Children of a mother and father cooks, grandchildren of fishermen, nephews of pastry chefs. The history of Juan Carlos and Jonathan Padrón, closely linked to the kitchen since their childhood, has remained forever linked to that of the history of the gastronomy of the Islands, after winning two Michelin Stars for the first time in the Canary Islands, the culinary guide world reference that distinguishes the best restaurants in the world. The Padrón brothers managed to renew a Star for their restaurant El Rincón de Juan Carlos de Tenerife, and the first for Poemas By Hermanos Padrón in Gran Canaria -after just over a year open-, both linked to the Barceló Hotels & Resorts group. The secret, according to its protagonists, is in their commitment to the Canarian flavor and product, together with the humility, closeness and effort of the family and their teams.
«For us, achieving two Michelin Stars has been a very important achievement, it is the first time it has happened in the Canary Islands. They have been 18 years of a lot of work and there are the results “, indicated Juan_Carlos Padrón. “It is a milestone for us and also for the islands, it had never happened before and being the first is a pride,” said Jonathan, who highlighted in the first place, the “brutal” work of the family. “We have given everything for gastronomy and in the end it has been rewarded. That and the teams we have, both in Tenerife and in Gran_Canaria ».
Flavor cuisine, affection for the Canarian product, humility and closeness. These are the main ingredients of the success of the Padrón brothers, Juan Carlos and Jonathan
The renewal of the Michelin Star for the restaurant El Rincón de Juan Carlos located in the Royal Hideaway Corales Resort hotel, in Tenerife, was the first of the joys that the great Padrón family took at the gala held in Valencia on December 14 . «Renewing this Star has been difficult considering that we were closed for four months due to the pandemic. But when we opened people reacted well. In fact, when we made the decision to make the change in restaurant in December and we opened on January 6 of this year, we were very afraid of the customer’s reaction, at a time of little tourism, but it is true that the local customer helps us a lot, they came to us from all the islands to the restaurant, and there is no way to be grateful “, they pointed out.
The second Estrella arrived a few minutes later, for his other restaurant, Poemas By Hermanos Padrón, located in the Hotel Santa Catalina, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, opened just over a year ago, with the young chef Iciar Pérez at the helm. «This has been an even greater achievement because we opened the restaurant in November 2019, we were closed in March and reopened in November 2020. In such a short time, just one year, we have achieved a Michelin Star and a Sun in the Guide Repsol ». Juan Carlos highlights the “great team that supports our work and respects us a lot”, with Iciar Pérez as head of the kitchen, and Esteban García in the room.
They make history in island gastronomy by being the first to achieve two Michelin Stars for their restaurants in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
The youth of Iciar Pérez, a native of El_Hierro, is striking. At only 27 he took on the challenge of leading Poemas By Hermanos Padrón. «She worked with us and every time I went to the restaurant I saw a responsibility, a respect and a love for things, that I fell in love with her work. The Gran Canaria project had already been walking and we had to look for a chef, and when we saw what Iciar was doing, it was clear to both my brother and I that she had to be the chef, because what she does is not normal”.
The Padrón brothers’ cuisine is characterized by the intensity of the flavor in elaborations marked by balance and simplicity. “Both in El Rincón de Juan Carlos and in Poemas By Hermanos Padrón we have very simple dishes, and when you eat you don’t expect that tumble of flavor.”
With Iciar Pérez at the helm, they achieve the first award for Poemas By Hermanos Padrón, in their first open year
The products of the land constitute the basis of its haute cuisine. «That is what all the cooks of the Canary Islands and the companies that are dedicated to food in the islands have to do, bet on what is ours, because we have such great products in our land, that when they come from abroad they fall in love, whereas here it is not valued, and that is a mistake ».
They describe the garden of the Canary Islands as “one of the best in Europe”, thanks to the climate of the islands; as well as blue fish, cheeses -very awarded in all national and international competitions-. “And there are also young people who return to agriculture and livestock again, and there are no hands to applaud that work.”
They describe the garden of the Canary Islands as “one of the best in Europe”, thanks to the Archipelago’s climate
Family is another key to the success of the Padrón brothers’ cuisine, with Juan Carlos more focused on the salty world and Jonathan on the sweet world, but in continuous symbiosis when creating new dishes. “We get along very well, we are a very lucky family, because in the end we do what we like. My mother, who has just retired, continues to cook food for the staff, my brother in the pastry shop, I in the kitchen and our wives are the sommeliers ». And in Poemas By Hermanos Padrón, in the capital of Gran Canaria, they have also managed to transmit that family spirit to the entire team. “We are in some spectacular hotels, but we need to give that family touch. When they come to see us, both in one house and another, the feeling has to be the same, that of a family that wants to serve you with open arms and giving you the best of our land “, point out the Canarian chefs, who consider as the next challenge to achieve the second Star for his restaurant El Rincón de Juan_Carlos, in Tenerife.
