BRUSSELS: Eneko Atxa, chef of 3 Michelin star restaurant Azurmendi and Eneko, a chain of restuarants that serves traditional Basque food in Spain as well as internationally has opened a new restaurant in the Belgian capital, Brussels. Eneko Basque in Brussels brings Eneko's cuisine to Belgium. The Spanish chef's cuisine is a perfect trilogy of flavour, texture and aesthetics and is rooted in traditional Basque cooking. The flavour of home-cooked dishes are presented in innovative textures and techniques through various dishes. Eneko Atxa who was born in 1977 has five Michelin stars in total among them the flagship Azurmendi with a focus on innovation and sustainability. His passion and sensitivity, his cultural roots, his connection with the surrounding land and its products define the gastronomy of Eneko Atxa. Apart from restaurants in Spain, Eneko also has restaurants in London, Tokyo, Lisbon and now Brussels. The range of Eneko restaurants has been growing organically … [Read more...]
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Eneko Atxa opens Eneko in Bilbao
Eneko Atxa, chef of 3 Michelin star restaurant Azurmendi and Eneko, both in Larrabetzu in the Basque countryside has opened a new restaurant in the city of Bilbao. The Spanish chef from the Basque region also has restaurants in London and Tokyo. The Basque chef has opened the restaurant in the Euskalduna Palance on May 24 with the aim of serving traditional Basque dishes and showcasing the land, the culture, the traditions, the Basque producers and their work. This approach has already been recognised in the restaurant Eneko in Larrabetzu but he now takes the concept to Bilbao in the centre of this dynamic Basque city. The restaurant next to Azurmendi clinched a Michelin star late last year. Eneko Bilbao is based on traditional Biscayan cuisine, ancient recipes presented in an elegant and direct manner with all the intensity of Eneko's cooking style. The concept of Eneko Bilbao is based on Eneko's desire to recover and update recipes that are part of his personal culinary … [Read more...]
Eneko Atxa of Azurmendi to launch best farmers award later this year
Imagine a world where you could find the best producer of eggs in Italy at the click of a button. That is what Eneko Atxa, chef of three Michelin star restaurant Azurmendi has set out to do this year. Called the Best Farmers award, his dream is to give farmers and producers the importance they deserve. "Today, chefs are considers as rockstars but if we can achieve that for farmers, maybe the world will be a better place," Eneko told Food and Wine Gazette in Larrabetzu. "During 2018, I want to create a platform that gives visibility to the best producers in the world. I want to give the possibility to people to look for the best produce at the click of a button. The aim is that in every part of the world you will be able to look for the best producer of a given product," Eneko said. He is not leaving anything to chance. The Basque chef, who has made a name for himself for sustainability and for his new concept JAKIN(N) which looks at the restaurant in a holistic … [Read more...]
JAKIN(N): Eneko Atxa ‘cooking up the future’
On a perched hill in Larrabetzu on the outskirts of Bilbao, Eneko Atxa, the Spanish chef of acclaimed restaurant Azurmendi is ‘cooking up the future’. Using Jaki, the basque term for meal and Jakin, the term for knowledge he is building an ecosystem that builds around knowledge and meals. With his idea he wants to foster a sustainable, healthy and a fair society through gastronomy. Those are the three elements that are the pillars of his work. Eneko has taken up running recently and he intends to run a full marathon this year. “Running has really helped me to think. It is a way of arriving at the restaurant refreshed or of leaving the restaurant to go home and be able to clear my mind,” he told Food and Wine Gazette. "I'm so convinced of the importance of sport that I insist with the members of my team that they should take up any sport they love," he said. The Spanish chef considers running to be an integral part of his creative process and the place where he can think and … [Read more...]
Inside the txoko of Eneko Atxa, the Zelaieta Gane
It is nearly seven in the evening, the final guests are leaving Azurmendi, the 3 Michelin star restaurant in Larrabetzu and Eneko Atxa and his close collaborators are busy preparing food for the evening. He has invited a group of journalists to his txoko, the Txoko Zelaieta Gane, in Amorebieta-Etxano. It is one of the many closed gastronomic societies that are part and parcel of the Basque culinary culture. He phones his mother and she tells him that she is in the txoko and they are using it this evening. “But I am coming with a small group of journalists,” he tells her. He is a bit concerned because he knows his mother is not only an excellent cook but can also be critical like any loving mother can be. Sure enough when he arrives with the food that they have prepared she was not convinced. "Are you sure the journalists will like it. You need to add this and this," she tells him. It sounded worse than a Michelin guide inspection, Eneko tells us. To understand the Basque … [Read more...]
