A new revolution in fine dining in Madrid

The creativity, flexibility and added value brought by Madrid’s chefs in these recent uncertain times have been a step forward in line with the ongoing gastronomic revival that the autonomous community has been experiencing the past few years. This revolution within the revolution may be seen, in particular, in the appearance and consolidation of fine dining delivery. After taking part in charitable initiatives and sharing their best recipes, Dabiz Muñoz, Dani García, Iván Muñoz, Mario Sandoval (and many more chefs) have shown their talent for adaptation. They have tweaked – often in a matter of a few weeks – their offerings so that diners can receive Michelin-starred dishes at home. They get the same quality, but without having to book a table.

If you’re in the city, you can win a dinner for two from CoquettoGo, the new delivery service from Mario Sandoval of two-Michelin-starred Coque.

The same laboratories of culinary creativity that have positioned the region at the top of the world scene have overcome challenges – such as adapting the dishes to tables far from their restaurants – with lightning speed by means of presentations that make customers not miss the restaurants’ dining rooms. Examples of this supersonic innovation are spread all over this list of high-end restaurants with delivery and include packaging that tells the histories of the ingredients, QR codes that provide access to videos of the kitchens and orders through untraditional channels such as WhatsApp.

Many have gone further and added a new layer of solidarity to their offerings. While Mario Sandoval applied his philosophy of sustainability to deliveries – done with bikes and electric cars – he also took care to cook for needy families as early as March 2020, when he moved his kitchen to Valle Inclán School. Charitable initiatives such as his have grown among chefs, who have leveraged their valuable positions as a way to connect suppliers and institutions. They’ve also contributed with their organisational skills and what they know how to do best: cook.

The biggest charitable initiative has been World Central Kitchen ONG, headed by the chef Jose Andrés. He has used kitchens at Madrid’s Santa Eugenia School of Hospitality to adapt to situations such as the January 2021 blizzard, when he distributed more than 7,000 meals among needy families and emergency and healthcare personnel. The list of star chefs who have launched initiatives with such diverse institutions such as the Food Bank and Mercamadrid is endless. Paco Roncero, David Marcano, Diego Guerrero, Iván Cerdeño and Javier Aranda – and many others – are part of various charitable initiatives, such as the distribution of more than a thousand meals in December.

Solidarity and creativity for a revival that is underway, and that continues with initiatives such as Verdelivery, the opening of new eateries designed expressly for this new way of doing things, new partnerships – such as the one of Oter Group with Deliveroo – and new lessons learned that will change the restaurant scene forever. Manuel Domínguez, of Lúa, has called this entire transformation and research process “starting from scratch”.