In 1981, Santi Santamaria opened a tavern in his hometown of Sant Celoni, near Barcelona. He served cheap, traditional fare like sausage and beans, while avidly studying books by leading French chefs. His studies paid off, and by 1989, his restaurant, El Racó de Can Fabes, had earned its first Michelin star. By 1994, it had attained three stars—a first for a restaurant in Spain’s Catalan region. Santamaria went on to open popular restaurants in Barcelona, Madrid, Dubai, and Singapore. It was in Singapore last week that Santamaria collapsed in the kitchen during a gathering of chefs and food critics.
As word spread of Santamaria’s death, tributes poured in from other chefs, including those with whom Santamaria had feuded, said the London Telegraph. The preferred target of his wrath was fellow Catalan Ferran Adrià, the pioneer of so-called molecular gastronomy. Santamaria accused Adrià of “poisoning” diners with “snob food” that relied on liquid nitrogen and chemical emulsifiers.
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They might have made peace over a plate of wild mushroom flan or crème brûlée of spider crab with caviar, said Agence France-Presse. Santamaria insisted on working with fresh local food, all of it cooked and served using traditional techniques. “To leave us in his kitchen was a beautiful way for him to leave us,” said Parisian chef Guy Savoy.
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