"Ours is like a good pairing: we are dancing to the same music"

It is not common in Barcelona to find a restaurant led by a chef and a sommelier. Albé breaks with that pattern from the root: kitchen and cellar in the hands of two women with talent, character, and undeniable complicity. It is not about quotas or coincidences, but about a shared vision and the pleasure of building something of their own from intuition, technique, and honesty.

Driven by businessman Joey Attieh, the project finds its soul in the tandem formed by Nancy Miguel and Xènia Blanco, who not only shape the menu and wine list, but an entire experience with its own voice, born from the constant dialogue between stoves and glasses. Each from her own universe, but with the same gaze: curious, precise, and deeply personal.

Miguel, Mexican by birth and globetrotter by choice, has passed through high-voltage kitchens such as Quintonil or Hoja Santa, where she understood that tradition is only a starting point. Beside her, Blanco ---with a career in establishments such as the Gran Hotel La Florida--- conceives wine as a natural extension of the culinary discourse, always seeking harmony from a refined sensibility.

Talking to them helps to discover how they understand the present and future of a sector that needs more proposals with daring, coherence, and soul.

--- What attracted you to the Albé project and what made you want to be part of it?

--- Xènia Blanco: I liked the idea of a small restaurant, with very direct contact with the client, but without giving up professionalism at any time. And, above all, the possibility of learning: I had to immerse myself in everything related to the wine regions of Lebanon. I didn't know it in depth.

--- Nancy Miguel: I wanted to be closer to the kitchen, to the client, to work with a smaller team and move away from the intensity of gastronomic restaurants. I was attracted by the idea of learning about another culture and being able to fuse it with what we have here in Barcelona. In addition, in Mexico, Lebanese cuisine has left a great mark, as in the case of the taco al pastor.

"We seek to do our best, but also to have fun"

--- X.B.: Nancy and I play the same score. We both have a very clear understanding of what rigor and self-demand mean, but we approach it from a more relaxed perspective. For us, success is for clients to live an unforgettable experience at Albé.

--- N. M.: Yes, we want them to feel at home, comfortable. We no longer want kitchens where you can't even smile. We seek to do our best, but also to have fun. For the client to see that we give our all, without arrogance, with humble cuisine.

--- What does it mean for you to be part of a project like Albé after more than 16 years of experience in the sector?

--- X.B.: There are different stages in a career. At first, you are a sponge: you absorb knowledge and nourish yourself with everything around you. But there comes a moment when you realize that, perhaps, now you are the one who starts to inspire. I believe Nancy inspires her team. It's a stroke of luck to coincide with someone whose professional moment is so aligned with yours. Ours is like a good pairing: we are dancing to the same music.

--- N. M.: Dancing a waltz (laughs).

"Gastronomy is super sexist. It's ironic, because most famous chefs were taught to cook by their grandmother or mother"

--- N. M.: Gastronomy is super sexist. It's ironic, because most famous chefs were taught to cook by their grandmother or mother. We can count female chefs on the fingers of one hand, and that's not equitable. Much more visibility should be given to women. Not only in gastronomy, but in all sectors.

--- X.B.: In the world of wine, this vindication of women's place has already begun, both at the level of oenologists and sommeliers and front-of-house professionals. But reconciling work in the dining room is still very difficult. In fact, in my entire career, Nancy is the first female chef I've worked with. And beyond gender, what I increasingly miss in this profession is enthusiasm.

--- Have you noticed an evolution in the way people eat or in diners' expectations?

--- X.B.: Diners increasingly value good service and are less impressed by the wow effect of the place. There is also a profile that appreciates that the restaurant is in the Slow Food guide. There is more awareness about the product and, above all, about how that product is made: the ingenuity, the intention. I also notice a greater openness to risky dishes.

--- When Nancy entered the kitchen, there was already an established menu, but she immediately incorporated very daring variations. In fact, two of her dishes are especially risky.

--- X.B.: Yes, the sweetbread and beef tongue. I didn't expect them to be ordered so naturally. It has been a pleasant surprise.

--- N. M.: I like challenges. Anyone can make a sirloin or a tartare... and I thought: okay, I want to do something different. I learned to cook sweetbread in several places and I told myself: now I'm going to do it my way. Tongue, for example, is eaten a lot in street tacos in Mexico, but my challenge is to take it to another level, to present it in a surprising way.

"I would like us to stop following trends and start setting them"

--- X.B.: I always say that this city suffers from fevers. Like the pularda cannelloni fever.

--- N. M.: Or the shiso leaf fever. Or natural wine, which I really like. Barcelona is a super cosmopolitan city, and that makes it very open to trends.

--- X.B.: I would like that to change. That we stop following trends and start setting them.

--- The importance of surprising.

--- N. M.: Jorge Vallejo taught me that good chefs have to eat everywhere. Eating is what gives you experience. If I go to a place and see something different, I try it. Also, I like my dishes to be beautiful, Instagrammable, that when they arrive at the table they really surprise.

--- X. B.: In my case, with wine I have the responsibility of transmitting a story in milliseconds. Sometimes it's an anecdote, something that inspires the diner. It's about uncorking a curiosity in them. Nancy tells a story through flavor, and I harmonize it with another. That, for me, is pairing.

"In the kitchen, you need pure passion, patience, and tenacity. And in the dining room, you have to ask yourself a sincere question: do you really like people?"

--- N. M.: Don't despair. That's key. You have to be patient, work hard, and be willing to learn. School gives you a foundation, but it doesn't teach you half of what you learn working.

--- X.B.: I would say you have to be a great lover of people and be very clear that you always have a long way to go. In the kitchen, you need pure passion, patience, and tenacity. And in the dining room, you have to ask yourself a sincere question: do you really like people? When you see someone walk through the door, do you get happy or do you feel lazy?

--- The answer should always be joy.

--- X.B.: Look, the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran already said it: "Work with love is to build a house with affection, as if your beloved were to inhabit that house." And there's another one I love: "To love life through labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret." I believe both define us very well.