Estrella Huerga from Vitoria moved to Lanzarote in 2007 and after a lifetime dedicated to cooking, she took over as head chef of Jameos del Agua a little over a year ago.
With experience in Michelin-starred restaurants in Asturias, Huerga combines traditional knowledge with innovation to create menus that change frequently to entice visitors not only to get to know the center but also to enjoy its restaurant.
- What is your relationship with the world of cooking like?
Next year I'll be 50 and since I started studying hospitality at 16, I've done nothing but cook all my life. I was born in Vitoria and I spent thirty-odd years in Asturias, where I learned practically everything I know.
I worked in the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Asturias and I have worked a lot with fresh mushrooms, game, stews... Traditional and also creative cuisine.
- How did you become head chef at Jameos del Agua? A position with a lot of responsibility, isn't it?
My sister Montse told me in 2007 to come here and I came, to paradise. And I still believe it is paradise. In September of last year I joined Jameos to run the kitchen.
I have been a head chef throughout my career, except for seven years when I was a cook in a hotel, but Jameos del Agua has been an impressive challenge because of its importance as a center and because it has events that other centers do not have. Weddings, concerts, Julia Otero doing her program the other day in the auditorium... It has been the most important challenge of my career.
- How often do you change the menu at Jameos del Agua?
We recycle ourselves every little while. At the beginning of the year we changed the offer for Jameos nights on Fridays and every little while we renew the menu to innovate.
- How do you value the island's gastronomic product?
The local product is very good in Lanzarote. In the 16 years that I have been on the island it has changed radically. At the last Saborea fair I was impressed by the reception and the gastronomic level on the island. In addition, the young chefs are coming in with impressive enthusiasm.
- Local product that you surely include in your dishes...
Yes, of course. For example, one of the star dishes that Jameos took to Saborea is octopus with sweet potato puree. A creation of Ángel Morales, the second chef, who is a crack in the kitchen.
- The taste for gastronomy is increasing on the island, do you have more customers lately who do not go exclusively to see the cave?
Yes, in fact La Noche de Jameos is full every Friday. It has very attractive menus. One of them includes mashed potatoes with squid stew and hake with fried noodles. All very elaborate.
The premium menu includes wreckfish and an impressive sirloin steak with a shiitake sauce with hints of smoked oil.
- As head chef of Jameos del Agua, what do you think of the island's gastronomy in general?
This year we are going to have the party again in a restaurant that we loved, at a very high level. In the last ten years I am seeing an impressive level and the new generations are coming on strong.