Chef Spotlight: Paco Pérez Blends Gastro with Personal

"A beachy, elevated reprieve inside Barcelona’s Hotel Arts just a stone’s throw from the sea, this two-MICHELIN-starred dining room sees Paco Pérez clasping the hands of arriving guests before slipping into the kitchen to prepare a tasting menu he describes as “Mediterranean with an international flair.” Influences from his travels appear in a starter that uses avocados from Central America, while precise, elegant technique defines a red mullet starter served alongside a bulbous mimetic of mussel and those avocados, with the fish treated using blossom water. Other bites include a duck tartare tapas whose Figueres duck pairs with hoisin, a sauce Pérez says he fell in love with in China. Two favorites illustrate past and future: a creamy rice channeling the Catalan “mar i muntanya” landscape that marries sea urchin with melanosporum truffle and demands patience and technique, and white carbonara “espardenyes” featuring sea cucumbers (“sea slugs”), created for the restaurant’s 10th anniversary in November 2018 to spotlight the high quality of local seafood, fish, and mushrooms." - Vanita Salisbury