Joan Roca i Fontané (born 11 February 1964) is a Spanish

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

, best known as founder and head chef of

El Celler de Can Roca El Celler de Can Roca is a restaurant in Girona, Catalonia, Spain opened in 1986 by the Roca brothers, Joan, Josep and Jordi. It was first located next to their parents' restaurant Can Roca, but moved to its current purpose-built building in 200 ...

, awarded three

Michelin stars The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

in 2009. In 2013 & 2015, it was named the best restaurant in the world by the

Restaurant Magazine ''Restaurant'' magazine is a British magazine aimed at chefs, restaurant proprietors and other catering professionals that concentrates on the fine dining end of the restaurant industry. History and profile ''Restaurant'' was founded in 2001. T ...

. It was ranked second by the same magazine in 2011, 2012 & 2014. He studied in Escola d'Hosteleria de Girona, where later he became a teacher. He worked with his grandparents and parents in their family business, a restaurant of traditional

Catalan cuisine Catalan cuisine is the cuisine from Catalonia. It may also refer to the shared cuisine of Northern Catalonia and Andorra, the second of which has a similar cuisine to that of the neighbouring Alt Urgell and Cerdanya ''comarques'' and which i ...

. Today Joan is the chef of his own restaurant, together with his two brothers, Josep (

sommelier A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in hau ...

), and

Jordi Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: *Sant Jordi – patron sa ...

(

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

). He is elaborating traditional cuisine together with avant-garde techniques, which implies research of both modern techniques and traditional recipes. Some of the techniques he uses are

Sous-vide Sous vide (; French for 'under vacuum'), also known as low-temperature, long-time (LTLT) cooking, is a method of cooking in which food is placed in a plastic pouch or a glass jar and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times (usu ...

, "Perfume-cooking" and

Distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...

Acknowledgments

* 2000. Cook of the year by the Spanish Academy of Gastronomy. * 2002. Second Michelin Star for El Celler de Can Roca. * 2009. Third Michelin Star for El Celler de Can Roca. and 5th position in the

* 2010. Honorary degree by the

University of Girona The University of Girona ( ca, Universitat de Girona, UdG (); ;) is located in the city of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Its real origin dates back to its creation in 1446, but it was reestablished as a new university in 1991. As of 2021, it consists ...

* 2011. Grand Prix de l'Art de la Cuisine from International Academy of Gastronomy. * 2011. Appears in the list of the "20 most influential cooks of the world".Seis españoles, entre los 20 chefs más influyentes del mundo
Elmundo.es * 2011. Second best restaurant in the world for El Celler de Can Roca, by the Restaurant Magazine. * 2012. Second best restaurant in the world for El Celler de Can Roca, by the Restaurant Magazine. * 2013. Best restaurant in the world for El Celler de Can Roca, by the Restaurant Magazine. * 2015. Best restaurant in the world for El Celler de Can Roca, by the Restaurant Magazine. * 2016. Chefs’ Choice Award by Restaurant Magazine * 2017 The Best Chef by The Best Chef Awards * 2018 The Best Chef by The Best Chef Awards

Publications

*''El Celler de Can Roca'', by Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca. In Catalan, Spanish and English. *''La cocina al vacío'' (Sous-Vide Cuisine), by Joan Roca and Salvador Brugués. Translated to English, French, German and Italian. *''Les receptes catalanes de tota la vida'' (Lifelong catalan recipes), by Joan Roca and his mother, Montserrat Fontané. *''La cuina de la meva mare'' (The cooking of my mother), by Joan Roca. In Catalan and Spanish. *''Deu menus per a un concert'' (Ten menus for a concert), by Joan Roca. In Catalan and Spanish.

References

External links

El Celler de Can RocaEntrevista de Ramon Texidó a Diari Maresme (12/02/2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roca I Fontane, Joan Chefs from Catalonia Living people 1964 births Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Food writers from Catalonia Spanish chefs

Acknowledgments

Publications

See also

References

External links