The Royal Automobile Club hosts a showcase of Spanish gastronomy

Sunday 9 February saw an exclusive event hosted by Philip Corrick, executive club chef at the Royal Automobile Club and guest Spanish chefs, Nacho Manzano and David Muñoz, boasting an impressive six Michelin stars between them.

Nacho Manzano of two Michelin star Casa Marcial, one Michelin star La Salgar and executive chef of award winning Ibérica London, and David Muñoz, founder of three Michelin star DiverXO in Madrid and casual dining Street XO, scheduled to open in London this spring, created a six course meal showcasing their cooking techniques with an exciting mix of authentic and quality ingredients.

Featuring a starter of sea urchin with hollandaise and aromatic yoghurt and a main of red tuna gallete, pata negra and kimchi, bergamont, lily bulb and black garlic, guests were treated to an exclusive night of exceptional Spanish cuisine accompanied by a selection of wines by esteemed Spanish winery Gonzalez Byass.

The event recognised the huge transformation that Spanish food has undergone over the last 30 years. “Creativity and innovation of Spanish Chefs have been at the centre of this development”, says Maria José Savilla, manager of food & Wines from Spain at the Spanish Trade Commission. “In the last decade, many chefs have returned to their home regions and family restaurants and have brought modernity to traditional recipes with new methods that are more in tune with fashion and customer demands”.

New Spanish restaurants in London 

London in particular is benefitting from a growing presence of authentic Spanish eateries and with new branches of award-winning Spanish restaurant Ibérica opening in Farringdon in spring 2014 and Victoria in May 2015, London’s appetite for Spanish cuisine shows no sign of abating.

Similarly, David Muñoz will be launching his first restaurant out of Spain this summer bringing street-food inspired StreetXO to London in June 2014 following the unprecedented success of DiverXO in Madrid which with three Michelin stars is arguably one of the hottest tables in the Spanish capital. 

The new venture StreetXO promises a unique representation of street food which draws on Muñoz’ experiences from his time spent in London working in top restaurants such as Nobu and Hakkasan to his travels in South East Asia and everywhere in between.