As he has recognized on more than one occasion, the Basque 12-star Michelin chef Martín Berasategui assures that “Martín Berasategui is not a person, but a family“. The most successful of Spanish chefs thus deploys his troops and chefs to a handful of locations that generally have openings with Michelin awards.
The three stars of Lasarte (Barcelona), the two stars of MB Abama (Tenerife), and then several single stars in Oria (Barcelona), Eme Be Garrote (in Donosti) were added to the mother house of the Martín Berasategui restaurant (Guipúzcoa). and one last, the only one outside of Spain, at Fifty Seconds Martín Berasategui (Lisbon).
The milestone, beyond the laurels and the critical endorsement, demonstrates the success of a model that arrived in 2019 to the always gastronomically difficult Ibiza. Located in the five star hotel bless ibiza (Santa Eularia des Rius, on the eastern coast), one of the jewels of the local hospitality group Palladium, Etxeko meant the landing of the Basque chef’s group in the Balearic Islands.
Under the arrival, the demonstration after four years —pandemic through— of how to establish a gastronomic restaurant dedicated to the tasting menu (although there is also a menu), of dealing with being a restaurant within a hotel and, as on so many occasions, proving that behind of the signature of a great chef, there is much more equipment.
A piece of Donosti in Ibiza
Located on the ground floor of the hotel and with a large terrace with views of Cala Nova, one of the most beautiful beaches in Santa Eularia, Etxeko is faithful to the precepts of Martín Berasategui. “The letter is designed in Lasarte [el municipio donde está el restaurante ‘madre’] and then, as we grow, more local elements are introduced”, explains Paco Budía, chef at Etxeko Ibiza.
“The name has part of that symbolism because means ‘from home’ and it is precisely what it seeks to represent“, alludes to the Cordovan chef, who is the bridgehead of this project in which the Palladium Group sought to elevate its gastronomic proposal in haute cuisine.
“There is dishes that are icons of Martin like the Lasarte salad, but there are also other preparations that, in one way or another, are part of that culinary memory,” says Budía.
We also see dishes such as truffle with trembling mushrooms or elaborations such as jalapeño foam, sea chlorophyll or smoked prey slice, that are or have been part of various menus within the group.
“It’s about identifying what the Berasategui seal is in each bite because in the end there is staging, processes and plating which are the way of understanding Martín’s cuisine”, he adds.
The Ibiza that sneaks into the Basque Country
About to start the season officially, including the presence of Berasategui, who also is forecast to have a busy 2022 and 2023, Etxeko Ibiza also has its own personality that is growing.
“They go adapting dishes to certain local products, in addition to the fact that much of what we use on a day-to-day basis comes from Ibiza”, confesses Budía. He talks about the red prawn, the sirvia [el pez limón]vegetables and fish that “are entering the menu”.
“When the season ends, we return to Lasarte and value the season, what has worked, what hasn’t, what we can change and introduce,” he says.
Under that umbrella, he talks about what the Berasategui seal and the Michelin endorsement mean. “Many clients, including international ones, know who Berasategui is and also when talking about their reference in the guide, they understand more about the style of cooking we do”, adds Budía.
However, as happens in many gastronomic restaurants, “a lot of the customer is local customer, both Spanish and Ibizan, but above all Ibizan”.
Set up a gastronomic restaurant in Ibiza
“The truth is that gastronomic, as such, on the island there are not many. We are there and then there is La Gaia, Es Tragón or Es Ventall”, explains a chef who has been working for several years on an island that also devours staff.
“We have the lucky to have a young and highly motivated team“, he adds. He himself is one of the veterans of the team and is only 32 years old, while a good part of the cooks come from different kitchens of the Martín Berasategui group and, curiously, nobody is from Ibiza.
“In the room we do have some Ibizan, but we also most of them are from outside the Balearic Islands“, indicates. That includes Héctor Suárez, maître of the restaurant and also with a brief passage through the halls of other restaurants of the Gipuzkoan chef.
“Many of the boys and girls that we have they come from having done internships either in Barcelona or in Donosti, and we have the advantage of being able to have an important youth academy”, he adds.
“At the beginning we offered more a la carte service, but over time we have been offering much more of a tasting menu. In addition, we work well all year round, despite the pandemic and others,” he comments after the meal.
Flight Madrid-Ibiza in July
The reality, during our visit, was that on a Saturday at the end of April, before the season starts, Etxeko Ibiza had an occupancy rate of 70%.
Under the baton and the Berasategui standards, a guarantee of success, it shows in Etxeko Ibiza a high quality room and service in proportion to the ratios of the island. “It’s also a way of differentiating ourselves,” she explains.
Along with it, a growing cellar that now houses 150 references but it keeps growing. She takes care of her Eliel Varelasommelier, who bets on a light offer of whites, sparkling and generous in a good part of the tasting menus, always open to the indications of the client.
“We believe that with what Ibiza is, with the type of cuisine that is made here and with the customer profile that exists, it adapts well,” says the person in charge of the sommelier. A reality that touches palos ibicencos, peninsular, international and that “it also shows that Etxeko’s clients want something different”.
What to ask for: Etxeko Ibiza offers a menu and two tasting menus: Martín’s Journey (short) and Etxeko Experience (long). If you have never tried Berasategui’s cuisine, the best option is to go to the tasting sessions because it allows you to understand the philosophy of the Basque chef with a broad panorama, but on the menu there are also temptations such as the false zucchini risotto, grilled fish or meat. grilled for those who want a quality experience but less complex.
practical data
Where: Av. Cala Nova, s/n, 07849 is Canar, Illes Balears.
Half price: €75 without wine or pairing. Menus at €100 and €130.
Bookings: 971 33 03 00 and on their website.
Schedules: only dinner services on Tuesday to Sunday from 7:30 p.m. to 01:00 a.m. .
Images | Bless Hotel Ibiza
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