Joel Castanyé

Chef at La Boscana* (Bellvís, Lleida, Spain)

Castanyé, from a family that has always worked in catering, has an aura of special sensitivity to his native surroundings and their local producers.

At the Resquitx restaurant in Mollerussa (Lleida), Joel Castanyé has lived and breathed gastronomy since a very tender age. There, surrounded by his family, he discovered his vocation for catering at the Lleida Hotel and Tourism School, and the University Hotel and Tourism School in Sant Pol de Mar.

His eagerness to learn took him to a number of restaurants - Neichel (Barcelona), Restaurante Àbac (Barcelona) run by Xavier Pellicer, and elBulli Catering. In 2007 he launched the La Boscana restaurant project, and earned a Michelin star in 2016.

Moreover, in a bid to boost the star product of Lleida's agrofood sector - fruit - and publicise it, he has also undertaken the "Lleida Fruit Project" alongside agronomists, doctorands, technical specialists and producers operating in the world of fruit. His goal is to make his surroundings the focus of his gastronomic fare.