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‘Chef’s Table: Volume 7’ star Ángel León dives deep and emerges with 'maritime' trend

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star is also committed to spreading awareness of a more sustainable and involved future
PUBLISHED NOV 27, 2024
Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León deals in seafood (YouTube/@natgeo)
Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León deals in seafood (YouTube/@natgeo)

MADRID METROPOLITAN AREA, SPAIN: Ángel León has earned global acclaim for his innovative use of marine ingredients. The Spanish innovator, dubbed the 'Chef of the Sea,' is a professional sailor whose love of fishing and his understanding of the natural world, seaweed, salts, and other topics influence his avant-garde approach to fine dining.

To provide people with new foods and species, Ángel, whose restaurant Aponiente has three Michelin stars, is dedicated to introducing new foods and species by utilizing what others overlook or discard from the sea. The 'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star is also committed to spreading awareness of a more sustainable and involved future. He partners with esteemed institutions and organizations worldwide to advance this mission. Ángel has starred in his television series of the same name and is the author of the book 'Chef del Mar'.

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León (YouTube/UTOPICFOOD)
'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León began his culinary journey at Seville's Taberna del Alabardero (YouTube/@utopicfood)

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León became well-known after opening Aponiente

Ángel, a chef from Cádiz, is the owner of the Aponiente restaurant in El Puerto de Santa María. He began his culinary journey at Seville's Taberna del Alabardero. Three years later, he moved to France, where he worked at Bordeaux's Le Chapon Fin restaurant. He then returned to Spain to work with chef Fernando Córdoba at El Faro restaurant, before eventually taking over La Casa del Temple in Toledo.

A few years later, he opened in the municipality of El Puerto de Santa María in the province of Cadiz. He became well-known in Spain and globally as a result of the restaurant. His unique style made this success possible. Known as 'The Chef of the Sea' due to his focus on marine ingredients, he achieved his goal of incorporating marine plankton as a key component in his dishes.

Furthermore, he succeeded in capturing the light emitted by deep-sea fish far below the waves. Thanks to his inventiveness and careful research techniques, which involve working with scientists and institutions, Ángel has realized his nautical ambitions at the table.

He is one of Cádiz's best global ambassadors because of his passion for the region. His career has seen some incredible turning points, such as the development of the first saline cheese and 100% marine Iberian cold cuts, the discovery of diatomaceous algae for stock making, and the promotion of once-discarded fish to haute cuisine.

Chef Angel Leon to feature in 'Chef's Table: Volume 7' (YouTube/NatGeo)
Chef Angel Leon to feature in 'Chef's Table: Volume 7' (YouTube/@natgeo)

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León dominated the marine world

Ángel was born and raised in Cádiz, alongside his younger brother Carlos, who helps manage Aponiente and two older sisters. Their father owned a small fishing boat, and he would take his two children fishing in the Bay of Cadiz on the weekends and after school. Hematologist Ángel León Lara has high standards and frequently argues with his kid about his problems on Earth.  Ángel's triumph at sea only highlighted his difficulties on land. He attended five high schools and hardly graduated because of his hyperactivity, which made him a threat in the classroom.

After enrolling at a hospitality school in Seville, Ángel spent three years honing his culinary skills and beginning to establish himself. In 1996, he moved to France to work as a chef at Le Chapon Fin, a Bordeaux institution that had been open since 1825. Ángel gained valuable discipline in France, mastering skills like deboning a bird, clarifying stock, and cooking for 14 hours straight without complaint.  Later, he honed his craft in Seville, Toledo, and Buenos Aires, all while preparing to open his restaurant.

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León (YouTube/danielarbos)
'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León was born and raised in Cádiz (YouTube/@danielarbos)

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León's Aponiente has earned 3 Michelin stars

After serving only a few patrons each day for years, Aponiente received its first Michelin star in 2010, which Ángel claims "helped change everything." After it was awarded a second star in 2014, tourists started traveling to Cadiz just to dine at the restaurant.

Aponiente was well-known around the world by the time it was awarded its third Michelin star in 2017. By working with universities on sustainability projects, hosting events with academics and chefs to discuss the vulnerability of our ocean ecosystems, and creating commercial products like sea bacon—made from the leftover bellies of seabream and smoked over pineapple—Ángel used his expanding platform to hone his message.

Notwithstanding his achievements, Ángel is not your average famous chef. He seldom ventures outside his hometown, preferring long mornings on the lake and long hours in the lab to the international circuit. His small-town modesty and clipped-consonant Spanish are more fitting for a fisherman. Ángel prefers to describe himself as just a simple chef.

It reads more as a statement of his enduring surprise that a rough-talking child from one of the poorest regions of Spain, who nearly dropped out of high school, has found himself in a position to accomplish things no one else has. Yet, he was on the brink of another breakthrough.

'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León (YouTube/costacruises)
'Chef's Table: Volume 7' star Ángel León restaurant its first Michelin star in 2010 (YouTube/@costacruises)

Volume 7, a conventional season of 'Chef's Table,' will launch on Netflix on November 27.

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