Barcelona continues to be a city where Michelin stars shine brightly, even in this disastrous year for gastronomy due to the pandemic. The 2021 red guide, which was presented yesterday in Madrid, has awarded the second star to Cinc Sentits by the original chef Jordi Artal, who climbs to the silver podium alongside Angle, Cocina Hermanos Torres, Disfrutar, Moments, and Enoteca. In Catalonia, Bo.TIC (Corçà, Girona) also achieves this status, and in Galicia, Culler de Pau (O Grove, Pontevedra) in a year where no new three-starred restaurants appear, but all maintain their place. In contrast, the list of first stars increases. No less than 19 in Spain and two in Portugal, two of which are close to us: L'Aliança 1919 d'Anglès (Anglès, Girona) and the restaurant Atempo, in Sant Julià de Ramis (Girona), by Jordi Cruz, are awarded.
[subscribe_newsletter_esp]
The Michelin guide wanted to continue issuing its verdict as every year, being very aware of the situation restaurants are going through, even those that cannot provide service due to the pandemic, which appear as temporarily closed. The gala, which every year brings together a thousand people, was held as appropriate in these times, virtually at the Real Casa de Correos in Madrid, and was presented by actors Miguel Ángel Muñoz and Cayetana Guillén Cuervo. Although they made some mistakes -- such as presenting some consolidated one-star restaurants and new two-star ones appearing -- they came out quite successfully.
On screen, winners like Jordi Artal or Albert Sastregener, dedicated the award to their teams, emotional. Jordi Cruz also appeared online with Atempo's chef, Iñaki Aldrey.
The rest of the three-star chefs also paraded across the screen. Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, Martín Berasategui, Quique Dacosta, Ángel León, Joan Roca, Pedro Subijana, Eneko Atxa and Jesús Sánchez, who got it last year for Cenador de Amós. Daviz Muñoz, who this year suffered coronavirus and even a fire at Diverxo, was on stage and highlighted the solidarity with society that the gastronomy sector has shown these months.
"We want to highlight the effort of the inspectors, who have worked as always despite the perimeter confinements and all the problems that have arisen as a result of covid-19," a spokesperson for the publication, which this year closed a little later and is presented almost a month after the usual date, explains to The New Barcelona Post. Perhaps for this reason, the list of restaurants awarded as Big Gourmand is extensive. In addition, the guide wanted to recognize sustainable establishments with a new award, the green star, which seven Catalan venues receive.
The new two stars
The award for Jordi Artal's work at Cinc Sentits is well deserved. In last year's guide, it recovered its first star, lost due to the relocation of the premises in the 2019 guide. With the renovation, this discreet chef of Catalan, Indian, and Canadian origin --who even worked in Silicon Valley-- sought to showcase his carefully crafted fine dining proposal, and he has succeeded. From now on, two macarons will shine in his restaurant on Entença street, where peace and attention to detail are palpable, because the inspectors believe that the "unique journey through his family's history, exalting the flavors of modern Catalan cuisine with the help of small, trusted producers" that he undertakes is well worth it.
There is also double recognition for Bo.TIC, which in 2017 changed its location from an old mill to a farmhouse that was a carriage factory in Corçà (Girona). In this space, chef Albert Sastregener "defends creative elaborations of enormous technical level, respectful of tradition but faithful, above all, to achieving clarity in each flavor." Precisely that year, the chef, who obtained his first star in 2009, participated in the Christmas take-home menu of Barcelona's Vila Viniteca, preparing a foie terrine with "quicos" (corn nuts) and tomato and ginger jam. At the time, he commented that he felt very satisfied with the change of premises and his new stage, which he shares with his wife and sommelier, Cristina Torrent. "We have a gastronomic diner, and word of mouth works very well."
The restaurant Culler de Pau, in O'Grove, Pontevedra, receives its second star for the km0 cuisine designed by Javier Olleros "with environmental feeling," which seeks "not only to cook the environment, but to recover it through a continuous dialogue with nearby producers." This is not a restaurant that responds to Galician clichés; it seeks to reinvent itself without abandoning its roots in tradition. Dishes of such simple appearance as chard bathed in three broths or wild clover (oxalis) with a damp forest aroma are dazzling.
Michelin maintains the two stars of the restaurant Santceloni, founded by the late Santi Santamaria and managed by Óscar Velasco with his wife, pastry chef Montse Abella, although the Hyatt Regency Hesperia hotel in Madrid recently decided to move it to a smaller space, offering its location to the steakhouse Leña, from the Dani García group, with a very different culinary concept. Velasco was always an eternal candidate for the third star.
