builders. There are people who
come to Cervantes for the first time and say:
‘Wow, I didn’t know this sort of place still existed.’
‘Well,’ I say, ‘we’ve always been here.’”
© Guardian News and Media 2019
First published in The Guardian, 11/11/19

3 Comprehension check
Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the article? Correct any that are false.

1. Over the past 60 years, most restaurants in the Spanish countryside have been offering daily menus
at lunchtime.
2. The three-course lunch menus became a regular feature for workers who had a long lunch break.
3. Changes to the way people work have meant that it is now impossible to find a good three-course menú del
día in large Spanish cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.
4. Family-run restaurants often struggle to stay open because the younger generation are unwilling to take over
their parents’ business.
5. Although the number of Spanish and Catalan restaurants has not decreased in Barcelona, most of them now
only sell tapas.

4 Phrases
a. Underline the following phrases in the article.

1. revolve around (something)

2. vote of no confidence
3. change hands
4. days are numbered
5. more or less
6. make an effort

b. Talk about what the phrases mean. Look up any you do not know.
c. Use the phrases in sentences of your own about different topics. Which is the most useful phrase
for you?
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NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Advanced
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 The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 3 l Advanced
5 Discussion
• Describe a typical lunch break in your place of work.
o What lunch options do you have there?
• Describe your typical working hours.
o Who decides what hours you work, you or your company?
o Say how you would feel about working the hours mentioned in the article: 9 am to 2 pm and then 4 pm to
7.30 pm with a two-hour lunch break.
• Are there any unusual lunch traditions in your culture or country?
• Have you experienced unusual lunch traditions when you were visiting other countries?

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NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Advanced
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The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 3 l Advanced
KEY

2 Key words 4 Phrases

1. cornerstone 1. have something as a very important part

2. aesthetics or purpose
3. gentrification 2. a voting process in which people show that they do
4. establishments not support a person or group in power
5. fixture 3. get a new owner
6. inimical 4. used for saying that someone or something is not
7. maintain likely to continue in a particular situation or to exist
8. reluctant much longer
9. proliferation 5. almost, roughly
10. honour 6. do something that involves energy or work
11. return
12. endures
5 Discussion

3 Comprehension check Teacher’s note: if the students are not currently in

work, the first discussion topic can easily be adapted to
1. F – most urban restaurants talk about situations students have experienced in the
2. T past at their former places of work.
3. F – It is now much harder.
4. T
5. F – There are now fewer Spanish and
Catalan restaurants.

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Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.

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NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Advanced
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