Any chef with a vast store of gastronomic knowledge should recognize the quality and extraordinary variety Spanish cuisine has to offer. Perhaps that explains the frustration among chefs who, after traveling extensively, see what happens in places where the ingredients on offer should be a far better reflection of a country’s culinary talent.
That was the point made by Ferran Adrià during his recent appearance at the Turium International Forum 2026 in Madrid. The celebrated Spanish chef championed homegrown produce and criticized the prevalence of imported food at four- and five-star hotels. Visitors come to Spain, stay somewhere prestigious – and then find that the food they are served is not Spanish. For Adrià, that simply does not make sense.
A closer look at food in Spanish hotels
“I don’t understand how, at breakfast in four- or five-star hotels, most of the products aren’t Spanish. They have balsamic vinegar from Modena… Can you imagine an Italian hotel having sherry vinegar? Not even in the movies,” lamented the renowned chef, who received the Turium Connecting Excellence Award 2026 at the event.
Aldara Zarraoa
The former driving force behind El Bulli, the restaurant famous for revolutionizing both the dining experience and contemporary cuisine, also said he would like guests at three-star hotels to be able to “have a really good breakfast and eat well, within the price range.” He also defended restaurants offering experiences at “a price that as many people as possible can afford.”
Along those lines, Adrià suggested hotels could aim for half of their breakfast products to be Spanish, although he acknowledged that making such a proposal a reality would be difficult. “Things aren’t easy. After 45 years in this business, I know how difficult the administration, the laws and all of this can be,” he said, revealing that a Spanish prime minister had even once offered him the chance to tackle such a problem himself.
“He told me, ‘Well, I’ll put a chair here for you and you can sort it out. And I’ll pay you very well.’ It’s very easy to criticize, criticize and criticize,” Adrià admitted, acknowledging the enormous complexity involved in introducing changes in an industry affected by so many different factors.
These days, Adrià speaks from the outside, removed from the restaurant world but with the perspective of someone who once reached its very summit. “I take very good care of myself and I really like restaurants. I don’t have a car, and my wife makes me buy clothes every two or three years,” he said, recalling his early days at El Bulli, when he worked 16-hour days for 330 days a year.
He would not change any of it: “I don’t know anyone who has gone far by working without putting in a lot of hours.”
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Dining and Cooking