Javier Olleros, a MICHELIN-Starred chef, is a symbol of Galician local cuisine. His intuitive style and thoughtful, knowledgeable dishes have earned him two MICHELIN Stars and a Green Star for his restaurant "Culler de Pau."
Born in 1974, originally from Galicia but raised in Lucerne, Switzerland, Javi Olleros developed a passion for food in his father's restaurant. He began his studies at the Lamas de Abade catering school in Santiago de Compostela and gained experience in the kitchens of "Casa Solla," Toñi Vicente, Arola at "La Broche" (Madrid), Martín Berasategui at "Bica do Sapato" (Lisbon), "Balzac" (Madrid), Zallo Barri (Gernika), and in the world of Seiji Yamamoto (Tokyo). During his second year of professional training, he clashed with a teacher, proving that there's nothing wrong with failing or discovering a vocation late. "You have to fly and make some mistakes, give yourself time, because everything arrives. I hated books, and when I discovered cooking, botany, and other things that interested me, I threw myself into studying, training, and doing internships in many places and of course in my father's kitchen, where I learned the most."
Together with Amaranta Rodríguez, his wife, since 2009 he has been running "Culler de Pau" (Galician for "wooden spoon") in O Grove, his hometown. The idea was always to create a small restaurant and live on the top floor. She wasn't from the hospitality sector, but they decided the best way to reconcile was to share the infernal rhythms of the business. Initially, they didn't think about Stars, but about being profitable. They were four in the restaurant, and the challenge was to convince the Galician public to understand Olleros' cuisine to aspire to higher goals. Despite MICHELIN not being so focused on vegetable-centric restaurants at the time, the first Star arrived in 2012 and the second in 2020.
The Green Star was awarded for the restaurant's organic garden, started in the year of the first Star. But Olleros insists that he is not a farmer or a businessman, but a chef, and that neither the garden nor the greenhouse were born to be self-sufficient. "We buy every type of vegetable from our local suppliers in even greater quantities than before, because they are the ones who have supported us from the beginning." The activity of "Culler de Pau" also feeds on all the research work he does in projects where he collaborates with other producers and organizations like the CSIC.
In 13 years of operation, the restaurant has grown and changed: new spaces have been created, like the research lab where the team meets, the cellar (with more than 500 references, 60% of which are from Galicia), the fermentation room, and the production area. However, the nine tables with which it started have been maintained.
