Meet
The chefs
Sagardi Group was born from the passionate dream of two Basque brothers, Iñaki and Mikel Lpz. De Viñaspre. From their earliest childhood, they learned to cook traditional and authentic Basque food from their "amona" (grandmother) in their small kitchen in Vitoria, the Basque Country. In 1996, the brothers' dream came true when they opened their first Sagardi restaurant in the historic Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, which has since expanded to 5 countries and 8 cities as a result of their great reputation and success.
Mikel & Iñaki
Lpz de Viñaspre
Iñaki Lpz. De Viñaspre
"I have always defined myself as a cooking fanatic. My "amona" (grandmother in Basque) taught me to cook when I was young, and I quickly became obsessed with being in the kitchen. Our cuisine is like our religion in the Basque Country, full of flavor, heritage, and culture. While studying Food Anthropology at university, I discovered how food influences social interactions and the daily life of different cultures. Since then, I have been driven by the passion to recreate the flavors of my childhood and share them with the rest of the world."
Mikel Lpz. De Viñaspre
"One of my earliest memories is cooking and eating hake kokotxas with my father and brother in the txokos. I owe a lot to them, as well as my grandmother and many more before them, for protecting traditional Basque dishes with love and sensitivity. I learned early on not to complicate things with ingredients; textures are everything, and flavors are pure. Although I studied Geography and History at the University of Barcelona (I love to travel and experience different cultures), my first job was in hospitality. I worked in a zapiain sagardotegi, a Basque cider house considered a temple of Basque txuleton. Years later, curiously, it became the same place where I train my Sagardi chefs in the art of grilling."
