Barcelona, the city that hosted the new Michelin Spain gala last night, was one of the big winners of the night. The restaurant Diseño by Oriol Castro, Eduard At a gala hosted by Andreu Buenafuente, held in collaboration with Turisme Barcelona at the Auditori Fòrum of the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB), the three partners of the restaurant in the Catalan capital were the last to take the stage when the time came to announce the new additions to the club of three-star restaurants, which for the 2024 edition goes from 13 members to 15. Enjoy, which is currently number 2 on the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, thus becomes the fourth restaurant three-star Barcelona restaurant, along with Lasarte, ABaC and Cocina Hermanos Torres. Catalonia has, therefore, if we add El Celler de Can Roca (Girona), with 5 three-star restaurants.
In the two-star category there was a new addition, V enta de Moncalvillo (Daroca de Rioja). The Barcelona-based Angle, directed by J ordi Cruz, has lost one of his two stars.
31 restaurants obtained their first star, in an edition in which Spain and Portugal are separated for the first time. Of them, two are from Barcelona: Suto and Quirat. Among the most awarded communities in this category are Madrid with 6 restaurants, Andalusia with 5 and the Balearic Islands with 4. Likewise, two Catalan establishments obtained the green star, which rewards sustainability: this is Empòrium, in Castelló d'Empúries, i L'Agladir del Delta, in Amposta.
The partners of Diseño, who once worked together as chefs at El Bulli, began their joint business adventure twelve years ago by opening the Share of Cadaqués, which today has a Barcelona branch. In 2014 they opened Mejor, in front of the Ninot market. His name has been in the pools until the last moment, but they did not want to believe it until his name was called at the end of the gala. At that moment, they merged into a hug and went on stage to put on their white jackets with the three stars, in this case, over t-shirts (instead of shirts, like most chefs). Eduard
Its cuisine is considered one of the most creative in the country. For them, the guide's maximum score is “one more point on the path we embarked on 12 years ago, our own path, built based on very clear and identifiable values for the entire profession. A very personal project that enjoys extreme freedom,” they explained in statements to La Vanguardia. They assure that they are convinced of what they do and that obtaining the third star is not the end of the journey, but “one of the most important stations in which you can stop throughout your professional life, within the world of the gastronomy". The Enjoyar chefs highlighted the relevance of Michelin due to its tradition, its years of history, its trajectory and the prestige it brings to a project like theirs that the guide identifies it as excellent.
Regarding Catalonia, they consider that their recognition is “the reaffirmation that the gastronomy that we have known in the last twenty-five years is more alive than ever. That there is an entire generation that has grown up with tradition and innovation as part of our daily lives. It is also important for those who come after us, to show them that it is worth fighting, getting up every day, and that the values of perseverance, work and effort, as well as teamwork, have their reward.”
The partners remind those who considered the gastronomic avant-garde exhausted that suggesting it “is like saying that the world has stopped evolving. As long as there are people in their professional sector who want to look further or dream on a horizon, the avant-garde will be more alive than ever.”
Paco Morales, the chef of the other new three-star restaurant, recognized his highest score “as a prize for cuisine with personality, perseverance and the ability to observe the territory with a different perspective.” In this case, this chef, who began his career with Andoni Luis Aduriz in Mugaritz (Errenteria), has dedicated his creative cuisine to reinterpreting Al-Andalus, with the help of experts. Yesterday, Morales pointed out that Córdoba will make this recognition its own and that will be as beautiful as the success of El Celler de Can Roca was in its day for Girona. Since it opened, just over seven years ago, it began a journey that each season covers a historical stage located in its surroundings, which began in the 10th century and currently focuses on the 17th century.
Suto, in Barcelona, is a tiny bar that chef Yoshikazu Suto runs together with Carolina Alarcón. In Quirat, in the Barcelona hotel Intercontinental, Víctor Torres cooks, who is also in charge of Les Magnòlies.
