Miguel Navarro

Chef Miguel Navarro's culinary philosophy is deeply rooted in his personal journey and life experience, transforming cooking from a mere profession into a profound lifestyle and a vehicle for storytelling. He believes that at his level, it is not a job, but a daily reinvention, approaching each day as if it were the first. Born in La Gomera and adopted by Mallorca, Navarro masterfully blends Atlantic and Mediterranean influences, deliberately moving beyond traditional Mallorcan cuisine to craft 'multicultural island food.' His dishes carry memory, know no borders, and infuse a 'rock & roll' spirit, ensuring each creation has a starting point but never a fixed destination. He designs his cuisine based on his own life experience, aiming to share positive sensations with diners and move them without artifice. A staunch advocate for quality and sustainability, Navarro’s kitchen prioritizes 'the very best quality' local raw materials. He maintains a deep connection to the land, working with the Son Montaner vegetable farm—a project of the Arabella Hospitality group—to transform organic waste into compost for local farmers. Es Fum also boasts its own organic garden, cultivated under sustainable principles in partnership with the Esment Foundation, which provides employment for individuals with special needs. This ensures a supply of seasonal herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers, hand-picked by his team. His commitment extends to creating 'warm, light, [and] sea-based' dishes perfectly adapted to Mallorca's climate and its discerning clientele, always aiming to extract the maximum flavor from each product. Ultimately, Navarro believes gastronomy is about more than just cooking and serving well; it's about 'telling stories and telling them well,' offering 'complete experiences' that stimulate all senses and resonate on an emotional level. He actively seeks to understand the customer's perspective, ensuring that the dining experience is as profound and creative as the food itself. Chef Navarro’s technical mastery is characterized by a precise yet emotional execution, focusing on depth, texture, and daring compositions. His plates are visual artistry, designed to move diners without artifice and elevate the essential. His flavor profile leans towards warm, light, and sea-centric creations, meticulously adapted to Mallorca’s environment. He achieves maximum flavor extraction from premium ingredients, presenting them with intimate gestures and an eye for aesthetics that integrates light, textures, and artworks into the dining experience, stimulating senses beyond just taste. Navarro orchestrates his narratives through three distinct tasting menus at Es Fum: * **Origin**: A personal culinary journey tracing his Atlantic roots (Canary Islands) to his Mediterranean home (Mallorca). * **Vegetable**: A comprehensive, animal-protein-free concept, described as a 'complete concept' rather than an alternative, featuring delicate and creatively presented dishes like tender asparagus and pea quinoa, or glazed vegetables with smoked tofu and black olives. * **Recorrido (Journey)**: The most conceptual and emotional menu, presented as a metaphor in eleven acts exploring the human experience from childhood to fulfillment, with dishes representing themes like death, love, and change. Notable creations from this menu include a hauntingly beautiful 'salt-baked pigeon shaped like a skull' and in-house fermented lavender kefir. A revered classic that patrons 'won’t let him change' is the **Duck and Vegetable Spring Ravioli**. Other standout dishes include the Red prawn creamy rice, Black ravioli with red shrimp and watercress foam, and Egg yolk with cauliflower and Maxorata cheese.

Career

• Apprentice at Family's restaurant, La Gomera
• Early experience at Several hotels, Tenerife
• Intern at Restaurante Martín Berasategui, Basque Country
• Team Member at MB Restaurant (Ritz-Carlton Abama), Tenerife
• Chef at Restaurant Aqua (Chef Sven Elverfeld), Wolfsburg
• Chef at Piazza Duomo, Italy
• Chef at Azurmendi, Bilbao
• Chef at El Celler de Can Roca, Girona
• Second Chef de Cuisine at Lasarte Restaurant, Barcelona
• Executive Chef at Es Fum, Mallorca

Mentored by Martín Berasategui, Sven Elverfeld, Paolo Casagrande.