Julen Baz

Chef at Garena* (Lamindao, Vizcaya, Spain)

Based on traditional rural recipes, Julen Baz creates a cuisine that is both accessible and surprising.

Before opening Garena, Julen Baz - who trained in Leioa and with chefs such as Eneko Atxa - had already tried his hand at another tavern, Urtza, in his home town of Amorebieta at the age of 22. At Garena, which he shares with his partner Aitzol Atutxa, he has followed in the footsteps of the local cuisine, which is closely linked to the culture of Basque farmhouses, and has carried out a real anthropological study of the food that prevailed in these typical Basque homes. Opened just before the pandemic, Garena won its first Michelin star in just one year.

Located in a small village in the Arratia valley, Baz offers a gastronomic proposal from his farmhouse, "with many dishes that are no longer cooked", made with local products. At Garena, they work in perfect harmony with the producers of the area, most of whom are also young, with whom they have established a cooperative relationship in which both producers and chefs make their way and learn together.