PROFILE

The early years:
Paco Pérez was born in Huelva. When he was just six months old his family moved to Llançà, on the Girona Costa Brava coast.
His first contact with restaurants was at El Peña, the tapas bar owned by his family in Llançà, where he helped out by serving during weekends and holidays. After this experience, he continued by taking other temporary summer jobs in traditional Catalan restaurants.

Introduction to the professional kitchen:
Paco Pérez took part in many stages and professional work experience opportunities before reaching Miramar. In France he trained alongside the chef Michel Guèrard, one of the forefathers of "nouvelle cuisine". Finally, Paco Pérez joined El Bulli in 1993, where for five years he took various courses and placements. It is there that he acquired much of his philosophy of cutting-edge techno-emotional cuisine.

In 1997 he married Montse Serra, daughter of the owners of the Miramar hotel-restaurant. After three years of producing modern Catalan cuisine in Miramar during the summer seasons he decided to take a step forward and open year round. Paco Pérez, together with his wife, managed gradually to turn this place into a landmark restaurant in the world of cutting-edge cuisine. During this time Paco also performed stages in the Celler de Can Roca. At this point he decided to start creating, with intensity and depth, the heart of his dishes.

Paco Pérez began his culinary career as Ferran Adrià did in his day: Adrià set his compass copying the great French chefs and Paco has refined his gastronomic philosophy with one eye on El Bulli.

In the late 1990s Miramar was already being called the restaurant that best interprets and evolves the Adrià revolution. His dishes convey creativity and emotion. His first "creative" dish, foie gras with chocolate and apple, was produced in 1994 and came about as a result of his wife's love of chocolate. This dish has now become a classic on the menu at Miramar restaurant.
Paco has made cooking a way of life that, although surprising to start with due to its formal aspects, finds its ultimate explanation in the world of emotions, in their inner cosmos. From this private brainstorming, in constant dialogue with the Mediterranean Sea that lies next to Miramar and with the "no memory" dreamscapes, up to 130 dishes of pure creation are conceived each year.
But Paco is also a great academic chef, a great teacher for his young and enthusiastic international team. "In reality, in Miramar I insist that the whole team cooks traditional dishes because I want to stop them thinking that the kitchen is just a place to produce virtuoso snacks" says the chef.

He cares about everything, from the most innovative, surprising and provocative dishes on the tasting menu to the most affordable dishes on the a la carte menu, where he offers the same exacting perfection as he does in the tasting menu.

AWARDS