Aragon shines with three new Michelin stars

For any restaurant, receiving a Michelin star is one of the greatest gastronomic awards that brings with it worldwide recognition. Aragon has added three new stars to its sky, where culinary excellence shines ever brighter.

The Michelin Guide awards a star to restaurants that offer high-quality cuisine, taking into account five fixed aspects, regardless of where they are located: quality of ingredients, harmony of flavours, mastery of technique, the personality of the chef expressed in his cuisine and, no less important, consistency over time and of the offering as a whole. This year, all three awards have gone to Huesca.

THE ERA OF THE WALNUT TREES

One of the Aragonese restaurants awarded at the Michelin Star Ceremony, held this Tuesday in Murcia, was La Era de los Nogales. With chef Toño Rodríguez at the helm, the restaurant offers an avant-garde proposal without losing the essence of traditional cuisine, and with a seasonal menu for 38 euros. “In our Era, the two go hand in hand, a traditional stew but presented in a different and original way.”

A first Michelin star is added to the list of achievements of a historic year for La Era de los Nogales: best restaurant in Aragon, a Sol Repsol, Best Chef of the Year and two bronze medals at the Olympics held in Germany. “The whole team is excited and happy about this recognition that rewards the effort of these four years, which gives us strength to continue growing and go for more,” they are grateful for from the restaurant.

“It makes us very happy and continues to show that Aragonese gastronomy is at its best,” they emphasize. Cradled by the Aragonese Pyrenees, the restaurant is located in the charming town of Sardas (Huesca), which has only 38 inhabitants, making it the least populated town in the world to have achieved a Michelin star. A milestone worthy of making its way into the Guinness Book of Records.

ANSILS

Ansils, the third-generation business led by siblings Iris and Bruno Jordán, has been another of the restaurants to receive its first star. It is located in the Benasque Valley and its chef is very aware of the flavours that his surroundings offer, always maintaining “the spirit of our grandparents’ generation, in their good cooking; their products, hunting, harvesting and conservation systems”.

The restaurant offers two tasting menus that propose “a journey from the Congosto del Ventanillo to the mountain”: Monte bajo (70 euros) and Alta Montaña (95 euros).

ARCAS HOUSE

And the third star has been awarded in the Benasque Valley itself, to the Casa Arcas restaurant. The couple in charge, Ainhoa ​​Lozano and David Beltrán, already had a Sol Repsol for their creative cuisine inspired by the mountains that surround them.

“Not even the landscape is the best part, because our kitchen produces seasonal dishes, where what we have learned from the hand of the master and friend Martín Berasategui is translated into a delicious menu,” they emphasize from the restaurant. It offers three menu routes: a 5-course “Paseo SL-5”, a 7-course “Sendero PR-7”, or the more complete 10-course “Gran Recorrido GR-10” menu.

ARAGON, LAND OF STARS

With these new awards, Aragon now has 11 Michelin stars in its list of accolades. Gastronomy lovers can now take a route to taste the menus prepared in any of the three provinces. In Huesca, in addition to the three new award-winning restaurants, Canfranc Express (located in an old train carriage in the legendary station), Lillas Pastia, Tatau and Callizo have renewed their star.

Teruel has the star of the Hospedería El Batán, in Tramacastilla; and in the capital of Aragon there are the restaurants La Prensa, Gente Rara and Cancook. The latter also has a green sun, which recognises the restaurants’ commitment to sustainability and environmental protection.

The Michelin Guide also recognises the “Bib Gourmand” restaurants, a selection of the best value for money . In Aragon there is an extensive list of restaurants worth stopping at: Trasiego (Barbastro), El Montañes (Biescas), Existe (Puertomingalvo), Casa Chongastán (Chía), La Rebotica (Cariñena), El Rinconcico (Mora de Rubielos), El Origen (Huesca), Canteré (Hecho), La Capilleta (Plan), La Alquería (Ráfales), Lavedán (Tramacastilla), Carmen (Binéfar), es.TABLE (Zaragoza) and La Oveja Negra (Barbastro).