Nicolasa Pradera (1870–1959) was a Spanish chef, restaurateur, and is most known for her cookbook "La cocina de Nicolasa" (the Kitchen of Nicolasa), which is one of the staples of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

cooking.

Biography

Nicolasa Pradera Mendive was born on 7 December 1870 in

Markina-Xemein Markina-Xemein is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, Bizkaia, in the Basque Autonomous Community, also known as the Basque Country, located in northern Spain. The origin of the town's name lies in its geographic location ...

, of the Basque Country of northern Spain. Between 1890 and 1912, she served as a cook in the Londaur Palace for the Gaytan de Ayala family and after leaving their service opened a restaurant in

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

at #4 Aldamar Street with her husband Narciso Dolhagaray Picabea, a prominent butcher. In 1932, she sold the restaurant and bought another establishment with her sons. She named the restaurant "Andia" and it was located on the Paseo de La Concha. (Walkway of Shells). In 1933, she published a cookbook "La cocina de Nicolasa", which contains a wide variety of Basque recipes and is a staple for Basque chefs, having gone into nearly 20 reprintings. In 1940, Pradera sold the restaurant in San Sebastián and moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where she opened the ''Nicolasa Restaurant'', which was originally on Seville street but quickly relocated to #150 Velazquez Street. She died in Madrid in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradera, Nicolasa 1870 births 1959 deaths Spanish chefs Spanish women People from Lea-Artibai