Barcelona, the city that last night hosted the new Michelin España gala, was one of the big winners of the night. The restaurant Disfrutar by Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas obtained the third Michelin star, the highest recognition of the red guide that also took the restaurant Noor (Córdoba) by Paco Morales. In a gala hosted by Andreu Buenafuente, celebrated with the collaboration of Turisme Barcelona at the Forum Auditorium of the Barcelona International Convention Center, the three members of the restaurant from 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 thirteen to fifteen members. Disfrutar, which is currently number two on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list, thus becomes the fourth three-star restaurant in Barcelona, along with Lasarte, ABaC and Cocina Hermanos Torres. Catalonia counts, then, if we add El Celler de Can Roca (Girona), with five restaurants with three stars.
In the two-star category, there was a new addition, V enta de Moncalvillo (Daroca de Rioja). Barcelona's Angle, managed by Jordi Cruz, has lost one of its two stars.
Thirty-one restaurants obtained their first star, in an edition in which for the first time Spain and Portugal are separated. Of these restaurants, two are from Barcelona: Suto and Quirat. Among the most awarded communities in this category, there are Madrid with six restaurants, Andalusia with five and the Balearic Islands with four. Likewise, two Catalan establishments obtained the green star, which rewards sustainability: Empòrium, in Castelló d'Empúries, and L'Algadir del Delta, in Amposta.
The partners of Disfrutar, who once worked together as chefs at El Bulli, began their joint business adventure twelve years ago by opening Compartir in Cadaqués, which today has a Barcelona branch. In 2014 they opened Disfrutar, in front of the Ninot market. His name was in the crosshairs until the last moment, but they didn't want to believe it until they heard it, at the end of the gala. At that moment, they melted into a hug and took the stage to put on their white jackets with the three stars, in this case, over T-shirts (instead of shirts, like most chefs). Eduard Xatruch was in charge of pronouncing some emotional words that he dedicated to the families of the three friends and partners, because "from the first day they have supported us and made us come this far".
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 twelve years ago, a path of our own, built on the basis of very clear and identifiable values for the profession as a whole. A very personal project that enjoys extreme freedom", they explained in statements to La Vanguardia. They assure that they are convinced of what they are doing and that obtaining the third star is not the end of the journey, but "one of the most important stations you can stop at throughout your professional life, within the world of the gastronomy". The chefs of Disfrutar emphasized the relevance of Michelin because of its tradition, its years of history, its trajectory and the prestige it brings to a project like theirs that the guide identifies as excellent.
Regarding Catalonia, they consider that their recognition is "the reaffirmation that the gastronomy we have known for the last twenty-five years is more alive than ever. That there is a whole generation that has grown up with tradition and innovation as part of our everyday life. 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 constancy, work and effort, as well as the sum in the team key, they have a reward".
The partners remind those who considered the gastronomic avant-garde to be exhausted that to suggest that this is so "is like saying that the world has stopped evolving. As long as there are people in their professional sector who want to look beyond or dream of a horizon, the avant-garde will be more alive than ever".
Paco Morales, the chef of the other new three-star restaurant, recognized his maximum score "as an award for cuisine with personality, perseverance and the ability to observe the territory with a different perspective". In this case, this chef, who started his career with Andoni Luis Aduriz in Mugaritz (Errenteria), has dedicated his creative cuisine to reinterpreting Al-Andalus, together with experts.
Yesterday, Morales pointed out that Córdova will make this recognition its own and this will be as beautiful as the success of El Celler de Can Roca for Girona was in its day. Since it opened, just over seven years ago, it began a tour that includes a historical stage located in its surroundings in each season, which began in the 10th century and currently focuses on the 17th century.
El Suto, in Barcelona, is a tiny bar that chef Yoshikazu Suto serves with Carolina Alarcón. Víctor Torres, who is also in charge of Les Magnòlies, cooks at Al Quirat, in Barcelona's Intercontinental Hotel.
