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Friday, March 29, 2024

Pepe Rodríguez: “In Ibiza you eat wonderfully, it’s a total luxury”

The chef analyses the contestants of the sixth edition of MasterChef Celebrity, the effort and fear during the pandemic, traditional Spanish cuisine and the key to his television and personal success

Pepe Rodríguez, The famous chef and judge of the most famous cooking talent show in Spain has spent a few days in Ibiza and participated in the Elena Torres Association’s charity dinner against cancer. Rodríguez praises the excellent local gastronomy and his fondness for the island, where he would like to have a home.

Ibiza seems to attract you.

Coming to Ibiza is a luxury, those of us who come in the summer discover another island with sun, spectacular sea and colour at this atypical time of year. It is a jewel, I want to live here, I would buy a house but the prices are out of my reach.

What does it mean to you?

I come to the island to eat because you eat very well here and this is surprising to the people who know the island well, they think you come for drinks or to party and that side barely interests me. There is a gourmet and gastronomic Ibiza where you eat, enjoy and repeat, which I love. It’s nice to go on a boat, to the beaches and so on, but always going to eat because here you eat wonderfully.

Why do you think the island’s gastronomy is known nationally and internationally?

Ibiza has always been an important destination and that’s why famous cooks and renowned chefs have come here to set up their restaurants, there was business, a splendid summer season and that gives it an added point of renown. All this adds to the natural attributes of the island.

How do you combine filming a weekly programme like MasterChef, your own restaurant, family and sleep?

You can’t emulate me because I’m stupid. The rhythm I have is not normal, I work every day of the week, which is no fun at all. Being here for a weekend has been an escape valve, total relaxation, because I never do it. I have to be at the restaurant on weekends because it’s full and requires my presence. I slave away in my restaurant, but I’m happy, I have a hectic pace of work: Monday, Wednesday and Friday I record programs and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday I have a restaurant. That’s my life and in that maelstrom I look for a night to have dinner at home with my family and it feels like the most beautiful day in the world, a total party, I only look for small moments for leisure.

Is this year’s edition of MasterChef the most difficult, enjoyable or complicated?

For me it is the most enjoyable despite the fact that a priori there weren’t any likeable characters available, only Micky Nadal who is a comedian or Flo last year. Juanma Castaño is a total discovery and the pairing with Micky Nadal is groundbreaking as he is a sports journalist, which has nothing to do with cooking, and is playing a fantastic role. If you add the most histrionic character in the history of the program, Veronica Forqué, which is wonderful, we get a great program.

For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.

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