from the restaurant hit (one Michelin star and two Repsol Suns) at Calp, among others, you can’t leave without trying, Homemade Butter what he prepared in the kitchen he directed since 2016 valenced Jose Manuel Miguel; And Montoro SpaceOpened in Alicante by the elderly Pablo Montoro since 2019now among its star dishes is wagyu, a Japanese meat dish that the customer himself flambees with a Scotch whiskey. First recently recognized as best chef Valencia Community Gastronomy Academy Awards of the year second distinguished as revelation restaurant in the autonomous region. Both are featured in critic Santos Ruiz’s top 10 restaurants, and are two examples of the fine moment gastronomy has sustained after overcoming the pandemic in the state that hosted the Repsol Suns awards ceremony at ADDA on February 27.
“Dude, the Academy premiere was held in Alicante, Repsol Suns will be awarded in Alicante and more lively than that… Of course gastronomy is alive, now is the best time for Alicante and Valenciana Community”, highlights Jose Manuel Miguel, The 44-year-old chef, who left two restaurants in Paris in 2016Goust and Il Vino each have a Michelin star for missing their land, and earned another two years later in Spain for the Beat restaurant, owned by businessman Giorgio Ascolese, who co-managed Miguel’s kitchen. comfort And sea In this town in Marina Alta.
true to one’s roots
“I feel like a prophet in my country. Taking this step of coming to Spain scares you at first, but in the end it means believing in yourself, trusting yourself, and if you do everything well, you will be rewarded,” says José Manuel Miguel, who sees this last award as an appreciation. “He is the only Spanish chef to win a Michelin star in Spain and France. for your career. More a reward for perseverance, continuous improvement, maturity. We have top-notch chefs in the Valencian Community and it’s a privilege for them to choose you.”
This cook who has Eric FrechoThree Michelin stars among his teachers are known for their matching in gastronomic proposition. Frenchized refined technique And mediterranean product. Believing that earning a Michelin star is more complicated than retaining it, the chef says, “Education is the foundation of any trade, without it you are nothing. I wanted to go out and learn with the best.” A line of business need not be in danger. It’s harder to win it because you have to show what you have, excellence.” Seeking the second is still his goal -“it’s complicated but we’ll try to get it”- continue to grow “along with other restaurants”, inside the company he works for, this time outside of Calp, but he doesn’t dare to give more details. Pandemic, “to spend more time with my family, to stop and run and be where I am”.
revelation
Pablo Montoro, 44, hasn’t stopped growing since he opened his current restaurant on Avenida de la Albufereta in Alicante. Espacio Montoro has not yet received a Michelin star or Sol Repsol as of August 2019, but has now been upgraded: revelation restaurant in the Valencian Community and He still doesn’t know what it’s like to have an empty table. “We are very lucky that it has always been full since we opened. For 3 and a half years there has been no empty table, we have a table. two-month waiting list And it’s a privilege.”
The key to success lies in the “offer”. an experience in four different venues (Black Tech, Hi Line, Boll Labwhere the restaurant interacts with the cook, and green geode), something different in the city of Alicante and the proximity of the human team treats the customer in a natural and close manner. Experience is important, but it doesn’t make sense without a team,” says Montoro. What about good food? “Yes, but Ferran Adrià always said that the reason a customer repeats at a restaurant isn’t because of the food.: First place is welcome, second is service, third is the warmth of the place and atmosphere, and fourth is food. We come back because of how well we were treated.”
However, its cuisine was chosen for the treats presented at the Euro-Mediterranean Summit held in Alicante last December. susi diaz, your judge at TopChef. And now again The day before the Repsol Suns premiere, she was selected to serve a catering company.“A menu of 15 appetizers, hot and cold, plus rice”.
“This time it’s a bigger responsibility because it’s just us and Spain’s best chefs are coming. You are nervous but how we will do the best we know and I hope that is appreciated. First of all, seeing people like that is an illusion. Berasategui, Dabiz Muñoz and Quique Dacosta.…more than 250 of the best restaurants” points out this chef, who describes his cooking style as follows: “With natural, artisanal, Mediterranean flavors but without giving up world flavors. And we move handicrafts from bread to our own tableware”.
Urban proposal after opening on Rambla de Alicante Moma from Montoro, is preparing a new restaurant on the floating island projected in Alicante Port and another one is under construction but does not give details for now. Inside in handit won’t be his hometown, “not right now, but I’m not ignoring that,” says the cook.
Source: Informacion
Brandon Hall is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a cultural aficionado who writes about the latest news and developments in the world of art, literature, music, and more. With a passion for the arts and a deep understanding of cultural trends, Brandon provides engaging and thought-provoking articles that keep his readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the cultural world.