Bittor Arginzoniz has entered his name into the culinary history books by inventing ingenious new instruments over the years: “grill” pans, the bottoms of which are like a colander in order to char-grilled eel; pans that have tiny holes cut into them by a laser, so small as to be able to make risotto over the embers and impregnate the rice directly with the smoke; flat, miniscule casserole dishes to roast fish cheeks, anchovies, etc… but his most recent invention is perhaps the most innovative, the most surprising, and something that could only come to a truly privileged mind – a new type of grill for chops that incorporates an absolutely revolutionary technique in the preparation of meat. Brilliant.
It is a grill conceived in the image of an oven. In other words, with a top and a bottom. As for the bottom, nothing changes, the iron grill remains, in a flat position with a lever to raise and lower it over the embers as necessary. But the unprecedented aspect of this grill is the top. A rectangular, solid plate with a multitude of small holes that is covered completely by embers, previously prepared, using vine or olive tree wood. This rectangular metal plate with holes cut into it, brimming with embers, is then covered by another rectangular plate of stainless steel with 10 cm “walls” coming up on all sides in a way that all the heat is concentrated and not escaping from below, but refracted and forced to push down through the small holes.
The chops are placed over the metal plate with holes at a distance of 10 cm from the embers. It is then lowered onto the plate from above so that the flames are almost touching the meat, less than half a centimeter away. The flames from below, rising as a result from the fats released from the meat, caresses the pork chop in such a way that it lightly chars the meat and impregnates it with the aromas of the smoke. Curiously enough, while the bottom half caramelizes the surface of the meat, the top half takes on a grayish, browned tone, and the center remains perfectly red and hot; a heat that penetrates uniformly through the entire thickness of the cut. The whole process takes approximately ten minutes. As one might guess, there is no need to flip the meat. Another interesting aspect of this preparation is the salt – the best in the world, like everything used at this establishment –, gray Guérande fleur de sel, placed only on the top half of the pork chop, and in delightful abundance.

Josean Martínez Alija is the best chef in the world for his age. At 27 years old he has been given an 8.5 from Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia, exceeding all the limits of size and structure of the restaurant. He achieves this all through his capacity for work and organization, his meticulous attention to detail… and, of course, his level of cuisine. He possesses innate qualities: the proverbial gift of good taste, an unusual knack for constructing using essence of products, the ability to employ sapid, textural counterpoints that are lively and balanced but healthy, astonishing visual aesthetics, an unbridled imagination… and an avant-garde culinary art that is extremely refined and filled with nuances. In 2006 he surprised the world with many divine creations: his roasted green asparagus over Parmegiano-reggiano soup and caramelized grapefruit with aromas of anises and lemon grass; or the roasted Roseval potato with raw bean juices; the hake cheeks with creamy juices of rock fish, lemon balm and water mint; the pumpkin cream, with bergamot nuances, cookie crumbs and toasted beer ice cream or the black olive ash over milk skin with licorice ice cream (makil-goxo) and a crispy texture of muscovado sugar. A few of them merit the consideration for Dish of the Year. In this recipe, we are simply talking about the best chicken formula in Spanish cuisine. For pure quality of the animal, of certified race and grown organically in Calahorra, and for its technical preparation (cooked at low-temperature, sous-vide, with herbs and vegetable stock for 16 hours for the thighs and 4 hours for the breasts) and, above all, for the magical touches that give it light and color: smoked with rosemary, glazed with lime, saturated in its own juices and with the added charm of triangular ravioli made from bread crust.

Martín Berasategui loves being a perfectionist. He is a reformer that went so far as to reform himself. It is perhaps one of the aspects that best define his work: he does not shy away from this characteristic of himself, far from it. He is proliferate and eclectic, diverse and complex, and welcomes these qualities with open arms. In the last few years alone he has consecrated dozens of recipes. The number of Dishes of the Year that he has received from the Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía guide is sufficient testimony: 10, among which his caramelized mille-feuille of smoked eel, foie gras and apple and his warm vegetable marrow salad with lobster, razor-shell clams, cockles, lettuce cream and iodized yolk are here for all of posterity. If we had to choose a “primus inter pares”, this latter would certainly be the one.
Martín is now reorienting himself using his greatest success as his inspiration. The same structure is used in this dish: flat integrity in a square form. The vegetables and shellfish are replaced by autumnal meats, dove – or another type of fowl depending on what can be found in the marketplace –, with chestnuts, mushrooms, truffle vinaigrette and, of course, herbs, sprouts and flowers. The result is beautiful, immaculate, precious, with endless nuances and very refined. Curiously enough, it can cause the guest to wonder whether it is a salad in the form of a game dish they are enjoying or a meat dish with marvelously refreshing attributes. A wonderful preservation of identity and gastronomic memory.

Josean Martínez Alija demonstrates in this dish some of the qualities that have made him the best chef in Spain under 30 years old. We would even say he is the best chef in the world for his age category. In this proposal he demonstrates that it isn’t necessary to search for exotic flavors to stand out. On the contrary, he clairvoyantly chooses very typical products of the country. It is inspired by a traditional, modest dish: beans and potatoes. It preserves the identity of both ingredients – an immaculate manifestation of familiar flavors. What is markedly different are the textures: the potatoes are prepared al dente, boiled in water with an abundance of salt until the water evaporates, then served in small pieces. The beans are liquified raw, offering their juices and, later, whipped and foamy, are reinforced by a brief moment in the pan. A gelatinous cod broth, in perfect concordance with the spirit of the dish, gives it an unctuous, succulent element, particularly to the potatoes that serve also to heat the broth at assembly time. Exquisite, colorful minimalism.