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Carme Ruscalleda, one of the most innovative chefs in the world and the only one that counts with a total of 5 Michelin stars, was born in Sant Pol de Mar (Barcelona) on May 1952.
The basis of her cuisine is traditional Catalan culinary, although she has known how to fusion it with touches from other parts of the world, and she centres in the typical products of each season of the year.
In 1968 she finalised her Mercantile Commerce studies and, that same year she incorporated herself in the family business, a small supermarket situated in her hometown. On October 1975 she married Toni Balam and, in less than a year, they introduced inside the family business a section for take away food, in which the small shop could be classified as a
delicatessen.
Shortly after, the pair started to get in to the idea of opening a hospitality business and the opportunity arose to purchase the old Sant Pau hostel, located in front of the family shop. It used to be a stately house from the XIXth centry, with a garden and sea views, and they decided to convert it in to their own restaurant. In July 1988 they opened the Sant Pau.
From the beginning they worked with products of the finest market fresh quality and, although initially the menu was much more simpler than it is currently, very soon, the communication medium and the restaurant guides commenced to include Sant Pau in the recommended venue listing.
Ruscalleda´s creative spirit has made it out so that the menu would derive towards originality and her unique style offering a selective culinary offer for a public also selective: the Sant Pau has only a capacity for 35 messmates.
In March 1991, she received her first Michelin star and, a year later, was selected to represent Catalan cuisine in the Seville Expo. Through other acknowledgements, in 1996, she obtained yet another Michelin star and, from there, the awards did not stop: Restaurant of the year for the guide Gourmetour in 1997, National Award of Gastronomy in 1998, the three suns of the guide Campsa in 1999, Golden Cook in 2000... In November, 2005, she obtained her third star Michelin, maximum qualification of the prestigious guides.
In 2004, Ruscalleda decided to open a division of her restaurant in Tokyo, to which she has not lacked the success and which, at present, is already provided with two Michelin stars.
The chef has also written three books: Diez años de cocina en el Sant Pau (Ten years of cuisine in Sant Pau), Del plato a la vida (From the Dish to the Life) and Cocinar para ser feliz (Cook to be Happy).