He has conquered the Buenos Aires food scene with a "casual fine dining" format and an "indie" cuisine based on fusion. Let’s discover who Julio Báez is, propelled by the 50 Best into the Latin American culinary world.
The news
The Argentinian gastronomic scene continues to grow thanks to a brood of young talents. The newest kid on the block is Julio Báez, who, after being noticed for his first venture, a small "casual fine dining" establishment called Julia, has just opened a second restaurant, Franca, which seats seventy guests.
@Fernando de la Orden
It was his savings that allowed him to open Julia. "I was thirty-three years old, and I could lose everything. I had put together a small sum after leaving the Sofitel hotel, and I had confidence in my professional abilities. I started alone in the kitchen with one person serving in the dining room. Thanks to this minimal structure, I didn't need to generate a lot of revenue: the break-even point to survive was 5 guests per day."
Today, the team has grown to six people, but the cuisine still maintains its "indie" style, which means above all a feeling of freedom in combining Asian, American, and European influences. The number of seats hasn’t increased, remaining at 22 per service, or 440 per month, making getting a table quite a feat. "In 2022, we entered the 50 Best Latin America, and, on our website, we received 11,400 reservations in one hour. This means being fully booked for two whole years."
A plate from Julia Buenos Aires
Hence the decision to open a second venue in partnership with Martin Feler, Franca, where sommelier Delvis Huck and resident chef Mercedes Ferraro work. "With Julia, I was happy, but I have been renting since I was eighteen years old, and it would be wonderful to one day have a property of my own. To achieve that, I had to transform myself into a restaurateur. At the same time, every chef always has ideas that they don't know where to apply. Franca is the answer." Today, the offer includes a wine selection (15 glasses and 90 bottles chosen by Delvis) and a barbecue-inspired gastronomic proposal, served at the counter. "For me, all restaurants in Argentina should include wood fire, which is part of our DNA. We make a lot from vegetables, with some meat and fish along with fire as a transformational factor."
Although the dishes, in different versions, can circulate osmotically from one side to the other, the concepts remain distinct. "At Julia, we are obsessed with detail. I always talk about it with the chefs: in Argentina, we all use the same products, according to the season, from San Juan asparagus to La Plata artichokes; the difference comes from what you create with each of them. At Julia, we work to ensure that the dish is beautiful, precise, creative, and well-executed technically. Above all, it must be tasty."
@Fernando de la Orden
At the age of thirty-seven, Báez leads a generation that is facing tumultuous changes, starting with work relationships. "I try to be fair: I have been a restaurant owner for four years, but I have spent much more time on the side of the employees. I know that those who come to work, after that, want to have a life. It's normal, what we all hope for. To earn enough money to live and have time for friends or family, personally, I don't ask for more." And in fact, the working days at Julia never exceed nine hours, but even at Franca the goal remains the same. "I know what it means to work fifteen hours in a row, I did it for many years and it's what brought me here, I'm not complaining. I believe that young people have the energy. I know that you grow by working, especially in the kitchen, where repetition counts. But I also understand that after the pandemic the paradigm is changing. That's why so many people are having staffing problems."
Source: Siete Canibales
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Cover photo: @Fernando de la Orden
