Why Michelin-starred chefs are hooked on speed on wheels

GironaJordi Roca, one of the world's best pastry chefs, was walking through the Llémena Valley looking for flowers when a man on a bicycle stopped. "What are you doing, Jordi? You look like a bogeyman with this bag," he asked. "I'm looking for flowers to make desserts," Jordi replied happily. In front of him was a true legend of Catalan motorsports, Salvador Servià. "Being able to meet people like him makes me happy," says the youngest of the Roca brothers, who still has no idea what his future holds when he arrives at the starting point of the KH-7 Costa Brava Rally and is allowed into the area reserved for drivers. "Me being the driver. It's awesome!" he says, smiling.

For several years now, Jordi Roca has been organizing his schedule to ensure he doesn't miss the premier Spanish rally event, which this year celebrates its 73rd edition with the KH-7 sponsorship. But the well-known pastry chef doesn't attend just as a fan; he's been participating for four years with a Seat Fura Crono from the team. Historic Seats, in the Regularity section. "I've always liked it. I'd been a spectator. I like the sound of engines, the smell of gasoline. I saw how they braked, how they took the corners. Being able to participate is a privilege," he says with his sharp wit. "One day we finished a stage and they told us we'd won. I took a screenshot of the qualifying session and uploaded it to social media. Later they told us it wasn't true, that it was a mistake... but for a few minutes it was spectacular to hear we'd won!" he comments, adding that he struggles with training, since he can't race. "So I don't train, although more than once, if I pass a lonely polygon, I take the opportunity to do two laps," he says. Jordi loves motorsports. That's why he wanted El Celler de Can Roca to collaborate with the local rally, preparing the gala dinner and providing space for the presentation. A rally that this year breaks the participation record.

"I'm carrying a bag full of candy. And I'm leaving it to the race judges to see if they can beat my time when they take the records," jokes Jordi, chatting with Salvador Servià, who will be participating in the rally he won way back in 1987. This edition brings together 256 teams and Servià himself, a two-time Spanish rally champion and one of the men who has participated in the Dakar the most times. The heroes Jordi Roca followed when he was a kid. "For someone who has experienced it as a fan, being able to experience it from the inside is incredible," says Roca.

Don't think about work

Why are many chefs so drawn to speed? Nandu Jubany answers. "It helps you disconnect a lot. Our work can be very stressful, it requires concentration to get every detail right, and we have busy schedules." In fact, Jubany wanted to be a motocross racer as a child. But at thirteen, he hurt his knee after winning the Spanish championship in that discipline. "They told me I was done. So my father sent me into the kitchen. And it hasn't gone badly for me," explains the creator of a gastronomic empire centered in Calldetenes, where he owns Can Jubany, with a Michelin star.

After years in the kitchen, Jubany felt the need to get back into racing, and in 2018, he realized his dream of competing in the Dakar Rally in South America, riding a motorcycle. He then finished the race and said he wouldn't return, but in 2025, he's back with the support of brands like KH-7., in this case to a Dakar made in Saudi Arabia, with a car, a 4x2 MD ​​​​Optimus. Equally competitive in his cooking and driving, Jubany excelled at the Dakar, taking a podium finish in the T1.2 (two-wheel drive) category and a surprising 19th place in the car standings.

Driving requires extreme concentration. One mistake can doom you. Hours and hours of effort in which "you manage not to think about work," according to Jubany. "It helps me, and I like it, being focused on what's happening on the road. We're very demanding people. The demands are the same whether we're cooking or driving, but behind the wheel, there's only that moment. I don't disconnect from the passion, I disconnect from the day-to-day. It's good to experience things in a different way, to have a different day-to-day life; it's good for changing focus. When I'm driving, I don't!"

The cycling chefs

If Roca and Jubany need the background music of an engine, other chefs need to pedal. The goal is the same: to mentally disconnect and exert physical effort to stay in shape. A good example is the Torres brothers, Sergio and Javier: "Running a restaurant can be stressful, so you have to disconnect from time to time. And what better way to do it than to go to the desert?" Sergio Torres, who participated in the Škoda Titan Desert Morocco, an extreme cycling event in the desert, explained to ARA a year ago. His brother Javier has also participated in the event. In fact, the owners of the Cuina Germans Torres restaurant, one of the best in the world with three Michelin stars, often pedal to work. "When we were kids, my dad had a piece of land and we would ride our bikes up and down the road. We've been cycling enthusiasts since we were kids, so being able to participate in races alongside famous cyclists is a great way to enjoy it. In the restaurant, the pace is tough. Sport makes us better," says Sergio. Whenever they can, they roll down the Water Road, competing with each other.

Restaurants and sports have always gone hand in hand, as Lluc Crusellas knows, having cycled at a very high level before becoming the world's best pastry chef in 2022. "It's an escape valve, a great experience. I focused on baking," explains a man who also went to Titan with the KH-7 team, a company that has been dedicated to sports for many years. "I can't go out every day because I have a busy schedule, but every week I try to cover about 300 kilometers," says a man who, like Roca, Jubany, and Torres, uses his professional success to surround himself with people he admires from the world of sports. Whenever he can meet cyclists, he attends stages or wonders if Osona can organize new events. Passionate people who are demanding in the kitchen, but also when they play sports. A time to disconnect from work, but not from a passionate way of life, as Jordi Roca says.