The appointment is early in the morning. The evening before he had served the gala dinner that the Kings of Spain offered to the Sultan of Oman at the Royal Palace: menu with porcini mushrooms in brine with whey and seeds and crunchy mushrooms, beef with seaweed pesto and marrow juice, corn dessert with mole. He’s exhausted. In a few hours Nacho Manzano (La Salgar, 54 years old) will have to return with the team with which he went to Madrid to take care of the catering service at Casa Marcial, in Asturias. It is the flagship of the family group managed by the Manzano brothers – Esther and Nacho in the kitchen and Sandra in the dining room -, joined by their nephew Jesús Sánchez Manzano, Esther’s son, who last year obtained his third Michelin star, the only one awarded in Spain. They opened Casa Marcial in 1993, in the house where the elderly were born, the same one where their parents prepared meals and played tag with the neighbors. Today they also run two Gloria restaurants, in Oviedo and Gijón, with classic and informal cuisine; Narbasu, hotel with restaurant in Piloña; NM, a Michelin-starred gastronomic space in the center of Oviedo; and the Hermanos Manzano online store, with a home delivery menu: fabada, rice with pitu de caleya, croquettes or stuffed chicken, a highly requested dish at Christmas. Furthermore, Manzano recommends the restaurants of the Tivoli Kopke Porto Gaia hotel in Porto.
Ask. It’s been a year since he received his third Michelin star. How did you experience it?
Answer. It has been a very good year, with the consolidation of my nephew Jesús at the helm of the kitchen together with me, which for us means that there is a generational change in the house. We worked very well. Casa Marcial has not yet reached its peak in terms of gastronomic offerings. That’s the most exciting thing: we know we can still make things better. It’s beautiful.
Q. They were the big surprise, even though they were in all the pools.
R. We didn’t believe it, even though we were present in all the pools. Sometimes we are not completely honest with ourselves. We had all the ingredients to succeed, but it wasn’t an obsession, even if deep down you always think it won’t happen to you. Our third Michelin star is simmering: 15 years have passed between the second and third. The restaurant was of a very high standard, mature and seamless. And this is what the Guide enhances to give you the third.
Q. You have to be patient, many of those who open want to get it the first year. Any advice for those starting out?
R. This ambition seems healthy and even necessary to me. We didn’t experience it that way. The two previous stars came to us as a surprise: the first in 1999 and the second in 2010. It was very nice, because at the gala there were seven restaurants with two stars and that year we reached 11. Having two stars in Spain in that period was something very powerful. It wasn’t an unfair wait; There are many sensational two-star restaurants. I didn’t feel mistreated for taking so many years to get the third.
Q. Have you noticed any changes upon joining the three-star club?
R. No. There were more customers, but Casa Marcial was already a destination, not a place of passage. We had a large percentage of foreign customers, which perhaps increased a little. Our customer is a foodie, he looks for us and with the third star the visibility is greater. Personally, when I change and I’m not in the kitchen, I’m still a normal person. I don’t experience the three stars as if they made me more important. We enter an ecosystem of excellence, but the same one we already had. I simply see it as another step forward in the profession.
Q. There are renowned restaurants that struggle and don’t fill up. What is happening?
R. In fine dining restaurants that fill up every day, a lot depends on the location. Now I often go to Portugal and, in Lisbon, it is a fantastic time, with a large number of tourists. Spain is a larger country, with more offer, and this means that the clientele is distributed. At Casa Marcial there will be days of low attendance, but this is normal. Michelin puts you on the map and attracts customers, but from there it fills up every day…
Q. Many struggle to admit it and give strange excuses, such as that it’s a bad day or that they canceled the day because it’s raining.
R. The star generates the desire to go to the restaurant. It is also true that most foreign customers looking for this type of venue have greater purchasing power. We are a destination and there are times when we are not full. We need to engage the local customer. Yes, unless tomorrow we are number one and we have to build a helipad at La Salgar.
Q. Do you dream about it?
R. Once, when we had a star, a helicopter arrived with some French customers. You have to be very close to the ground in every way. I never dreamed of being number one; I think it’s something very sensational. It’s good that it exists, even if sometimes it doesn’t have entirely real connotations. Of course, the first numbers that have been there are huge. I also don’t know of three stars that aren’t excellent. In Michelin there is more rigor, and not because I have three, than in other lists. There is a trajectory behind it, despite all the controversy it generates. It is very reliable
Q. A lot of mystery is generated, although it seems that the chefs have the inspectors on file.
R. They know each other, but now foreign inspectors are arriving and new ones are being added. I am who I am, but everyone we knew is no longer here. We didn’t know we were the only three stars last year. With inspectors they apply the same modus operandi: they do it wonderfully, because they sneak in on you.
