Meet the 4 Spanish finalists of Chef Balfegó 2024

• Cristóbal Muñoz, Lander Cornago, Pablo Zuazu and Paula Gutiérrez, from the Taller Arzuaga* restaurant will compete alongside 4 international chefs in the grand finale of Chef Balfegó 2024, on October 28 in Madrid.

The international gastronomy competition Chef Balfegó celebrates its VII edition with four top-level Spanish candidates, chosen by a professional jury from among almost 200 candidates. Below we present their profiles and proposals, so that you can get to know them in detail:

Cristóbal Muñoz, Ambivium* (Peñafiel, Valladolid)

He began his studies at the Almeraya Hospitality School in his native Almería where he completed the Higher Degree Training Cycle in Kitchen Management and later specialized with the High Pastry Course. In 2013 he won the first edition of the Promises of Haute Cuisine Award Contest of Le Cordon Bleu Madrid, where in 2014 he obtained the Cooking Diploma with Honorable Mention, a distinction that he also received in 2015 in his Pastry Diploma, obtaining thus the Great Diploma.

His experience has been gained alongside chefs such as Dani García (Restaurante Calima), Paco Pérez (Restaurante Terra *) or Francis Paniego (Restaurante Tondeluna). In 2021 he wins the third Chef Balfegó award. He was a representative of Spain in the international edition of the X Copa de Jerez and winner in 2022 of the Young Chef Award of the Michelin Guide and of the Chef of the Year Contest in Alimentaria. At the Ambivium restaurant, where he is currently the chef, he holds a Michelin Star and a Green Star.

Lander Cornago, Arzak*** (San Sebastián)

Graduated in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts from the Basque Culinary Center (San Sebastián). After starting out in several restaurants in the Basque Country, in 2019 he joined the kitchens of what was once a Michelin Star restaurant, the Mirador de Ulía restaurant (San Sebastián), as chef de partie. In 2020, a change of city took him to Barcelona to be part of the team at the renowned restaurant Disfrutar*** (Barcelona). He returned to Donostia the same year to learn more about the green cuisine of the LABe restaurant. His next training in 2021 comes in one of the legendary rooms of our country with Juan María and Helena Arzak at the Arzak *** restaurant (San Sebastián). He returns to LABe again in 2022 for a few months and in the same year he joins the Arzak *** restaurant, where he currently works as a meat and fish chef.

Pablo Zuazu, Via Veneto* (Barcelona)

He studied the Technical Middle Cycle in Cooking, Gastronomy and Restaurant Service at the CETT in Barcelona, and the Haute Cuisine Course at Escola San Ignasi (Barcelona). In 2015 she completed her first internship in the pastry shop of renowned pastry chef Oriol Balaguer. In 2016 he continues his training at the restaurant Cenador de Amós *** (Villaverde de Pontones-Santander) by chef Jesús Sánchez. In 2017 he returned to Barcelona to join chef Jordi Cruz’s team at the 5 * GL-restaurant ABaC *** hotel. In 2018 he joins the Tast catala by Paco Pérez team in Manchester (England). In 2019 he worked for four months at The Kitchen restaurant, until he joined the kitchens of an entire institution in Barcelona such as VIA VENETO * (Barcelona), he does so as sous chef where he continues to work today.

Paula Gutiérrez, Taller Arzuaga* (Quintanilla de Onésimo, Valladolid)

She began in haute cuisine in 2018 at the Atelier Etxanobe* restaurant (Bilbao), this practice led her to work alongside her father from 2019 to 2020 as a cook at the Víctor Gutiérrez* restaurant (Salamanca). Also in 2020 she wanted to leave the comfort zone of home and traveled to the south to learn the cuisine of the Noor *** restaurant (Córdoba). From there the jump was international to join as sous-chef at the Ambassador Hotel, alongside chef Romain Fornell in Zermatt (Switzerland) between 2020 and 2021. She wanted to return to Spain and did so as head chef at Quique DAcostas Deesa** restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz*****GL Hotel (Madrid), where he worked in 2022 and 2023. After this experience he returned home as sous-chef of the Taller Arzuaga* restaurant located in the Bodegas Arzuaga – Navarro (Quintanilla de Onísimo – Valladolid), where he currently works.

In the coming weeks we will meet the 4 international finalists (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Benelux) who will accompany Cristóbal, Lander, Pablo and Paula in the grand final in Madrid.