Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
A SELF-taught chef with a Masters degree in law is lighting the way for a new culinary revolution on the costas.
Lawyer Fernando Alcala, 30, has snared a ‘sun’ award in the annual Repsol Soles awards for his creativity and hard work at his Marbella restaurant Kava.
It comes after the young chef also won a Red Meals (Bib Gourmand) award from the Michelin guide last year and became the stand-out ‘sensation’ at the Madrid Fusion event in 2019.
“It’s a massive honour to win the Repsol award,” he told the Olive Press after taking a trip up to San Sebastian to pick up the gong.
“I decided the legal profession was not for me, while working as a lawyer in Zurich and I always wanted to come home and open a restaurant in my home town of Marbella.”
He picked up the award in San Sebastian at the weekend alongside seven other Andalucian chefs, who were also honoured this year.
They included the chefs from La Cuchara de San Lorenzo, in Cordoba, Código de Barra, in Cadiz, Yoko in Barbate, Kaleja y Ta-Kumi Malaga, Leña in Marbella and Sobretablas in Sevilla.
“It’s the first time I have left Malaga since the lockdown last year and it was amazing to travel again,” continued Alcala.
He naturally made the most of his trip by pulling in a favour to get a table at legendary Asador Etxebarri, in the Basque country, which was voted as the ‘third best restaurant in the world’ in the latest Pellegrino awards.
There are 618 restaurants listed in the Repsol guide this year, with 304 restaurants around Spain having one Sol, 126 with two Sols and 37 with three Sols.
Andalucia has the third highest number of restaurants with Sols (60), after Catalunya, the Basque Region and Madrid. There are 53 restaurants with sols in the Valencian region.
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