Tetsuro Maeda

Chef Tetsuro Maeda trained 6 years as sous chef under Victor Arguinzoniz at Asador Etxebarri before opening Txispa ('spark' in Basque) in April 2023. His central question: 'What would a Japanese person have done 4 centuries ago in this place?' He answers through fermentation, maceration, and kaiseki-inspired technique applied to Basque fire-cooking in a 400-year-old farmhouse. He grows Japanese vegetables in Txispa's own garden; his ferments and preserved items bridge both culinary traditions.