Former elBulli colleagues Chele González and Aitor Zabala reunite for two Evolution dinners in Manila

Spanish chefs Chele González and Aitor Zabala, who first worked together in the kitchens of elBulli more than 20 years ago, cooked side by side again earlier this month at González’s restaurant, Gallery by Chele, in Manila. The two dinners on 9^th and 10^th October, under the title Evolution, explored how the chefs’ shared training has developed in the regions where each now works. The four-hands collaboration took more than a year to plan, with each evening limited to 30 guests.

Since their time at elBulli, the pair have built their careers on different continents. González, from Cantabria, has lived in the Philippines for more than a decade. At Gallery by Chele, which holds one Michelin star, he cooks with local ingredients and works with Filipino producers and culinary traditions. Zabala was born in Barcelona and is chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin-starred Somni in Los Angeles. His cooking in California draws on his Catalan background and on the varied food cultures around him.

The menu reflected both influences. It opened with a series of small bites: Almond Shell, Coca de Atún, Trufflecini, Uni Tartalet, Kare-Kare and Abalone Tostada. Pizza Margarita, White Squid and Gazpacho Blanco came next, followed by Pulpo Negro, Coco Crab, Santiguíño and Shiso Tartare. Pil-pil Quail with Iberian Pork preceded two desserts in the form of Coco Loco and Frutas y Cacao. The meal concluded with petits fours called La Donuts and Champorado, the latter a reference to the Filipino chocolate rice porridge.

Speaking about the reunion, González said, “We both went through something very similar”. He recalled how each of them had to start from scratch far from home and develop “their own language” in the kitchen. He described the collaboration as a “magical” dialogue between two cuisines that “have a great deal in common”.

Zabala spoke about the role of memory in his cooking. “You always end up going back to the memory of that place, that moment, that meal, that first time,” he said. He added that living abroad had changed the way both of them see their roots. They now regard them with “a great deal of affection, so many memories and so much nostalgia”, he said, yet “without being quite so closely tied to your own skin”.

The dinners linked the Philippines and California through two chefs who trained in the same kitchen. Each has since adapted that training to the ingredients and traditions of the place where he now cooks.

Food Desk

For further information about Chele González, visit his Instagram here and for further information about Aitor Zabala, visit his Instagram here.