Michelin-starred restaurant La Salita, by Begoña Rodrigo, Best Vegetable Chef in Europe, has just been awarded the third Sun by the Repsol Guide at the gala held tonight, March 4th, in Cartagena (Spain): maximum distinction and the only one delivered in the edition.
- The distinction pays tribute to the gastronomic proposal of chef Begoña Rodrigo at La Salita, who defends an orchard cuisine, through the recipes of the interior of the Valencian land and his passion for the vegetable world, with acidity as a common thread.
- A persistence to enhance the vegetable universe that led the chef to be recognized, at the end of 2023, as the Best Female Vegetable Chef in Europe and second best in the world, by the association We’re Smart World.
- The third Repsol Sun rewards, according to the criteria of the guide, those who reflect, through their cuisine, a depth of knowledge and technique in their kitchen, a desire to excel, a daily work with producers, an exceptional wine cellar and a front-of-house that is always alert.
- Begoña Rodrigo receives the recognition with great happiness, involving the whole team, from the dining room, to her cocktail bar COOKTL, or her wine cellar – with great relevance in her proposal- to the local producers with whom she collaborates, as well as the customers.
- A third sun that is released to the beat of the new vegetable charcuterie at La Salita, with which the chef seeks to surprise in flavors and textures through the pumpkin sobrasada, marinated turnip cane, or the celery root pastrami, among other proposals.
- La Salita, located in an eighteenth-century palace in the heart of Valencia, received the Michelin star in 2019, the same year in which also came the second Repsol Sun award, which now expands to welcome the highest recognition guide.
Cartagena, March 4, 2024. The gastronomic proposal of La Salita, in Valencia, with a Michelin star and led by its chef and owner Begoña Rodrigo, received this evening its third Repsol Sun award during the gala held in Cartagena, being the highest recognition of the guide and the only one awarded in this edition.
The recognition to a proposal focused on the vegetable world.
The third Sun Repsol award is presented as a tribute to the work that the chef has been doing for years in her restaurant, where she defends a kitchen garden and interior recipes of the Valencian land, transmitting her passion for the vegetable world, with acidity as a common thread.
In this way, the chef rescues the flavors of her land of origin and works the taste memory through roots, tubers and vegetables that are presented as the main protagonists of her proposal. In her dishes, Begoña looks for the freshest part through the bushes, herbs, truffles, and rescues products of the Valencian orchard that have been forgotten or discarded, respecting the times of the seasons.
In raw foods, stews, even in the sweet part, the products of the garden are present in a range of elaborations. In addition, the chef elaborates her own vinegars and pickles, with which, through trial and error, she has worked to define the exact point of acidity in her dishes.
Her persistent work to promote the vegetable universe led the chef, at the end of 2023, to be named Best Female Vegetable Chef in Europe and second best in the world, by the green guide We’re Smart World, among a selection of 10 women chefs.
A distinction beyond the dish: the relevance of local production, the cocktail bar and the wine cellar.
The third Sun Repsol award, and the only one given in the edition, comes to reward as the guide itself states «those who reflect, through their cuisine, a depth of knowledge and technique and a constant desire to improve, a daily work with producers in the definition of raw materials, an exceptional wine cellar and a from-of-house that is always alert.»
In this way, the Repsol Guide maintains a rating system based on parameters such as the integral customer experience, the use of local products, the technical capacity of the dining room team or the coherence of the projects, reflected both in the kitchen and the cellar.
This is precisely what La Salita seeks, through a gastronomic wisdom that extends beyond its cuisine to the joint work and commitment of all parties involved. Begoña is clear about this and receives the recognition with great happiness, involving the whole team – from the kitchen, the dining room, to her wine cellar and her cocktail bar COOKTL – to local producers and customers.
In this sense, Begoña actively collaborates with local producers, with whom she jointly develops new crops, experimenting with varieties of mushrooms, chili peppers, edible flowers or mini vegetables.
The third Sun Repsol award is premiered at the same time as the vegetable sausages
The third Sun Repsol award, and the only one awarded in this edition, illuminates La Salita to the rhythm of the premiere of its vegetable sausages, with which the chef seeks to surprise in textures and formats through the pumpkin sobrasada, marinated turnip cane, celery root pastrami or pate of mushrooms and radish cane, among other proposals.
With them, the chef wants the diner to get excited about vegetables and discover the power of their flavor, without the need to avoid the contribution of animal proteins. «A format that enhances the appearance, flavor and texture of vegetables, sometimes wrongly reviled for being overcooked. We look for the perfect cooking point, so that the fructose does not come out when it shouldn’t.» – declares the chef.
They are part of the new menus with which the chef starts the season; «Sangoreneta», which also includes scenes from the Mediterranean Sea, through its fish and seafood, and a renewed «Novença» menu. They will also be available in the next menus, not yet released: a new vegetarian menu that will rise as the culmination of an alternative that has been offered for more than 15 years and a «Classics» menu with the most emblematic recipes of each season for the 18th anniversary of the restaurant.
Other information
About Begoña Rodrigo
Born in Valencia in August of 1975, Begoña Rodrigo is a self- taught chef who did not enter the world of cuisine in a conventional way.
She studied industrial engineering, but at the age of 20 she travelled to Amsterdam in search of an experience. She began cooking in 1995 at the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel under the orders of Nick Reade, and for eight years she worked in the Netherlands while traveling around the world in search of new flavors.
In 2003 she moved to London where to work at Aquarium. Two years later she returned to her hometown, and after a few months at «La Sucursal» (1* Michelin), she opened her first restaurant, La Salita, in November 2005.
Despite being pure character, inside and outside the kitchen, Begoña Rodrigo likes being a host and defines La Salita, as «a space where illusions, dreams and respect are possible». After 10 years touring the world she moved back to Valencia to inaugurate her restaurant, which today is also her home. She is an inspiring, real woman with strong and clear ideas.
Her effort to recover the recipe book of her land, her exhaustive search for the best local product, and the balance, technique and beauty of each dish, are a reflection of the overwhelming personality of Begoña Rodrigo in the kitchen.
About The Restaurant
In November 2005, chef Begoña Rodrigo opened ‘La Salita’ in Valencia, her most personal project with which she sought to convey everything that had been assimilated throughout her career. Fourteen years later, she was awarded with her first Michelin star.
Currently located within a wonderful palace in the district of Ruzafa in Valencia, the restaurant La Salita embodies the fruits of perseverance, effort and dedication. For years, chef Begoña Rodrigo dreamed of moving her Salita to this building packed with history.
The building
The space reflects the light of Valencia. With an exterior terrace in which guests can enjoy the first appetizers of the menu when the sun is out, and, inside, a dining room in two floors. The wine cellar occupies an room that maintains its original structure and wooden beams. The rest of the space also preserves some elements of the original construction, such as the wooden doors, or the ceramic floors.
Within this refuge, chef Begoña Rodrigo upholds her roots, her territory, her identity.
For such, she relies on an extensive network of orchards, farmers with name and surname, and whose advice she fully trusts to later develop complex recipes from the most interesting products that her land has to offer.
La Salita Restaurant
Carrer de Pere III el Gran, 11 46005 València Valencia
Reservations +34 609 33 07 60
Open Mondays to Saturdays
Lunch from 13h30 to 14h45 Dinner from 20h00 to 21h30
WEBSITE: restaurantalasalita.com EMAIL: lasalita@anarkiagroup.com
PRESS CONTACT Mateo&co
Beatriz de la Fuente
Project Manager Comunication
tel: +34 902 100 219
m: 696 044 148