Paco Pérez

Sincere, honest, flavor-driven, creative, surprising….: that just about sums up Paco Pérez (Huelva, 1962) style of cooking. Backed up by his tenet that “everyone should do what he knows in his heart he really ought to be doing, and not deny his principles”, it has earned him five Michelin stars: two for the Miramar, his trademark restaurant in Llançá (Girona, eastern Spain), two for the Enoteca, located within the Hotel Arts in Barcelona and one in his venue Arco in Gdansk, Poland. Pérez is also responsible for the cuisine at the Perelada Resort, La Cata in Manchester, and Edge at the El Fuerte Hotel in Marbella

”I’m a cook. I cook every day”, he says. His passionate interest in food and cooking dates back to early childhood; while still at primary school he used to love slipping into the kitchen to watch what was going on and then try to imitate what he saw. Later, his pursuit of what was clearly a vocation began withtaking a job in a little tapas bar owned by his family, starting off as a waiter and then graduating to the kitchen: “That experience of dealing with the public was key. Being in direct contact with the customers means that you can observe how they react to various tastes and smells - vital information that doesn’t reach you when you’re behind the scenes in the kitchen”. His schooldays over, he set about becoming a member of the food world, spending several training periods in France on placements with Michel Guérard (one of the progenitors of Nouvelle Cuisine). Often described as ‘elBulliesque,’ his cooking emphasizes creativity, consistency, humility, and hard work, values he embraced during his time at elBulli.

His journey took a pivotal turn when he joined Miramar in Llançá (Girona), where he met his future wife, Montse. When Paco and Montse took over Miramar, it was a modest seaside boarding house. They transformed it into a celebrated gastronomic destination, earning its first Michelin star in 2006 and a second in 2010. "Getting the star changed things in that it attracted more custom, but the real upheaval came in 2009 when they awarded us the first Michelin star for the Enoteca, and then again next year when we got the second for the Miramar. The rhythm of work accelerated hugely, but the lovely thing is that our customers keep coming just as often as before, now joined by new ones who come to find out what we’re all about”, says Pérez.

His cuisine is characterized by its sensory appeal, integrating sight, smell, touch, and taste to create memorable dining experiences. Their innovative menus feature both avant-garde and traditional dishes, such as quail’s egg tempura with soy sauce and sake, and razor clams in Thai broth.

Stellar projects

In Miramar, Paco works a combination of the avant garde and the traditional; the degustation menu is totally avant garde, but the main menu will feature dishes designed to showcase a particular product and others that exhibit his mastery of technique. Espardeñas ibéricas a la brasa (griddled Iberian sea cucumbers) , for example, are presented under a transparent glass dome containing a miniature fog of trapped smoke from burning vine-shoots which, when the dome is lifted off at table, the diner experiences as a heady whiff which just whets the appetite for the delicious sea cucumber to come… and all within sight of the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, Enoteca is a journey to culinary excellence where the freshness of ingredients is an unbreakable rule. Farmers, gardeners, livestock breeders, and fishermen are the stars in Paco Pérez's creations, forming an essential pillar of his culinary philosophy. In this shared journey, each dish is a story woven with the flavors of the land and sea, dominated by technique and mastery to connect with the diner's emotions. Undoubtedly, the raw materials guide and inspire this space, where flavors and textures create a memorable experience.