The new first stars
Inside the Fortalesa de Sant Julià de Ramis (considered a Cultural Asset of National Interest), Abac Group, led by Jordi Cruz, opened the restaurant Atempo (which had been located in the Mirror hotel in Barcelona with a bistro cuisine) with the idea of turning it into a front-line establishment. The complex includes a jewelry and art museum ---promoted by the patron Ramon López Vergé, from Or Joiers--- and the Sants Metges hotel. It took Jordi Cruz a long time to get three stars for his flagship restaurant, Àbac, but from here he has been on a roll. In the 2020 guide, he got the second for Angle. Now, he moves up with a carefully designed space with panoramic views and a menu with very personal proposals and exquisite dishes such as the Bloody Mary on the rocks and toasted and whipped butter with caviar.
Also deserved is the prized macaron for L'Aliança 1919 d'Anglès (Anglès, Girona) where brothers Josep Maria and Lluis Feliu achieved their first Michelin star in 2008 (then called l'Aliança d'Anglès), which they lost five years later with Lluís's death. His daughters, Cristina and Marina, restarted the business with Josep Maria, and in 2019 Cristina's husband (front-of-house manager), Àlex Carrera (trained with chefs like the Rocas, Fermí Puig, and Andoni Luis Aduriz) took control of the kitchen, which has now regained the lost recognition to the delight of its many fans. In a unique venue, which more than 60 years ago was the café-bar of the then Sindicato Alianza Agrícola de Anglès, they offer a cuisine where seasonality and respect for the product are the foundation. Pay attention to their excellent vermouths and their stewed mushrooms!
Quatre Molins (Cornudella de Montsant) is the third first Catalan star. In the beautiful setting of Priorat, young chef Rafel Muria, who grew up among bee swarms, creates innovative cuisine inspired by the local landscape.
In the rest of Spain, the maintenance of the expected star achieved last year by Begoña Rodrigo's La Salita (Valencia) stands out, which has changed location but not gastronomic concept. Also achieving this distinction are Ambivium (Peñafiel, Valladolid), Amelia (Donostia / San Sebastián), Baeza & Rufete Callizo (Aínsa, Huesca), DINS Santi Taura (Palma / Mallorca), Eirado (Pontevedra), En la Parra (Salamanca), Espacio N (Esquedas, Huesca), Miguel González (Pereiro de Aguiar, Ourense), Muna (Ponferrada, León), Odiseo (Murcia), Raíces-Carlos Maldonado (Talavera de la Reina, Toledo), Saddle (Madrid) and Silabario (Vigo). In Portugal, the 2 new recognized restaurants are 100 Maneiras and Eneko Lisboa, Eneko Atxa's venture in the Portuguese capital.
La Barra de Carles Abellán was a painful loss of a star in the 2020 guide, coinciding with its move to the W hotel, which is not recovered in the new one.
Green stars, awards for sustainability
"This year we wanted to create a new green star to award to restaurants that have demonstrated a serious commitment to sustainability," explains Ángel Pardo, head of communication for the firm, whom Daviz Muñoz thanked at the gala for being the one who celebrated the first Michelin gala 11 years ago. With this award, the guide seeks to promote a more environmentally responsible society. This commitment is also reflected in the 50 Best awards, which each year recognize the most sustainable restaurant. An international award that, in 2014 and 2018, was won by the Azurmendi restaurant, in Larrabetzu (Bilbao). Eneko Atxa's establishment also appears on the Michelin list alongside 20 others. The Catalan ones are the two-star Cocina Hermanos Torres and an undisputed historical one like Les Cols, in addition to Els Casals, Lluerna, L'Antic Molí, Casa Albets and Somiatruites, the completely sustainable restaurant with a hotel that Via Veneto chef David Andrés runs with his brother Xavier in Igualada.
'Big Gourmand' 2020
This year the guide awards 53 new Big Gourmand, which recognizes establishments that stand out for a very favorable quality/price ratio. The Catalan ones are: Berbena (Barcelona), Brots (Poboleda, Tarragona), Ca l'Amagat (Bagà, Barcelona), Cal Xirricló (Balaguer), Casa Albets (Lladurs, Lleida), Dos Cuiners (Mataró, Barcelona), El racó (Sant Climent de Llobregat, Barcelona), Garbí (Castellar del Vallès, Barcelona), La Mundana (Barcelona) by chef Alain Guiard and Rock'n Cris (Aubert, Lleida).
Catalan National Gastronomy Awards
Coinciding with the presentation of the Michelin guide, yesterday the national awards granted by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy were presented at the Llotja de Barcelona. The main award went to Albert Adrià who dedicated it to professionals "who have no voice but have a name", such as fishermen, farmers or small restaurateurs. The award for head waiter was also given to Alfred Romagosa (Fermí Puig), the special award to bartender and restaurateur Javier de las Muelas and the revelation award to Jordi Coromina, chef of l'Horta de Tavertet, an expert in vegetable cuisine.