Madrid enshrines young Argentine chef Juan d'Onofrio, who conquered Spain by becoming the youngest person to earn a mention in a guidebook.
The story
Juan d'Onofrio's love affair with cooking was not a bolt from the blue at an early age, but is a match born out of a “more mature love,” if you can call it that, given his 26 years of age! "When I finished school I became interested in advertising and started attending college, but I soon realized I didn't like it completely and dropped out. At that point, I spent a lot of time at home and realized that I didn't know how to cook. So I started taking an amateur cooking class in Buenos Aires and the teacher immediately pointed out that I was very good and that I could have a future,“ the chef confides in an interview with Infobae Spain.
No mother or grandmother hands-on at the stove, then, but a cooking course was the spark of a “late” love, which, however, forged ahead, consecrating d'Onofrio as the youngest chef to be mentioned in the Michelin guide in Spain. That course in Argentina was only the beginning of the Argentine chef's course of study and training; soon after, in fact, he enrolled at the Lycée School (Buenos Aires) to study cooking, and then flew to Barcelona, the perfect setting to find a culinary theater in constant turmoil. In Spain, Juan continued his training and began working alongside such high-profile names as chef Álvaro Garrido, Mina* (Bilbao) and at Santceloni (Madrid). Then, when the pandemic struck, he decided to return to his homeland to work alongside chef Dante Liporace (formerly ElBulli) at Mercado de Liniers restaurant.
However, the lure of the Iberian Peninsula - which would prove to be the promised land for his desires - was irresistible, so in 2022 he returned to Madrid for a new adventure: to open Chispa Bistrò, initially with friend Gabriel Sordè, now with sommelier Ismael Alvarez. The pair of friends, strengthened by their experiences, tenacity and talent, immediately proved successful, and within a year and a half of opening received the first Sol Repsol, only to be listed in the Michelin guide. Since its debut, Chispa Bistrò has won the favor of the public, as well as colleagues and collaborators: “As for suppliers, colleagues, the public... everything here is very ramified, Madrid is like a cult. In Buenos Aires this kind of enthusiasm was born recently. Here the chefs are like a big social network, an anthill of restaurants. There's so much on offer that, when a new restaurant appears, people immediately rush to try it, but the real challenge is to maintain that enthusiasm among guests," Juan tells .
Regarding the accolades, on the other hand, he remarks, “I don't want to say that we expected them, but we were aware that we were doing a great job, and that at any moment they could happen.” “Recognitions feed the ego a lot: from a certain point of view it's good, but if you don't have control over it, ego can be harmful , “ Ismael continues. “Argentine DNA, local product, and world spirit” are the three words in which Juan encapsulates the essence of Chispa Bistro. Starting out as a bistro, today, Juan and Ismael's restaurant is moving more and more toward a fine dining proposition that, however, remains tied to its starting point: the grill, while having nothing to do with a steakhouse. “Juan is making our restaurant go through a huge evolution: the Chispa Bistró was born one way and now it has completely changed," says Ismael. "We both come from a world, where gastronomy is careful and very curated, we wanted Chispa to be more casual, but when you pay a lot of attention to detail and the preparations in the kitchen become more complex, putting a dish in the center of the table becomes difficult,” they explain in unison, referring to the initial concept based on sharing plates.
Among dishes on the currently offered tasting menu appear: white asparagus with trout, tuna with ham and green pepper, pumpkin flower with pickled oyster sauce, and pigeon, the dish that most represents D'Onofrio. "In pigeon there is a little bit of everything. There is alot of technique in one dish: cold-smoked, grilled, stewed... it encapsulates all the techniques I like best,” the chef confesses. More informal and in step with the times remains, however, is the approach towards the work in the kitchen, tired of the extreme schedules or attitudes of the past: “We want to have a much friendlier philosophy to our team, which is just as demanding, but with a different way of doing things. If you work too many hours and are treated badly, you either don't last long or you don't perform. We try to make customers feel this as well, and they notice. They always tell us, “What a great atmosphere this is,” Juan says.
"The ‘no pain, no gain’ gastonomic culture in which we were raised has always scared me a lot; such a philosophy has always seemed like a shot in the arm. Yes, it's true, in this industry you have to sacrifice some aspects of your life to be successful, but only at the time when you are working. I would never take away anyone's time to be with their children, family or free time, I demand a lot only in working hours," Ismael concludes.
