Eneko Atxa

  Eneko Atxa, plating the surroundings and happiness   Eneko Atxa feels privileged to live in a place close to the sea, close to the mountains, close to the countryside, allowing him to use the extraordinary raw materials that are at hand. To obtain them he entrusts local growers and producers to supply him with produce that the chef then plates so that diners can delight in and enjoy his dishes: plating which has a goal, among others, of making people happy. The surroundings and happiness move hand in hand in Eneko’s kitchen Every season, Atxa relishes in everything that nature offers him, whether it is foodstuffs from the land or ones that swim in the sea: seasonality and climate mark Azurmendi’s day-to-day decisions. In Biscay, being at the table – eating – is something that goes far beyond the mere act of enjoying gastronomy and traditional recipes; it has acquired the category of a celebration. People wish to be happy around a good table, and Eneko Atxa seeks to convey that feeling to his restaurant via his cuisine of flavours, textures and aesthetics, imbuing it with the utmost creativity and innovation, although always careful to transmit the traditions, the essence of his land, of home kitchens: stews and what lies at its roots. That home kitchen is what Eneko experienced during his childhood and youth, a space filled with flavours and aromas that the chef treasures among his best memories. There, his mother and grandmother did the cooking. Then, at Catering and Hospitality School, he became totally hooked on a passion for cooking. The cuisine he learned there offered him a whole world to discover and became his companion. A companion who has evolved and grown with him. The constant growth of Eneko Atxa’s cuisine has been possible thanks to him listening and understanding his customers, to the constant search for their happiness, because this cook believes that that should be his job: making people happy by putting his surroundings on a plate. By Oraitz Garcia Recondo