Escape from all prominence. Maca de Castro (Alcúdia, Mallorca, 43 years old) looks back and still cannot believe that the girl who started in the kitchen 23 years ago, with prudence and discretion, is today the president of Euro-Toques. The international organization of chefs includes more than 3,500 professionals—800 in Spain—from 18 countries, and was founded in 1986, among others, by Pierre Romeyer, Paul Bocuse, Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana. She takes over from Andoni Luis Aduriz and becomes the first female president of the institution, a position that she combines with the direction of the DCastro business group. She directs, in addition to the Maca de Castro restaurant —one Michelin star, another green, and three Repsol soles— in the Port of Alcúdia; Jardín Bistró, in the same place where the previous one is located, the Andana restaurant, in Palma, the management of events at the Mallorcan estate Son Veri, and the 20º Restaurant, in Düsseldorf (Germany).
Ask. She is the first woman to head a large chefs organization.
Answer. I am very excited that the presidency is leaving the Basque Country and coming to the Balearic Islands. The first thing I want to do is give value to the delegates of the autonomies and provinces, to those who are in the trenches working hard. I want to agitate communities like Galicia, Murcia, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, which are more forgotten.
Q. What do you mean by forgotten?
R. Because we need things to happen, for the chefs to come together. About Euro-Toques, the most beautiful thing is that the community is alive. There are autonomous communities that are committed to gastronomy and make things happen and that they have visibility, because we are important for tourism. Unfortunately, we are still without aid and we need to recognize the power of restaurants as an economic engine. We have to keep knocking on doors. We have the example of Denmark, which positioned itself as a gastronomic country because it received significant economic support from public institutions. It’s time to work and make more strength.
Q. Will it give more prominence to the cooks?
R. We have discretion in our DNA, we always make others have more prominence. And I speak for myself. It’s hard for me to be called a chef, it was hard for me to accept this position. I have always thought that if they gave me something it wasn’t because I was a woman, but because the time had come. Andoni [Luis Aduriz], when he proposed his replacement, he considered it important that the presidency move from the Basque Country to the Balearic Islands, and he told me that there was no one better to represent the islands than me. Those words moved me, but I think they are the reward for a job done. I don’t work for recognition, but it’s time to position ourselves at the forefront of important things. Now, Susi Díaz is the president of Saborea España, and Pepa Muñoz is at Facyre. We have more and more visibility.
Q. But don’t you think that more men than women receive important recognitions, such as Michelin stars?
R. Yes, but I think it is difficult for us to give value to the awards. I want to enjoy my day to day life and be a reference for many women who fight to value themselves. I am an introverted person and it is very difficult for me to be in the spotlight, but as I say, I continue to work constantly, trying to unite and share my work as much as possible.
Q. What do you think the kitchen looks like now?
R. On the one hand, there are people who do their work honestly, day by day, and on the other, there are those who only have prizes on their minds. I think that in the end it’s not serious, it doesn’t make you happy. I understand this job as a passion, as a job that requires a lot of effort and work. That is why it is very important that from Euro-Toques we accompany all those people who are not in the focus, since that will have an impact on something stronger. Gastronomy is a tourist engine and we need help. Italy has always sold better because it has had more resources. Each community is different, how many different dishes do we have? Spain is a country with so much gastronomic wealth that we need to continue working with each community to strengthen ourselves and position ourselves as unique in the world.
Q. The Basque Country was a pioneer in betting on gastronomy.
R. The New Basque Cuisine was a very important movement, as was everything that happened in Catalonia with elBulli. That is why each autonomous community must find its leaders and through unity the gastronomic revolution can continue. We can do it. We have seen it with Dabiz Muñoz, who has changed everything. José Andrés is another leading chef in the world. Now we must think more as a group.
Q. Spain can take the lead again this year and once again have the best restaurant in the world.
R. Everything seems like it’s going to be like this. And everything adds up, but we have to be attractive again, sexy, fresh and modern to sell our gastronomy abroad. Because when tourists come to Spain they are amazed by our food, with all the products and gastronomic diversity that we have. But without resources it is unfeasible to make a new gastronomic revolution. After the pandemic we lived a very good time, because everyone started coming to Spain, but now the restaurants are no longer so full.
Tourism sometimes does us no good, but it is an important driving force. Not everything goes. In Mallorca there are many businesses, whose proposal has nothing to do with the place.
Castro Maca
Q. There are restaurants that are having a bad time.
R. I know. We are having a hard time filling the restaurants. Is a reality. I speak with colleagues from Madrid and Catalonia, well-visited places, but they are not full. That is why it is so important that we do this work of strength as a country.
Q. What is your opinion on the debate about mass tourism, something that the islands are well aware of?
R. Tourism sometimes does us no good, but it is an important driving force. Not everything goes. In Mallorca there are many businesses, whose proposal has nothing to do with the place. In France it has been proposed that those restaurants that use fifth range – pre-cooked and ready-to-serve foods – specify it on their menus. Mass tourism hurts us and we should have some parameters.
Q. They complain that there is a lack of labor.
R. It is a reality, it is increasingly difficult to make solid teams. You have to take care of the team, be close to it, be fair, so that it can be formed and promoted. I am obsessed with caring for people. I try to make everyone fall in love with the project.
Q. What resources does Euro-Toques have?
R. It is an organization that operates through an annual membership fee. In addition, we have important sponsors who have supported and accompanied us for many years. It is a tool that, if one uses actively, serves to grow, to connect, to meet relevant people like Susi Díaz. Thanks to her I met Joan Roca, Pedro Subijana, Quique Dacosta. A network of contacts is created with the same values, enthusiasm and strength.
Q. Hilario Arbelaitz says about you that you were always an outstanding student.
R. I passed by Zuberoa’s kitchen, but I fell in love with Hilario’s values. He is a person of integrity, constant. He is my teacher and he has always had time for me. He has marked me a lot, precisely in not seeking positioning, but in doing things well.
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