Eneko Atxa to open Basque restaurant in London
Eneko Atxa, chef of 3 Michelin star restaurant Azurmendi, ranked 19th in the World's 50 Best restaurants and voted first by Opinionated about Dining in 2015 has announced plans to open a Basque restaurant in London. He will open his first restaurant in the UK next year at the One Aldwych Hotel. The hotel is situated in centre of London's Covent Garden. Atxa said the aim of the new restaurant was that of presenting a modern take on rustic Basque cuisine focusing on simplicity and quality ingredients. The Basque chef who is known for his inventive cuisine is considered to be one of the rising stars of Spanish cuisine. In an interview with Food and Wine Gazette last year, Atxa spoke about the importance he give to sustainability (he won the sustainable restaurant of the year award in 2014). “We are a very young team. I don’t think about the future. I am dreaming about the future. And in my dream, the future will be more sustainable and the environment will be more important … [Read more...]
Interview with Eneko Atxa (Azurmendi): Putting the guest at the centre of the experience
Eneko Atxa's restaurant Azurmendi retained its 3 Michelin Stars for 2015 when the new classification for Spain was announced on 19 November. The restaurant, perched on a hillside just outside Bilbao does not need any introduction among food connoisseurs. Ranked 26th in the World’s 50 Best restaurants, it is also the winner of the sustainability award. Eneko, the 37-year-old chef of the restaurant told Food and Wine Gazette, when we interviewed him in Cologne during Chef Sache 2014 last month that the most important honour for him is to finish a service and ensure that his guests are happy. "I always say that we have to fight every day to ensure that our guests are happy. If we achieve this every day for 365 days a year, then we win. This to me is the most important honour. Obviously awards are important because they help us to get more people to the restaurant. We are not obsessed with the awards, but with the guest. For us, satisfaction of each guest is the most important," Eneko … [Read more...]
Eneko Atxa (Azurmendi) – My restaurant, my home
Eneko Atxa’s restaurant Azurmendi perched on a hillside just outside Bilbao is one of the most talked about restaurants in the world at the moment. Ranked 26th in the World’s 50 Best restaurants, it is also the winner of the sustainability award and has 3 Michelin Stars. This Spanish chef is making a name for himself for many reasons. His inventive cuisine is among the most innovative in the world but he is also extremely conscious of the environment. At Chef Sache, in Cologne, Germany, Atxa spoke about what makes his restaurant different. He started off by showing different photos of the 'complex which includes the restaurant, his house, a wine cellar, a hall which serves as a venue for large events, a garden and a small bistro. “The restaurant is designed to pay industrial homage to the old steel industry of Bilbao," Atxa says. The complex has been built in a way which integrates with the surrounding environment. But it also follows the basic principles of sustainability. It … [Read more...]
Chef Dabiz Muñoz wins the Top100, followed by Björn Frantzen and Andoni Luis Aduriz
Chef Dabiz Muñoz of DiverXo in Madrid won The Best Chef Top100 Award during a live awards gala that took place in Amsterdam. Chef Björn Frantzén of Frantzén in Stockholm repeated his second place and also took the award for The Best Chef voted by Chefs. To round up the top three, Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz in San Sebastián made a huge jump from his previous 45th position on last year's list, to clinch the third spot. “Getting the number one in the Best Chef Awards is the biggest joy. An incredible pride and responsibility. For me, The Best Chef Award is one of the most prestigious publications in the world today, and an award like this is a dream come true. It recognizes many years of creativity, dedication, passion and hard work. The last years in the Xo world have been very intense and brutal, but my team and I are clear that this is only the beginning, and the best is yet to come. There are no limits in sight," said Dabiz Muñoz from restaurant DiverXo in Madrid, Spain, the … [Read more...]
Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur is first ever French restaurant to top World’s 50 Best list
It is turning out to be a magical year for Mauro Colagreco. Mirazur, his restaurant in Menton was named the number 1 restaurant at the World Restaurants Awards in Singapore. The top spot may not have come as a big surprise. The Italo-Argentinian chef of restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France has been a rising star for the past years and the only question everyone was asking was whether Noma would make it straight to number 1 or not given El Celler de Can Roca, Eleven Madison and the previous number 1 Osteria Francescana where no longer eligible for the award (see my comments here). Finally, the decision landed on Mauro Colagreco's restaurant which crowns a spectacular period for the always smiling chef who also received a third Michelin star a few months ago. By giving the award to Mauro Colagreco, the World's 50 Best Restaurants has also made a statement as Mirazur becomes the first ever French restaurant to top the list. In the top 10 there is also Alain Passard's L'Arpege in … [Read more...]