Utterly unsurpassable perfection. Martín personifies perfection like no other chef in the world. Certainly there are other chefs that provide greater intellectual stimulation but few, if any at all, provide greater satisfaction of flavor. Berasategui boasts a privileged palatal gift, almost divine, along with mental erudition, marvelous technique and a meticulousness that is virtually infallible.
Martín has become a classic that recreates and reinvents his work. A classic that, never ceasing to renovate his work, lingers in flavors that are as well-known as they are refined and substantial. Delicate dishes with depth, as deep as they are delicate. Always immaculate. Purity and exuberance, exuberant nuances, with each formula reflecting painstaking work, a multitude of staged elements, unprecedented complexity yet not detracting one bit from the purity, where each of the many components still expressing their natural identity. Berasategui represents excellence. For many chefs, he is the Robuchon of our time.
In keeping with this, his time-tested masterpieces must always form part of the ideal menu: caramelized mille-feuille of smoked eel and foie gras; oyster with watercress, arugula and apple chlorophyll; vegetable marrow salad with shellfish; apple gelatin with sautéed tubers, celeriac cream, Jerusalem artichoke and salsifies, ice cream made from these vegetables and a mustard sandwich; country egg with beet, liquid herb salad and stewed carpaccio, among others. And the most recent, clairvoyant creations, among which includes a groundbreaking, even daring articulation in his impressive monographic ensemble: fennel tagliatelle, where the little pasta is presented like risotto with an emulsion. Equally stimulating was the chilled basil essence with green beans, lime sorbet, ice-blended juniper and hints of raw almond… a magnanimous exhibition of intense, refreshing sensations. Martín is the finest restaurant patissier in the world.
The cheese bonbon with carabaña oil, endives, red onion juice, pancetta and pig ear demonstrates the quintessence of gourmand, made subtle by the artist. And to bring the message home, the red mullet with crystallized scales, pig tail, white chocolate juice and seaweed–more majestic than ever, as is the spit-roasted squab…
