Bittor Arginzoniz is better off in the woods looking for firewood than at large social events. He is also more at ease in front of glowing embers than in an auditorium. But this grill master of 66, born in Axpe, in Atxondo (Biscay), where he has lived his whole life and has the restaurant Asador Etxebarri, has managed to position himself at the very top of the most prized list this Wednesday night in Lima. It is the same ranking that two years ago placed Disfrutar at the top and the same one in which, to achieve a good position, some restaurants invest large sums of money inviting people who could be voters.

“This is for you. We have done it from Catalonia. And it had never been done before. It is the most important encyclopedia in the world of wine and we should be proud of it,” said Ferran Adrià. And the fact is that at elBullifoundation they have reason to celebrate because they have put an end to one of their most colossal works. An ambitious investigation that has required a lot of effort and more than 100,000 euros per volume.

The chef Miquel Pardo, who has the CruiX restaurant in Barcelona, on Entença street, and the Melós, on Mallorca street, is the best chef of the year in Catalonia. The chef, born in Onda (Plana Baixa), is known for precision cooking but linked to his roots and experiences and, above all, for making rice dishes with a very thin layer of grain, well browned (socarrat), and top-quality products. After performing miracles with a tiny kitchen in his first establishment, the CruiX, in 2025 he opened his flagship restaurant, the Melós. There he was able to install good equipment that allowed him to raise the gastronomic bar. For this reason, the expert jury and the public have chosen him as the best chef of the year, a recognition that reaches its fifteenth edition this year and is presented within the framework of the Gastronomic Forum of Barcelona. Last year the award went to Jeffery Ruz and Helena Termes from La Cort del Mos, in Palamós.

Today we are stopping at a corner of Carrer Ferlandina and Carrer de Sant Vicenç in Barcelona. A corner of the world that reminds us of the city that used to be. And that always will be as long as places like Bar Agustín keep raising their shutters every day. It is a space to have breakfast or lunch, to converse with the person next to you, to build community, to find out what happened to the woman who runs the tobacco shop, to discuss the news, to argue about football, to drink from a porró, and to mingle with people who are not in your circle. It is opened every day by Carles Tarrasón Monte, the son of Agustí, who has worked there forever. What time does it open? "It depends on the queue at the bakery to buy bread," he tells me. Things are not rigid here, but at approximately 7:30, Carles begins to serve his community with a very subtle sense of humor and a kindness that can be seen from miles away. Carles has the characteristic of making everyone feel like a lifelong friend, even if you have just arrived at his bar five minutes ago. He knows his regulars and knows what everyone likes. The bar is not very big, and its marble tables fill up quite quickly at lunchtime to have the homemade lunch menu, which costs between 15 and 16 euros depending on the dessert and coffee.

Once again, one of the highlights of the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona is the panettone competition, which determines which is the best in the country in 2026 in both the traditional and chocolate categories. This year the winners were Vallflorida, from Sant Esteve de Palautordera, in the classic category – therefore, the panettone that contains candied fruit –, and the La Roja pastry shop from Almoradí, in the Baix Segura, in the chocolate category. Vallflorida has already won on previous occasions; one year it even took the prize in both categories.

The chocolatier Lluc Crusellas arrives in Barcelona. And he does so in a historic location: at 16 Pi Street, in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, as he has bought Xocolates Fargas. Crusellas does not intend to change its name; in fact, he respects its legacy so much that he will continue to produce the flagship products of the chocolate shop, an iconic establishment founded in 1827. The pastry chef from Santa Eulàlia de Riuprimer and 2021 World Chocolate Master had long wanted to land in the Catalan capital, following the Eukarya shop in Vic and after having opened another in Andorra. It is true that he had participated in several pop-up stores during the Christmas campaign, but to open a shop in Barcelona "everything had to fit," says Crusellas, whom we catch just as they are repositioning the shop's sign.