Q. In what sense?
R. You may have had an inspector and not realize it. Many times you don’t realize it. That they go to eat alone is not entirely true; We feed many people alone every week. There are many people who come to the restaurant alone. Even if it’s August, on a Saturday or Sunday, if there is a table and you come alone, you have a place. Children are welcome as long as we can look after them and they do not disturb the other tables. You don’t have to suffer because of other people’s children, especially when you will pay money. It’s always been in our DNA to make it easy for everyone to come and eat at our house.
Q. Do you frequent starred restaurants or do you prefer other solutions?
R. Yes, yes, I frequent them, although I visit them less than I would like. I am a consumer of starred restaurants.
Q. What do you order at a restaurant when you go out to eat? Are you critical of your colleagues or do you tend to be condescending?
R. I never sit at the table with a critical eye, but with the desire to have fun. When I go to good places, I draw my own internal conclusions, but I don’t divulge them. I feel like a diner and I don’t usually look through the eyes of a chef. I like restaurants that have personality.
Q. For example?
R. I like many of them, especially those that have a very personal message and proposals. I appreciate clarity in the kitchen and that there is a story. I’m interested in the fact that there are territories, cuisines that evolve culturally and in terms of heritage. Spanish haute cuisine is in excellent health, despite many wanting to get their hands on it.
Q. Do you mean those who say the model is sold out?
R. Haute cuisine will continue to exist. It seems unfair to me that they are trying to put an end to this. That current has a very short path. There are chefs who criticize it, but they are chefs who have never practiced it. Questioning haute cuisine and its contribution seems rather irresponsible and opportunistic to me.
Q. What does haute cuisine offer?
R. Provides values. Spain has modernized in terms of schedules and conciliation, and haute cuisine also contributes in sacrifice, enhances culture and art. It is the spearhead of a movement that then generates knowledge for other models, and always respecting everything that is done. There may be young chefs with the wrong line, but we must support them in all sectors. Just the effort of opening a restaurant with the enthusiasm it generates and all the work it entails deserves recognition; criticizing for having a more banal concept doesn’t seem right to me. Journalism is there to contribute, and this is done by the council. Spain is a global mirror of cuisine: chefs from other countries have looked at us and asked themselves questions that do not seem responsible to me.
Q. So isn’t the tasting menu model dead?
R. No. They are personal sensations that you may have at a moment in your life. I used to like dark restaurants and now I don’t, because I see them worse. Plus, as you get older, you may eat less. But when you take a menu and all the dishes are good, you are dazzled; It’s like a movie. We use the best product with the best technique. The tasting menu is not dead: who will travel 500 kilometers just to eat three courses at Casa Marcial? I really like haute cuisine, although I’m also a cachopero. If the cachopo is well made, I will happily eat it. Or a fabada.
Opening a restaurant involves costs and risks, and just because someone closes doesn’t necessarily mean they made a mistake.
Nacho Manzano
Q. Can you be more flexible?
R. It is important that the customer can choose. I understand that you don’t want to be served 40 dishes, but people coming from Madrid don’t travel for just three. This is why it is unfair to say that haute cuisine is dead. We are very adaptable to what the customer wants. Last year I obtained three stars by offering an à la carte menu, a very short menu, an intermediate one and a long one. I’m thrilled by that model of flexibility, without giving up haute cuisine. Michelin likes you to have a menu.
Q. There are quite a few closures and movements in the restoration. Where is the sector? Will we see an avalanche of closures?
R. We must give naturalness and normality to this. There is a lot on offer and it works like a natural selection. It doesn’t just happen in Spain: I come from Mexico and, in neighborhoods like Rome or La Condesa, a friend told me that a restaurant opens and closes every day. We must protect talent. In a city like Madrid, doing the right thing and connecting isn’t easy, just like with movies, books or fashion models that don’t always succeed. Chefs and journalists must act sensibly. Opening a restaurant involves costs and risks, and just because someone closes doesn’t necessarily mean they made a mistake.
Q. This year they suffered the loss of patriarch Marcial Manzano. What void did he leave in the house?
R. I went to the restaurant every day. He and my mother planted the seed of Casa Martial. When I came in 1993 and we changed things, he was very smart; He was my biggest fan. He liked it when I cooked, told me I was different and always supported his children. They also left their home so we could do the renovation. He had an innate intelligence and knew what needed to be done. He gave us a great education, a livelihood as a family, and values that brought us here. He left a significant void, but we are happy because he was able to see his third Michelin star; It made him very excited. He was in love with cooking and always said, “You have to love cooking.”
