[vc_row css_animation=»» row_type=»row» use_row_as_full_screen_section=»no» type=»full_width» angled_section=»no» text_align=»left» background_image_as_pattern=»without_pattern»][vc_column][vc_column_text]Despite his youth, he has an intense and productive career, among others, for his time at the kitchens of Michelin stars such as El Celler de Can Roca or L’Escaleta.

A professional and also vital experience that impregnates his teaching in the classroom and his culinary.

When did you feel the interest in cooking?

I have been passionate about cooking since I was a child. Already when my twin brother and I shared some simple household chores, I was the one who took care of those related to food.

I liked to take care of the appetizer, I was interested in my mother’s recipes and I also remember how on the weekends I accompanied my grandmother when preparing her stews and even helped her to make cakes and biscuits.

Of course, this incipient passion was share with another activity that excited me since long before: music.

When I was three or four years old, I already felt that attraction for which I still consider my other great passion. While my friends played soccer, I attended my music classes full of enthusiasm and soon I opted for percussion.

I’ve played the bass drum, the box, the timpani and even the marimba and the xylophone and I’ve been through different musical bands.

There comes a time when you decide to train in the field of gastronomy. How did you make that decision?

As with many young people, there was a point where I decided that I no longer wanted to study and asked my parents to let me get to work.

It was summer and I toured all the bars in my town until they finally agreed to help them with lunch. Although it may seem a lie, that little bar taught me a lot since the owner was giving me more tasks until I ended up entering the bar and kitchen.

I started working at eight in the morning and I did everything; it taught me a lot but the most important thing is that it guided me professionally towards the world of gastronomy and take away that rebel idea of not continue studying.

I signed up in a mid-level cycle in cooking and gastronomy in Castellón and, during my training, I was as an intern in the school since my family lived in L’Olleria (south of Valencia).

I remember those years with great love because even today I still think those were the best years of my life: I enjoyed and learned in equal parts.

Could you imagine when you started your career in a small bar that you would achieve a Michelin star?

Yes, my practices were in L´Escaleta, located in Cocentaina (Alicante), which had a Michelin star (currently two). It was an honor to be able to carry out my practices there but even more the fact that at the end they hiring me.

There I went through various areas, although my work focused a lot on banquets; a hard work but that, thanks to the volume that is handled, is like a true master since you repeat every movement a thousand times and perfect any technique.

In fact, today I recommend that my students try to go through banquets because the learning is incredible.

My desire to continue learning was not satisfied so, soon after, I began to take a higher degree of cooking direction; in this case it was in Benidorm (Alicante).

I remember this very intense time because I continued working in L’Escaleta although I reduced the weekly workdays to three to be able to make it compatible.

L’Escaleta was not the only restaurant with Michelin star where you have worked. How do you get to El Celler de Can Roca and how was the experience?

A I acceded to El Celler de Can Roca again through training practices, so that I quit a paid job like the one I had and preferred to continue learning from the greats of the gastronomy of our country.

In addition, at that time the practices were heavier than now; There was no option in the morning or afternoon but you worked at both times.

I went through meat, and fish … A great learning and an effort that soon were rewarded because, two months of being there, they entrusted me with one of their star appetizers.

«Eat the World» was formed by several snacks served around a globe that invited the diner to tour the most outstanding cuisine of the moment.

The next step was to invite me to work with them. I had to think about it for a few hours – mainly because I didn’t believe it – and finally I agreed.

I worked a season there and it was an unforgettable experience since I lived, among others, his appointment as Best Restaurant in the World or the Cap Roig Festival…. It was the year 2013 and, without a doubt, sharing those moments with the El Celler team is part of the great memories of my life.

It was very enriching for me at all levels but, at one point, I decided to back go home. My family has been and is a great support today and, why not say it, I missed them …

How was your return with just twenty years and with a curriculum like that?

My time at L’Escaleta and El Celler de Can Roca made me receive many job offers which I declined to continue learning and obtain the official certificate of pedagogical and didactic training in vocational training.