We arrive in Cornellà just as Arnau París (Barcelona, 1988) and Rais Esteve (Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1989) have left their twins, Artur and Robert, at the nursery school. It has been a year of many changes for this couple, who met at MasterChef, in which Paris won the 2021 edition and Rais Esteve worked in gastronomic consulting. Since they knew they were receiving a visit from ARA, they waited for us with the table set for breakfast. Paris insists that we taste the sobrassada that they make themselves.

We recently said goodbye to L'Hermós, the fish bar at the Mercat de la Llibertat in Gràcia. However, we have been celebrating a premiere for a few weeks now. From those ashes, a robust project has been born in the same spot: Seny. A huge scorpionfish welcomes us. It is painted on the wall, black on white. It is the work of Max amb X, a tattoo artist. When the stall is closed, however, the scorpionfish doubles, as it is also reproduced on the shutter in negative, white on black. Seny is the new fish restaurant-stall-bar by chef Carles Ramon (Barcelona, 1986).

On the journey that separates the ultra-modern Istanbul airport from Sile, the small coastal town about 70 kilometers from the city, there is a constant gaze that appears everywhere. We find it on flags and banners. It is that of Mustafa Kemal, better known as Atatürk. If the father of all Turks is an ever-present figure, today he is even more so. It is August 30th and they are celebrating Victory Day. In 1922, the Turks defeated Greek forces at the Battle of Dumlupinar, a key military milestone for the birth of modern Turkey. But talking about the 20s of the last century is like talking about the day before yesterday, considering the past of the land where we find ourselves. The very town of Sile, which also gives its name to the district, already existed in 700 BC. Since then, they have been a fishing village facing the Black Sea. With a lighthouse that has guided sailors since the Ottoman period. This region, now turned into a summer holiday area for the people of the great metropolis, keeps many things intact: its forests, the quality of the products offered thanks to the rich soil, and the weight of craftsmanship. Here, a historical event that happened more than a hundred years ago is younger than the yeast with which Mrs. Fatma makes her vinegar, which is 200 years old.

If you have had the luck to visit Japan, you may have experienced the feeling of seeing that there are many things that escape you. And instead of feeling overwhelmed by the situation, you feel the comfort of knowing that you find yourself in a complex cultural framework in which you are ignorant and that, even if you were to stay there to live forever, you could never fully unravel it. An ancestral sediment that goes beyond understanding and for which you can only feel respect and admiration. This happens with millenary cultures. That is why, when I set foot in Axpe, in Atxondo, to visit the Txispa restaurant, suddenly it makes a lot of sense that Basque and Japanese culture have understood each other so well. The Basques are one of the oldest and most resilient peoples in the world, and here Tetsuro Maeda has found his home.

We were already in tomato injury time –they are practically the last ones of the season–, and Roger Viñas has used them to prepare a wonderful gazpacho. He tells me that people don't ask for it much, even though the tomatoes are from Xavier Carbó, from the Mas Rabassa agricultural estate, in Sant Genís de Palafolls. "If only they knew," I say to myself. And the lamb meatballs? They are from Cal Tomàs, in La Pobla de Segur. Meatballs made of lean organic Xisqueta lamb served with a bread and garlic sauce. A perfect dish: for its quality and the values it conveys. You will find all of this on Passeig de Sant Joan in Barcelona.

What a discovery, dear readers. I arrived there because a restorer expert in spoon cooking recommended it on Instagram. I thought: "If he says so, it must be tasted". It is a small, simple, and charming place in Barceloneta. Finally, I have a favorite spot to go eat rice in the seaside neighborhood. A new establishment, since it is only a year and a half old, but it feels like a restaurant that has always been there. Ideal for those who like to dip bread, for those who slurp shells and do not mind getting their fingers dirty, and for people who know that eating is so important that time must be dedicated to it. This week I present to you the Casa Maians.

