There was no chef in Valencia like Ricard Camarena

ValenciaThe chef at Safor has no one to compare him. Because Ricard Camarena broke the mold. Just when you think you've got the hang of it, he surprises you. A note that might seem dissonant moves the game board, and you realize the score is going in a different direction. This is because he's a person with two very distinct melodies resonating within him. On the one hand, his head is a jazz quartet. Creative, he works from intuition, from what he feels will be right even if he can't verbalize it. He imagines flavors, textures, combinations. In his mind, it's very clear. And then, through a privileged sense of smell and taste—and hours and hours of development in the restaurant—they lead him to translate into the physical world what he feels inside tells him will be right. It's his artistic side.

On the other hand, he has an analytical side. The obsession with answering why we do things and whether the way we do them is the best possible. This led him to create a book of broths that is a reference for many chefs. And also to be an advisor to many other culinary professionals thanks to his more serene and zenithal perspective. Like when he was the only chef who dared to compete with artificial intelligence at the Madrid Fusión conference. "I had nothing to lose; winning and losing don't make us good people," he says. I wish everyone saw it that way. It's no surprise that, as seen in the documentary about the Madrid chef, Dabiz Muñoz turns to Camarena for advice when he's not sure where to go next.

"You always have to do what's right for you within your means," Camarena tells me. Don't be lulled by siren calls and accept that change is inevitable. "If you stay still, you'll soon find yourself in checkmate," he tells me. He took a two-month hiatus to reflect and fine-tune the menu he offers at the restaurant that bears his name in the city of Valencia. This is how he rounded up his signature dishes: greatest hits that must be served, and create new ones that perhaps in time will have the same status. The chef doesn't wait for this, because if this happens, he won't have any room to innovate the repertoire.

A musician in the kitchen

Camarena is a person with perfect pitch who plays the trumpet. He was born to be a musician, but at 26, he feinted toward the kitchen and showed that a person doesn't have to be just one thing in life. That we put the restraints on ourselves and that we have to move toward where we can contribute something at any given moment. Like him, who hasn't provided service at the restaurant for years. He's there every day, first thing in the morning, evolving the cuisine they serve. Working at mealtimes isn't his strong suit and would get in the way. Knowing where not to be is also a virtue. How to step up when necessary, as he did during the DANA. He rolled up his sleeves, taking advantage of his contacts. In his world, you have to be careful, because "the bag of recognition is always empty," he warns, referring to the ego trap, and acknowledges that what truly fulfills and makes you happy in life "is giving, not receiving."

And what he gives to the restaurant is above all produce from his garden. Many ingredients that are often extras are soloists here. He's also created drinks made with parts of vegetables and fruits that in some places are considered waste, but not by them. No single piece is more noble than another. This model has been adopted by many other chefs, but it has always been this way in his restaurant. He has excelled at finding other ways to preserve food and enjoy it year-round in its full splendor. We won't go into details about the menu, because the point is to go with an open mind, but let me say that the tomato dish itself is worth the trip.

Camarena is happy that "people want to return to the restaurant even if they don't know exactly why." He's taken care of the whys. In this elegant restaurant, where time and space follow a different cadence, the interpretation isn't Valencian cuisine, but rather "cuisine with Valencia." Many apprentices have replicated dishes from this establishment in their projects. Something that "makes Camarena happy." A chef who worked there for a long time tells me that all those who have worked there have in common that Camarena's mark has been left on their cooking and that they recognize it among themselves. Of course, there has never been another chef in Valencia like Ricard Camarena.