David Romero
DAVID ROMERO, BIOGRAPHY
David Romero Molina was born in Sabadell on March 6, 1973. At 14 he enrolled in the Girona Catering School, where several teachers left their mark on his cooking, including Joan Roca, currently the owner of one of the world’s best restaurants, El Celler de Can Roca. According to the man himself, “Catalan cuisine is the basis, the structure of cooking which I’ve been developing with the passage of time”.
His parents’ restaurant, where his vocation began, became David’s practical “laboratory” during his studies. His other initial experiences came during his stints alongside Chef Salvador Brugués and in the El Celler de Can Roca. David even worked as the admiral’s chef in Cartagena during his military service aged 19.
In 1994, a young David Romero started as a kitchen helper in the Hotel Arts in Barcelona. In just five years he transformed his career, becoming sous chef for banquetes, catering, events and conferences, serving up to 1800 people. It was there he took the Master’s in Leadership with the Ritz-Carlton company.
If there is one person who has influenced David Romero’s cooking, it is the prestigious restaurateur, Carlos Gaig. David admires the self-taught chef’s character, his respect for traditional Catalan cuisine and his distinct personality. As a matter of fact it was Gaig, then advisor for the hotel group Barceló, who in 1999 gave him the opportunity to get on board as executive chef for the Hotel Barceló Sants in Barcelona, the position where he would garner awards such as the 2001 Alimara Award for Best Hotel Gastronomy. In one of the many culinary conferences organised at the hotel, he met Nandu Jubany, with whom he struck up a close working relationship and personal friendship.
When later on, in 2003, Carlos Gaig became an advisor for the renowned Hotel Bahía Real in Fuerteventura–at that time owned by Kempinski–he again placed his trust in David to take charge of his five themed restaurants. For him, this time in the Canary Islands represents the beginnings of his signature cuisine that pays tribute to the Mediterranean kitchen and the quality of Canarian fish, meats, cheeses and wines. In Fuerteventura, he had the opportunity to cook for the Spanish Royal Family on three separate occasions. Those eight years on the island ingrained in him a strong commitment to supporting local produce and a genuine knowledge of the suppliers, and he won the “Ser Turismo 2009” award in the Professional Culinary Career category.
Chef David Romero’s international experience has been marked by his time at Melià White House in London and his representation of Catalan cuisine for Bodegas Torres, which has taken him to different countries of the world, receiving prizes such as the Statue of Friendship between Spain and Vietnam, awarded by the Spanish Ambassador in Hanoi.
In 2013, it was Nandu Jubany, one of the great ambassadors of Catalan cusine, who came knocking on David Romero’s door to entrust him with the responsibility of executing the plans they had previously created together. That marked the beginning of the duo of Nandu Jubany as consultant chef and David Romero as executive chef of the Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona. David bases his admiration for Nandu on the great passion he feels for his work, his self-taught career and the infectious energy with which he motivates his team.
Chef David Romero never misses an opportunity to visit a market in every part of the world he travels to, convinced it is there where you can discover the essence of the local cuisine. His cooking is based on the principles of Catalan cuisine, which he learnt as a child at the stoves of his family restaurant, and a deep respect for the flavor of the raw ingredients, which as he explains, can be blended, but never hidden. He is firmly committed to authentic traditional cooking with nuances of flavor and texture, in which you can always recognise quality ingredients as the protagonists of his dishes.
