Catalonia
Speaker
Eduard Xatruch
Chef at Disfrutar** (Barcelona, Spain)
Together with Oriol Castro and Mateu Casañas, he revolutionised Roses at the start of this century and Barcelona these past years.
Born in Vila-seca (Tarragona) in 1981 to a family that worked the fields, he was attracted to cooking at a young age. When he was 17, after studying at the Escuela de Hostelería de Cambrils, he went to elBulli to do a three-month work experience stint. He never left. He did leave occasionally to learn and broaden his horizons in the kitchens of, among others, The Fat Duck, with Heston Blumenthal; Le Calandre, with Massimiliano Alajmo; and Arzak, guided by Juan Mari and Elena.
From 1999 onwards, he learned the ropes in the different sections of the restaurant in Cala Montjoi. In 2005, he became part of its creative team placing great focus on product-related research.
After elBulli closed, he continued working with Ferran Adrià on the conceptualisation of Bullipedia until, along with fellow Bullinian chefs Eduard Xatruch and Oriol Castro, he opened Compartir, a restaurant in Cadaqués. In 2014, and with the same partners, he opened Disfrutar in Barcelona, a now firmly established fine-dining restaurant with two Michelin stars and ranked 9 on the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020.
