CARME RUSCALLEDA

The Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda
Font: www.ruscalleda.com

Carme Ruscalleda is a Catalan chef who was born in 1952 in Sant Pol de Mar. She manages a restaurant in Sant Pol de Mar and an other restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. Both restaurants are called Sant Pau.

Ruscalleda grew up in a family of farmers and began cooking as a girl. She studied Charcuterie technics and Commerce, and she got married with Toni Balam in 1975. The couple opened restaurant Sant Pau in 1988.

In 1991 it got its first Michelin Guide star and in 2006 gained its third Michelin star. Today her restaurants have five Michelin stars in total: three in her restaurant in Catalonia and two for the Sant Pau in Tokyo. The restaurant in Sant Pol de Mar also obtained the maximum three suns of the Campsa Guide in 1999. In 2013 she won the Medal of Honor of Catalonia's Parliament.

Her cooking style is strongly based on Catalan tradition, quality and seasonal products. However, it has been influenced by other cuisines.

Since 2000, she has published lots of books on the Mediterranean diet, with modern, easy, quick and tasty meals. And she also has published recipes adapted to non-professional kitchens. The most popular is Cuinar per ser feliç (2001). In English she has published Carme Ruscalleda's Mediterranean cuisine (2007).


Her most popular dishes are:

Strawberry desert, made with quark, yuzu and citrus.
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"Suquet de rap a la Lluisa"
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