Paco Roncero
After finishing his studies in the early 1990s Paco Roncero began work as a trainee in the restaurant Zalacain (three Michelin Stars) and later in the Hotel Ritz, Madrid.
In the late 1990's Roncero joined the Casino de Madrid as restaurant consultant, where he created elaborate banquet menus and helped to improve and modernise the gastronomy before being appointed to head chef at the casino in 2000. As part of the role he oversaw the banqueting and El Bulli Catering, La Terraza restaurant and The Club de Golf Retamares.
In 2002, under Roncero's creative direction, the Casino de Madrid became the first private club in Europe to receive a Michelin Star for its La Terraza restaurant. The following year he created the highly successful software 'Gestor de Cocina' ('Kitchen Manager'), a program designed to improve kitchen returns by offering new solutions in areas such as costing, reservations and warehousing. During the same period Roncero was chosen by a Spanish TV station to direct and star in one of their programs 'Cocina en Miniatura' ('Cooking in Miniature').
In 2004 he collaborated with Ferran Adria and Juan Mari Arzak on the gala dinner held prior to the royal wedding of Prince Felipe of Spain and became a contributor to the Spanish newspaper El Pais's gastronomy section. Roncero's attention turned to olive oil and its textures. He has been credited as revolutionising its uses and in 2005 he gave a series of seminars on the extended applications of olive oil. In the same year he became food and drink advisor to the five star Hotel Gran Casino de Extremadura and was named General Manager of the Casino de Madrid and The Club de Golf Retamares.
Over the past five years Roncero has published two cook books (Tapas in the 21st Century Gastronomy and Sandwiches and Salads), won numerous Spanish and international awards and spoken at various key industry events around the world. In 2008 he opened his own restaurant, Estado Puro: Las Tapas de Paco Roncero and last year the La Terraza restaurant received its second Michelin Star.
