At breakneck speed, Spain has gone from irrelevance to climbing to the top of the world's culinary scene. The revolution started at the end of the last century, by chefs such as Albert Adrià (now at the helm of the two Michelin-starred Enigma restaurant in Barcelona), Sacha Hormaechea (Sacha restaurant in Madrid), and Toño Pérez (Atrio, in Cáceres, with three Michelin stars), and continues to be a source of inspiration for young chefs still studying, eager to take over from their masters. But is there a future for Spanish haute cuisine? This was the subject of the Madrid Fusión round table, moderated by Ignacio Medina, a leading figure in gastronomic journalism, under the suggestive title “Is anyone there?”

The meeting was attended by this excellent trio of chefs, who were also accompanied by Pol Contreras, gastronomic creator of the two-Michelin-starred Echaurren in Ezcaray, from a younger generation (he turns 40 this year) than his table companions.

And happily, the four confirmed that yes, there is a new generation, there is a future, and they did so in front of a very young audience that filled the Dreams space, some sitting on the floor so as not to miss a thing.

‘Of course there is a new generation!’ exclaimed Toño Pérez, who recalled that in 2026, on 25 December to be precise, Atrio, the restaurant he runs with José Polo, will celebrate its 40th anniversary. ‘We put together our first wine list by hand, calling Gourmet magazine and asking questions. We had never drunk a bottle of wine in our lives. I was studying Fine Arts and José was studying Philosophy, but we decided to open a restaurant closely linked to the region’. Polo pointed out that young people today enjoy opportunities that they did not have. ‘With these well-trained young people and the best pantry in the world, which is Spain's, the future will be extraordinary’.

For his part, Sacha Hormaechea rightly pointed out that they were talking about the future ‘without consulting artificial intelligence’, and elaborated on the idea that when he started 55 years ago, ‘we had no idea, we had to reinvent ourselves. And today we have access to all the cuisines of the world’.

For Sacha, "the new generations are much better trained today, but customers also know more. Everyone here has a palate that was impossible to have 40 or 50 years ago’.

Hormaechea asked future chefs not to forget humanity in their dealings. ‘Haute cuisine is also a common space where we greet each other with a “good morning”, and the last thing we say is “thank you”, while a petrol station attendant says “have a good trip”’, he pointed out.

Albert Adrià, who together with his brother Ferrán unleashed the gastronomic big bang in the 1990s with El Bulli, was convinced that ‘of course there is a generational change’, but he recalled that the main thing to start a business is “honesty”, and that there are no styles of cuisine, but simply ‘good or bad cuisine’. He also pointed out that Spain has the two best restaurant business groups in the world, ‘but we lack the concept’, and gave an example: ‘Why don't we make ramen with Spanish products?’

Fashion and gastronomy

Pol Contreras, for his part, said that he is ‘not at all’ concerned about the future, and praised his three round table colleagues, who he said have been ‘my role models’. Pol drew an interesting parallel between gastronomy and fashion, ‘two very artisanal crafts’, and expressed his conviction that traditional restaurants, those that have been lighting their stoves every morning for many years, will continue to shine in the future, just as fashion houses such as Loewe, founded in 1846, continue to do so while maintaining their freshness. ‘They have managed to navigate the passage of time without creating anything new, but by adding layers. That professionalisation of management is something we can borrow from fashion. That's why I'm sure that in 200 years' time we'll still be talking about El Bulli’. He concluded, ‘I'm not worried about the future at all because I see that there are many students who are very talented and highly motivated’.