San Sebastián is the centre of Basque cuisine and has a particularly high concentration of chefs with Michelin stars. The Arzak restaurant has had three stars since 1989 and is run by legendary chef Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena Arzak, one of the best chefs in the world.

The history of the restaurant is also the history of the Arzak family, who have now been running the establishment for four generations. It all started when Juan Mari's grandfather opened a small taverna with a wine cellar in San Sebastián, the capital of the Basque province Gipuzkoa, at the end of the 19th century. 
When Juan Mari's parents took over, they redesigned the space bit-by-bit into a restaurant and it quickly became clear to their son and, in turn, to his daughter that this should be the centre of their life. However, before Elena Arzak finally joined the family business she gained experience at the Swiss School of Hotel Management in Lucerne, with top European chefs Pierre Gagnaire and Michel Bras and then with Ferran Adrià, head chef of the legendary El Bulli.

The secret of good cuisine, according to the Arzaks, is in the love of preparation and in daily research and development of aromas and textures. The Arzak family's creations are ground-breaking and surprising, but they never abandon the regional traditions because, not least, good cuisine is also a general expression of the Basque attitude to life. The Basques are proud of their country, their culture and their culinary roots and they love to share their attachment to home with one another. The men in particular meet regularly in small cooking societies, the "Sociedades Gastronómicas".

We are thrilled to be able to welcome the three-star chef Elena Arzak to the CHEF-SACHE 2011, where she will give us an understanding of the Basque cuisine and attitude to life.

ARZAK restaurant

Avda. Alcalde Jose Elosegui, 273 - 20015 Donostia / San Sebastián - Spain

phone: 0034 943-278465/285593 - fax: 0034 943-272753

Visit Elena Arzak at the restaurant Arzak: www.arzak.info