That is, I decided to learn to teach and that decision had a lot to do with my parents and my sister. She, trained in psychology, was also a fundamental support in assimilating and focusing the subjects.

As always, I wanted to earn my own money and not depend economically on my family so, since my training was online, I started working at L’Amagatall de Tota in Alcoy (Alicante).

Once I finished the training and, after another brief step that was my first formal job (L’Escaleta), arose the possibility of teaching as a teacher at the School of Hospitality of Valencia that was then in a beautiful building located in the center of the city.

I was twenty-one and overcoming that interview was a challenge, although the litmus test would be my first day of class.

I remember perfectly the fear I felt when facing the students. They were second by what they already knew and kept talking to each other … They were fresh from summer vacations and the murmur was incessant.

The minutes passed and my restlessness grew until, finally, I struck the table and claimed attention by raising the tone quite a bit. There was silence – and also respect – but what makes me most proud is that today I still have contact with them and an excellent relationship.

The school was evolving to become the current Mediterranean Culinary Center and my tasks too.

Currently, after more than five years in this house, I work as a culinary director but I have never stopped teaching. Teaching is my true vocation and I don’t want to leave it, so I combine the office and my management jobs with the classroom and my classes.

I aspire to have my students overcome me and I try to instill them my passion and, above all, I look for they internalize and understand each process because that deep knowledge will then give them the freedom to create. I think that in the kitchen, as in many other areas, it is very important to understand the reasons.

Mediterráneo Culinary Center shares this same philosophy and, therefore, its training goes beyond practical or theoretical knowledge, providing the future chef with the tools necessary to acquire his own style with which they will stand out and, most importantly, enjoy their work.

What type of cuisine do you prefer?

My childhood traditional dishes such as fideuà, baked rice or gazpacho manchego still seem great recipes to me today.

Undoubtedly, the basis of any current kitchen is in traditional cuisine. The most avant-garde such as molecular, for example, would have no reason to be without the basis of tradition that must be mastered perfectly.

Result of the agreement between Corvina REX and your center, you work a lot this species. What would you highlight about the product?

That delicate buttery touch that it has is incredible when cooking because it admits all kinds of cooking.

With Corvina REX we can show the student all culinary techniques which gives us a lot to work on.

If I had to opt for one, it would be vacuum packed and cooked at low temperature. In this way, juices and vapors are concentrated and allow you to enjoy the excellent scent and flavor of this product.

The crispy touch of the skin on the grill is another of my weaknesses in what respects Corvina REX.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=»» row_type=»row» use_row_as_full_screen_section=»no» type=»full_width» angled_section=»no» text_align=»left» background_image_as_pattern=»without_pattern»][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_empty_space][qode_content_slider enable_drag=»no» direction_nav=»no» control_nav=»no»][qode_content_slider_item][vc_single_image image=»3268″ img_size=»large» alignment=»center» onclick=»custom_link» img_link_target=»_blank» qode_css_animation=»» link=»https://aempm.com/»][/qode_content_slider_item][qode_content_slider_item][vc_single_image image=»1035″ img_size=»large» alignment=»center» onclick=»custom_link» img_link_target=»_blank» qode_css_animation=»» link=»http://miticbike.com/»][/qode_content_slider_item][qode_content_slider_item][vc_single_image image=»1178″ img_size=»large» alignment=»center» onclick=»custom_link» img_link_target=»_blank» qode_css_animation=»» link=»https://www.gasma.es/en/»][/qode_content_slider_item][qode_content_slider_item][vc_single_image image=»1019″ img_size=»large» alignment=»center» onclick=»custom_link» img_link_target=»_blank» qode_css_animation=»» link=»http://www.geo-planet.com»][/qode_content_slider_item][qode_content_slider_item][vc_single_image image=»1015″ img_size=»large» alignment=»center» onclick=»custom_link» img_link_target=»_blank» qode_css_animation=»» link=»https://www.mediterraneoculinary.com/»][/qode_content_slider_item][/qode_content_slider][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]