If you ask a Basque person, they will tell you that cod is a key ingredient in their gastronomy. A Catalan person can tell you the same. What would become of us without 'esqueixada'? It is such an important fish that it has its own shops. Not to mention the Portuguese, who boast of having a recipe for it for every day of the year. But the most curious thing of all is that in our waters there is not a single cod. This fish is the only one that is habitually consumed on all five continents. And its trade, experts claim, changed humanity. But now this healthy protein aimed at the working classes is in danger.

Very close to Plaça Osca there is a charming tavern. Casual. With a nice patio in the back, very cozy. Like "a Balinese space without Buddhas," they describe it. And with an offer that you will not find anywhere else. Catalan cuisine with an Indonesian finish. I ended up there without knowing anything about it, other than that it was called Bitxo. And once I had the menu in my hands I said "hey, we are in an interesting place." It didn't take me long to figure out where the talent came from. And then I understood everything.

Forty years is no small feat. That is why Joan Roca appeared before the audience at the San Sebastián Gastronomika congress to explain how El Celler de Can Roca has celebrated and will celebrate these four decades of the Girona restaurant's life. One of the cornerstones will be an extraordinary (and long, despite being small bites) 40-dish menu to pay homage to the restaurant's 40 years.

"The first time I went to Peru I fell in love with Gastón Acurio. Thanks to him, children were dressed as chefs, and not in Messi shirts," says Ferran Adrià, who recalls that cooking is a social weapon and that no one has exemplified this better than the Peruvian chef. "I supported him, and people thought that the Peruvian government was paying me a fortune. I never charged anything; it was a matter of affection. And today here as well, because there is affection with the Velasco family. The father and the son."

We are in the Sierra de Gredos. We have seen the devastation of the fire while heading to the vineyard. This summer, this landscape has been razed by the flames. But also by the political apathy that has allowed this territory to be drained by the great city of Madrid. There are no farmers. The forests are not managed. And, of course, it is not the first time the land has burned. In 2019, another great fire affected the region. Quim Vila, co-owner of the wine distributor Vila Viniteca, has vines planted there. He and his partner Siscu Martí had the vision that there was something special in this land. "It was love at first sight," says Vila, who knew how to see a buried potential that would explode. And so it was. Now we will get there. But first, the flames.

“We are just getting the stall started,” says Ton Díaz. In a corner of the Ninot market in Barcelona’s Eixample district, Tonet del Mercat—or just Tonet—has been set up for a few weeks now. It bears Ton Díaz’s name because he is the axis around which this project revolves, based on nose-to-tail cooking, such as offal and other meat by-products. “This week we are adding sweetbreads and kidneys with sherry and onions,” says a thrilled Díaz.

Virgilio Martínez (Lima, 1977) is one of the most renowned chefs in the world. His restaurant Central, in Lima, was considered the best in the world in 2023. It was a milestone that no one had ever achieved in Latin America. And he achieved it by placing at the center the ingredients used in all the ecosystems and altitudes of Peru. Many of them, safeguarded by indigenous communities. “When I was a child, they told me that these people were poor. Later I understood that they were rich,” says the chef. In addition to Central, he has the Mil restaurant, where he cooks Andean cuisine at 3,800 meters, and a multidisciplinary knowledge center called Mater. Martínez speaks to ARA at the Andorra Taste congress, dedicated to high-mountain gastronomy, where he was awarded the career achievement award. An award previously received by Michel Bras, Gastón Acurio, Ferran Adrià, and Carme Ruscalleda.

These are major festival days in the city (with the permission of Santa Eulàlia). So, I am taking the opportunity to make a list of highly recommended restaurants in the city of Barcelona. A question I am asked very often is “what is your top 10 restaurants in Barcelona”. I am not a big fan of rankings. Besides, there are too many factors that make them impossible to compare. To go with a partner? To celebrate an anniversary? To go with children? What budget are we talking about? So, take this compilation as a handful of restaurants that I encourage you to visit.