- The renowned Cantabrian chef, who has been running the Gallery by Chele restaurant for 10 years in Manila, is coming to Madrid to present his new recipe on 29 January at 5.55pm in the Madrid Fusion Food from Spain Auditorium.
- In his talk he will share “The unknown face of cocoa” and will propose to the audience to understand it as a tropical fruit and not only as chocolate, revealing its magic, as well as new applications to take advantage of this ingredient.
- More than 220 speakers and more than 1,800 congress participants will gather at the most ambitious edition of Madrid Fusión The twenty-second edition of Madrid Fusión Food from Spain will be the most international and with the most content in the history of the gastronomic summit.
- With his high-level territorial cuisine, Chele González is the first Spaniard to enter the prestigious Asia ‘s 50 Best Restaurant list with his restaurant Gallery by Chele, and was elected Chef of the Year by Tatler Dining Philippines in 2023.
- The Cantabrian chef is also known in the Philippines as “The Innovative Chef”, due to his personal relationship with the growers, producers, breeders, manufacturers and communities of the different regions of a country with more than 7,000 islands.
Madrid, January 18th, 2024. Understanding cocoa in a different way, not only as chocolate, but also as a tropical fruit, revealing its unknown side. This is the challenge that Spanish chef Chele González will pose to his audience on 29 January at 17.55h at Madrid Fusión.
More than 220 speakers and more than 1,800 congress participants will gather at the most ambitious edition of Madrid Fusión The twenty-second edition of Madrid Fusión Food from Spain will be the most international and with the most content in the history of the gastronomic summit.
With a cuisine that he calls anthropological, this Cantabrian chef has revolutionised the gastronomic map of the Philippines, introducing haute cuisine to Manila and reinterpreting the local culinary culture through local products and European techniques.
“Connecting with my homeland, with my Spanish roots, participating once again in such a prestigious congress as Madrid Fusion, is a dream come true for me. It fills me with pride to see what Spain represents today in terms of innovation and gastronomic avant-garde in the world, and also to be able to tell in my country what I have been developing for ten years in a place that has welcomed me as well as the Philippines”, says the Cantabrian chef about his imminent arrival in our country.
Chele González has become the first Spaniard to enter the prestigious Asia ‘s 50 Best Restaurant list with his restaurant Gallery by Chele, and was named Chef of the Year by Tatler Dining Philippines in 2023.
About José Luis “Chele” González
Born in Torrelavega, Cantabria, Spain, he graduated in cooking in Artxanda, Bilbao. He worked in some of the world’s most renowned restaurants, such as Nerua, El Bulli, Arzak, Mugaritz and El Celler de Can Roca, which have honed his approach to cooking into a philosophy, revolving around his passion for discovery, along with his deep and abiding respect for local culture, products, flavours and culinary techniques.
Chele Gonzalez came to the Philippines guided by his adventurous spirit, where he worked in the kitchens of some of the country’s finest hotels, including Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts and Sofitel. Eventually, he decided to put his particular approach to gastronomy to the test and created Gallery Vask (now Gallery by Chele), which has become one of the most distinguished restaurants in the Philippines, and was recognised as the best restaurant in the Philippines by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2016 and 2017, being also the first Spanish chef to enter the Asian list.
Throughout his career, Chele González has accumulated a long list of awards and recognitions. The most recent, as Chef of the Year, according to Tatler Dining Philippines magazine (2023). The Cantabrian chef is also known in the Philippines as “The Innovative Chef”, due to his personal relationship with the growers, producers, breeders, manufacturers and communities of the different regions of a country with more than 7,000 islands.
Having developed different restaurant concepts located in major Philippine cities, Chele Gonzalez also spends time researching in his test kitchen, Studio Lab, his centre of creation and innovation, where he works alongside his culinary partner, Carlos Villaflor. He is also currently the culinary and creative director of one of the country’s most reputable restaurant consultancies, Adviche Inc.
Outside the kitchen, Chele maintains his adventurous spirit. He travels the world, constantly searching, learning and discovering. As an explorer, his goal is to bring the collaborative spirit of his restaurants to the world.
After a decade of excellence and constant culinary research, the Spanish chef who previously toured the kitchens of some of the world’s most renowned restaurants, such as Andra Mari, Arzak, El Bulli, El Celler de Can Roca, Nerua-Guggenheim and Mugaritz, returns to the stage of Madrid Fusion to reveal the new uses and products that can be obtained from cocoa, interpreting it as a fruit and using all its components, to reduce the discarding of them.
“Connecting with my homeland, with my Spanish roots, participating once again in such a prestigious congress as Madrid Fusion, is a dream come true for me. It fills me with pride to see what Spain represents today in terms of innovation and gastronomic avant-garde in the world, and also to be able to tell in my country what I have been developing for ten years in a place that has welcomed me as well as the Philippines”, says the Cantabrian chef about his imminent arrival in our country.
With its tireless commitment to culinary excellence, Gallery by Chele celebrated in 2023 a decade marked by innovation and the enhancement of the local. The restaurant continues to be a benchmark of sustainable practices, highlighting the authentic flavours of the Philippines in every dish prepared. A decade of transcendence, fusing the avant-garde vision of Chef Chele Gonzalez with the richness of traditional cuisine.
About Gallery by Chele
In 2013, Chele González and architect Carlo Calma teamed up to create a distinct restaurant that would stand apart from conventional dining establishments in the Philippines and provide a variety of immersive experiences. The Spanish chef, born in Santander (Cantabria), wondered how to contribute to the increasingly demanding and sophisticated Philippine food scene. Aware of the vibrant food community in his adopted country, he immersed himself in Filipino culture and explored its diverse regions.
For 40 days, he explored remote areas of the Philippines, learning about the local cuisine, ingredients and environments. With the knowledge gained and the inspiration from his travels, Chele Gonzalez and Carlo Calma decided to offer a proposal they called anthropological gastronomy to their diners, reflecting the chef’s love for the Philippines.
Thus was born Gallery Vask, later renamed Gallery by Chele, a place where customers could see, hear, smell, feel and taste the art of the Spanish chef’s food using Filipino products. The restaurant entered Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list (#39) in 2016 and rose to #35 in just one year.
In 2015 Chele Gonzalez participated in Madrid Fusion Manila and in 2016 in Madrid Fusion, highlighting sustainable Filipino cooking practices. She also collaborates with local chefs to raise the country’s gastronomic standards. He has conducted in-depth studies on local rice, the impact of the galleon trade and the cultural aspect of Filipino food, while maintaining strict sustainability standards. Oceana’s “Save the Oceans, Feed the World” project allowed him to explore the sustainability of seafood.
Throughout its evolution, Gallery by Chele has celebrated the diversity of ingredients and collaborated with world-renowned chefs such as Andoni Luis Aduriz, Josean Aliija, Elena Arzak, Andre Chiang, Virgilio Martinez, Yoshihiro Narisawa, Julien Royer, among many others.
The restaurant’s kitchen and research teams work permanently with local communities to perfect traditional techniques and skills, defending the cuisine of the territory.
Over the course of a decade, the Gallery by Chele kitchen team has matured and honed their craft with finesse. Gonzalez and Calma have transformed the restaurant into a real gem of the local scene, noted for its ambience, its gastronomic proposal and its excellent service, which positions it in a relevant place also at an international level.
Imágenes en este LINK
USEFUL INFORMATION
Website
www.gallerybychele.com
Social Media
@gallerybychele
#gallerybychele
PRESS CONTACT
To arrange interviews or request more information
Vanessa Kroop
vanessak@mateoandco.es / M: +34608849809