Maria Jose San Roman

Chef/owner, RESTAURANT montastrell, SPAIN

María José San Román is a Michelin-starred Spanish chef and restaurateur, renowned for her celebration of iconic Spanish ingredients, refreshingly authentic culinary style and exceptionally high standards. Her signature approach is founded on a low-key evolution of the natural flavors found in the best that Spain has to offer.

Based in Alicante, she is the proprietor of GRUPO GOURMET ALICANTE, a collection of six restaurants and artisan bakery workshop that sets a new paradigm in Spanish gastronomy. With her Michelin-starred restaurant Monastrell, this high-energy, highly creative visionary has returned to her roots to explore natural foods and healthy approaches to world-class cuisine. Her menu pays homage to its Mediterranean location, showcasing a bounty of locally-sourced ingredients from extra virgin olive oil, local rices, seafood and saffron to vegetables grown in her own “huerta” and artisan breads created in her bakery workshop.

San Román has long been recognized as an expert and impassioned advocate for Spanish ingredients like extra virgin olive oil, indigenous rices and saffron. She is a frequent speaker and instructor worldwide in various international events and forums such as Madrid Fusión, the Culinary Institute of America in California, Food and Fun in Iceland, Beyond Extra Virgin in Verona and Cordoba, and Congress of Gastronomy and Neuroscience at Valencia.

“Spain is a country that celebrates hundreds of culinary traditions based on the best quality ingredients all produced right here. In Alicante, my restaurant Monastrell’s location overlooks the Mediterranean that supplies much of our fresh seafood everyday; our own huerta where we grow seasonal vegetables is right outside city central; the citrus groves and rice fields of Valencia are one hour away; extra virgin olive oil, saffron, almonds, and wine are all produced within a morning’s drive. These classic ingredients were part of my upbringing and are still core to my menu. If I can create something unique and exciting that brings out the best natural flavors and healthy qualities of my ingredients, I feel I have met my goal.”