Is a single Michelin star worth hiring a celebrity chef? At Club Allard in Madrid, they are convinced it is not and are replacing Berasategui with a young chef from the brigade. But the basque chef doesn't stand for it and accuses, "I have never received a single euro of remuneration, I have even paid out of my own pocket for grill, plates and transfers."
Cover photo for representative purposes: the chef in his restaurant in Tenerife, EFE credits
The news
Complaints and accusations about underpayment in the restaurant industry are nothing new. Now, however, the ill-conduct is affecting one of the world's leading chefs and the most Michelin-starred of Spaniards - Martin Berasategui. He had arrived in Madrid just over a year ago to bring Club Allard to its usual success. And in fact after just eight months, he was already awarded a Michelin star.
The establishment had been sailing in bad waters for some time, to put it mildly: abandoned in 2013 by gastronomic director Diego Guerrero, who had taken it to the two stars, it had seen Maria Marte, José Carlos Fuentes, and Christian Rubina take turns at the stove, none of whom had taken root. The hiring of a celebrity chef such as Berasategui in March 2023 seemed likely to set things right, so much so that a Michelin star showed up on time for the roll call in November, thanks in part to resident chef José Maria Goñi. Then the disaster, unveiled by the great basque chef in an interview with El Pais.
"I had to leave, not because the project failed or Madrid rejected me, but because they simply haven't paid me a single euro yet. I feel deeply disgusted. I've been working in the industry for 49 years, and this had never happened to me. I accomplished the goals we set with great celerity. I put the best of teams at the head of the project, sought out the best suppliers, and gave everything so that the collaboration could go forward."
The chef and much of the brigade followed Berasategui. "There was a first-rate team with great responsibility. Who would hold up for a year and a half, shelling out everything out of their own pocket? I had no reimbursement for travel to Madrid, nor for the Rosenthal dishes, which I brought so that there would be beautiful tableware, nor for the grill, which is also mine. All to make our dreams come true, too bad there are people who forget to pay." He doesn't name any, but he blames a business community that doesn't know the industry. "There are people who covet Olympic medals, without ever having touched water." All that matters now is forgetting and moving on, because, he says, honesty has always served him well.
This is not the first casualty for him in Madrid (back in 2021 he had to close Etxeco, which had opened two years earlier), but his Michelin-stars remain eleven: three in Lasarte and Barcelona, two in Tenerife, one in Bilbao, Barcelona again, and Ibiza. But projects in Mallorca, Rome and Tokyo are already in the works. For his part, owner Antonio Chavarri told the newspaper that the contract was only for one year, but the economic downturn would not allow it to be renewed in May because of huge management costs. The separation would still be amicable. Now the baton of command in the kitchen passes to Juan Rodero, who was already part of the team. "Because we believe in young talent and the costs are significantly lower. We may lose the star, but I am confident we will keep it because of the quality of the proposal."
