Alejandro Eneriz

Alejandro Eneriz Alcalde, born in Zaragoza in May 1990.

The fact is I went into the world of gastronomy by chance.

I finished my marketing studies at the ESIC school at the age of 22 (albeit with a couple of subjects incomplete) and was lucky enough to meet Chef Josechu Corella and his wife Carmen Arregui, maître at 'Le Bal d'Onsera' Restaurant (one Michelin star). They offered me the chance to join the kitchen staff, enabling me to see how a restaurant and its services operated. Three months into my time at the 'Bal d'Onsera', I knew that cooking was my vocation and my motivating force.

I took a 3-month break, headed to London and enrolled in 'Cordon Bleu' studies, receiving the basic cooking diploma. After the course, I went back to the 'Bal d'Onsera' and stayed there until January 2014, at which time Josechu Corella advised me to broaden my horizons and get to know new cuisines.

So, in February 2014, I started as a 'stagiere' at 'Akelane de Pedro Subijana', where I spent a year learning all the different areas of the restaurant.  At the end of my internship, I informed Felix Echave (head chef for over 40 years) that I wished to join the kitchen staff at 'Akelane'. Thanks to their confidence in me, in February 2015 I was hired to take charge of the Seafood section, where I stayed for 3 years. It was an extremely positive experience both professionally and personally.

I became a father in 2018 and that helped me take the decision to change matters to seek a work-life balance. I chose to leave 'Akelane' to join a little restaurant in Jaca (Huesca) called 'El Rincón de la Catedral' (located near the cathedral in Jaca) as both partner and head chef. In the summer of 2019, following a period co-managing with the previous owners, I took charge of the business alongside Luca Chinzzi, with whom I am also involved in a restaurant in Zaragoza. This period in the summer of 2019 allowed me to see other aspects of management, aside from the purely food-based, and I came to the conclusion that I would need additional training in these areas.

In October 2019, I enrolled in the Master's in Management and Innovation in Restaurants at the Basque Culinary Centre, finishing these studies just recently.

Currently, I am jointly engaged in Jaca with 'El Rincón de la Catedral' and a project for a new restaurant in San Sebastian.