posted on March 16, 2011 14:07
Martin Berasatequi has spent 35 years devoting both body and soul to what he enjoys most in the world, cooking. He has always striven to be precise with our gestures, discreet with the oven, precise with the blade, refined with the nose, intelligent at the market and upright at the stove.
It’s not that difficult to get food right, it’s enough to know how to make the most of what we’ve got and improve it, as we live in a privileged country. Martin's daily struggle with his team is the oldest in the world: where hand confronts fire. The old battle of flesh against flame.
Martín Berasategui may have taken a bit of stick for being the only heavyweight Basque chef to take his brand of cooking worldwide (he has an outlet in Shanghai), but the food at his flagship continues to impress. The menu comprises 13 tiny, neatly presented dishes and foams, jellies and spherified balls abound, but Berasategui stays true to his roots: he uses very little non-regional produce and all his plates reference traditional dishes.
Biography:
Martín Berasategui, was born in San Sebastián in 27th April 1960, he had his first contact with the kitchen when he was 13 years old, and worked in the restaurant ran by his mother and aunt. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the Modern Pastry School in Issengeaux of France. He was first working at Jean Paul Heinard as a barker in Baiona, then as a kitchen assistant at Francois Brouchican in Ustaritz, and worked as a baker again at André Mandion in Anglet, and then worked as a cook at Bernard Lacarrau in Labatut.
Martín Berasategui took over the restaurant Bodegón Alejandro in 1981, and it recevied its first Michelin star after 5 years, then he worked together with the French chef Didier Oudill in the restaurant Louis XV in Monaco ran by Alain Ducasse. Martín Berasategui opened his own restaurant in Lasarte in 1993 and it is recognized as a three stars restaurant by Michelin. He created and directed the group MB from 1996 to 2009, and is in charge of management of the restaurants Guggenheim Bilbao, Kursaal, Bodegón Alejandro and Mugaritz.
He recevied many awards during his long period career. He was awarded the best confectioner in 1995 and 1999, he also received the awards for the best appetizers and the best Chef in 1997. He was awarded the best confectioner by Spanish Best Cuisine in 1996, and the best Chef in 1996 by Spanish Academy of Gastronomy, "Euskadi" the best restaurant awarded by Vasca Academy of Gastronomy, the best baker in 1999 and career achievement award in 2001 from the Gourmetour Guide.
Meanwhile, He also received the recognition of culinary institutions around the world. In 1996 he was awarded the highest score in the foreign cuisine guides "Champerard" and "Hubert", In the following year, he obtained the award for Great Chef by the International Academy of Gastronomy in Beirut. In 1998, Martin Berasategui’s restaurant got a 18/20 rating in the "Prestige" in the Gault & Millau. In 2004 Martin Berasategui’s restaurant was recognized to be one of the six best European restaurants of the "Guida delle Guide" from the Italian magazine "Panorama", estimated according to average scores of the best European guides such as Michelin, AAA, Gault & Millau, Bottin Gourmand, Pudlo and best of gastronomy. His restaurant got 98.3 out of 100.
Since 2005, Martin Berasategui started to work as tourist adviser for ABAMA Hotel Resort in Tenerife, MB restaurant (1 star Michelin), which is one of the most luxurious ones in Europe. In 2005 he received the Honor Award of his hometown and nominated Golden Drum Award in San Sebastian, which was something precious for him. That same year he was elected, along with Michel Bras, to be one of the two best European chefs from 35 chefs voted from “three-star Michelin.”
From 2006 he advises the Restaurant Lasarte of Hotel Condes in Barcelona. It the town Sorrento in Italy, he was honored for his 30 years career as “one of the most creative Spanish chefs and full of passion to the world praised by the Villa Massa Gastronomic III in 2006.
On September 28 2009, Martin Berasategui took part in the opening of the first Restaurant Martin in Shanghai. This is a very risky project without doubt. The Chef Maxime Fanton is under great responsibility of introducing Martín Berasategui cuisine to China.
In November 2009, Michelin awarded stars to the restaurant Lasarte in the Hotel Condes in Barcelona for a second time, the first time was awarded to the restaurant of the MB group, both under supervision by Martín Berasategui.
Since January 2010, Martín Berasategui is also an adviser for gastronomy restaurant by Martin Berasategui in Santo Hotel in Sevilla Eme. On November 2010, he got his first star with the Eme Hotel Cathedral in Sevilla. With the three stars of the headquarters´ restaurant of Martin in Lasarte (Guipúzcoa), the other two of Lasate in Barcelona and the one of MB in Tenerife, he has a total of seven Michelin Stars.
Contact Details
Restaurante Martin Berasategi: 3D
Address: Loidi Kalea 4, 20160 Lasarte-Oria, San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa, Spain
Telephone: +34 943 366 471
Web Site: www.martinberasategui.com
Blog: www.martinberasateguiblog.com
Great videos: ROBINFOOD / Muxarra vinaigrette tomato + chicken skewers the Martian
Scrambled eggs in the microwave and creamy yogurt with stewed apricots: Click here
Michelin: 3 Stars
Gourmetour: 9.5
Campsa: 3 sols
Recommended dishes: Scallop sandwich with herbs, baked sole with mussels, lemon, mint and dried manadarin, Txakoli (Basque white wine) with strawberries, homemade lemon ice cream, honey sorbet...set menu available.
Reviews: SweetCusine.net