According to Madrid Fusion they are the future of glorious Basque cuisine: Javi Rivero and Gorka Rico have reinvented the neighborhood tavern, mixing rural flavors and creative spirit, technique, identity, and elegance.
The news
Having just been awarded the Revelation of the Year Award by Madrid Fusiòn, they have already been dubbed "the grandchildren of the new Basque cuisine." We're talking about Javi Rivero and Gorka Rico of Ama in Toulouse, young and fresh but already seem well on their way to picking up the baton from Arzak and Subijana, Arbelaitz and Berasategui, to Elkano, Arguinzoniz, Atxa and Aduriz.
@Inigo Royo
Originally from two villages just 5 kilometers apart, the two met at the Basque Culinary Center and never left each other. In 2018 came the first Ama, immediately aiming for a democratic format that would reinvent the "taberna cercana," meaning the old neighborhood trattoria. Here Rivero gradually moved to the dining room, while Rico continued to manage the kitchen with some strategic help. And the satisfactions were not long in coming, from inclusion among the 30 Best Young Chefs in Spain to the title of First Counter by Pintxos.
Then there was Madrid... "We were quiet, because the front-runners were others. Instead, hearing our name, we exploded," recall the two, "happy but overwrought": indeed, the award comes at a time of profound professional change, while Berazubi's new restaurant is being set up, due to open in March. However, already minutes after the proclamation, the phones have been ringing off the hook with a flood of reservations. They touched 100 for twice as many covers. "We're swamped. We thought we would close at carnival so we could prepare for the move slowly, but we will stay open to serve people."
Physically and arithmetically, it seems almost impossible, since the current twelve-square-meter venue in the center of town accommodates a maximum of twenty people, plus a little extra in the heated outdoor patio. Dimensions that have allowed the duo to make no compromises, either on the care of the dish or in sourcing artisanal and local raw materials, including drinks and cider. All for a tasting menu that costs 65 euros (but survives a la carte). "We use meats from forgotten animals such as donkey, horse, sheep, and rabbit, which we want to enhance. We love humble vegetables, teaching people where each ingredient comes from and how it should be treated."
In the new location, something will change so that nothing will change, there will always be 25 covers, with an open kitchen and the cooks serving on the table explaining every detail of the dishes, for a total of five people on the team. "We were born as a tavern, but we think that as a restaurant we will be able to defend the territory better, and with the previous model we could not communicate everything we wanted. It was a decision that required a lot of effort and sacrifice. Above all, it was difficult to say goodbye to old customers."
Source: elpais.com
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