Living on the costa

The city of Marbella is a leading tourist destination in the luxury and sun and beach segments known internationally, and now committed to positioning itself as world leader in gastronomyas well as an exponent of a multiculturalism that is reflected in the local restaurant offer.

This aspiration of culinary leader is pivoted by the Gastronomic Academy of Marbella, which has proposed the Costa del Sol city as ‘World Capital of Gastronomy on its own merit’. The choice is made because the municipality has been “for many years, as Camilo José Cela said, where is the best place to eat per square meter”, as declared by the president, Andrés Manuel Sánchez Cantos.

The representative of the academy has highlighted the importance of “being world-wide recognition of the category of restaurants and hotels enjoyed by the city of Marbella”, as well as “the high level and professionalism of the chefs who carry out their activity here”.

As detailed, this denomination is granted by the Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers, based in Madrid, which grants this recognition to those “cities that are considered worthy” of it. Thus, the number of restaurants with a Michelin star in the city, which adds up to five in four establishments such as the two in Skina, or those in Nintai, El Lago and Messina; the Best Young Chef award from the red guide awarded to Mario Cachinero, from the bi-starred; either the more than 1,000 establishments that the municipality has between beach bars and traditional bars and restaurants have prompted the academy to request this award.

Sánchez Cantos, a doctor by profession, has highlighted the varied restoration proposal offered by the city, with “a great quality and diversity of gastronomic offer”. “In Marbella you can enjoy any gastronomic delight without having to travel to its country of origin, gastronomy transports you to new experiences and sensations and Marbella offers that possibility with great quality”.

The restoration is thus presented as “one of the fundamental pillars of the city’s economy”, which differentiates it from others in “the warmth of its people, the quality of its products and the great professionalism and qualification of those dedicated to it. All this in the magnificent setting and with the wonderful climate that the city offers us 365 days a year”, he highlighted.

The multicultural character of Marbella is printed in its culinary offer, where Sánchez Cantos has pointed out that “the chefs who carry out their magnificent work here have a international recognition that attracts people from all over the worldwho travel to Marbella to savor the delicacies and delicacies that are created here, while enjoying the wonderful environment that the city offers them”.

The sommelier and owner of the restaurants with Michelin star Nintai and Skina, Marcos Granda, Mark Grande, has declared that this denomination of the city as the world capital of gastronomy “it would be very special for the whole local gastronomic family” and “a pride that it can become like this”.

In this way, he has valued that for the sector at the local level said mention “It would be very important at the brand and positioning level”highlighting that “restaurants in Marbella play a very important role in tourism and It is a fundamental engine for the city”.

In addition, he has valued the variety of the municipality in the gastronomic field, with “quite a few restaurants and all of them very differentiated, not only with Michelin stars, but also a very abundant and good gastronomic offer in all aspects”. Granda has valued that Marbella differs from other destinations in that “all the restaurants that we are in the city are all very different each other and we provide added value”, while ensuring that the Costa del Sol town “is a market niche very different from the rest of Spain due to the fact that more than 140 nationalities converge daily and that is also noticeable at the gastronomic level”.

The chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Messina, Messina, Mauricio Giovanini, has assessed as “great for everyone” that Marbella is named capital of gastronomy, and “not only for people who are in the hospitality industry because puts the city on a global plane”. “Marbella in particular is a city that, due to its population density, boasts, to begin with, the most important awards, which are the Michelin starswith a grand average per capita and it is something important because it has more stars than many capitals in Spain”, highlighted the restaurateur.

On the other hand, he has highlighted that the municipality “has always had restaurants such as La Hacienda, Santiago, Cipriano or hotels such as Marbella Club and Puente Romano that they have given him a history” and that “generate a tour of the European international set”. To this he has added “all the beach bars and that beach kitchenthe beach-club or the old town with its innumerable restaurants stuck one next to the other”.

Giovanini has also highlighted the bet of the “big national brands” for Marbella or “chefs who are highly recognized”, which “is beginning to be noticed in the city, where its international clientele “makes your proposals possible”. At this point, he has emphasized that “This cosmopolitan city offers us any kind of possibility and what we do today can be consumed by a number of people and that allows you to be free and that freedom makes you go up in quality and variety”.

The chef of the restaurant with two Michelin stars Skina, Mario Cachinero, has highlighted that the designation of Marbella as the world capital of gastronomy would mean “a quite positive recognition for everything that encompasses and everything around.” Regarding the city, he has pointed out that it offers “small corners with beauty or its climate”, while at a gastronomic level he highlighted the “offer of quality, products and closeness to people”.

The local hotel industry is characterized, according to the chef, by having “many people at an international level, where they also meet many cultures and many kinds of wonderful cuisines”. On a gastronomic level, it stands out because “in Marbella the quality of restaurants is quite remarkablehere they are quite peculiar and you can go eat a Japanese, a Mexican or another Mediterranean cuisine. There are different types of cultures that ultimately make the site unique”he added, assuring that between “15 and 20%” of the restaurant establishments that operate in the city “are more dedicated to haute cuisine”.

Regarding this type of establishment, such as the one he represents, he pointed out that they are characterized by their “Near services with great detail towards the customer, a product that is not seen almost anywhere or the quality at the time of elaborating and aligning them, where we always try to reach excellence”.

For his part, the chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant El Lago, Fernando Villasclaras, stressed that “Marbella deserves any distinction because brings together the best restaurants in the area”, noting that “the haute cuisine needs good clients with high power acquisitive”, so the city “is a good place to be able to develop this type of cuisine or of a superior quality”.

“There is cities that are known worldwide for gastronomyeven above other things, because if we talk about Paris we think of fashion, luxury and restoration because it has always been the gastronomic capital. So, that this surname is attached to the Marbella brand seems great to me, ”he has opined.

The chef has emphasized that the town “has a tremendous variety and you have traditional tapas places of average quality, restaurants that are inside hotels to more expensive establishments in terms of products. Then there is more personal restaurants where the cook is more important and you’re going to eat the concerns. There are so many things together, that Marbella deserves this catalogue”, he highlighted. To this he has added “the Spanish base of all kinds of traditional cuisine” offered by the “chiringuitos, the fritters or the churrerías”.