Cousins Julio Sotomayor and Daniel Guzman grew up in the autonomous region of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain, renowned for its lush forest landscapes and the Atlantic Ocean which borders it and provides a wealth of marine life.
Even as children, Sotomayor and Guzman were surrounded by a family that loved food with a vengeance.
“My grandmother was a chef, not like a granny cooking in the kitchen – an actual chef. And my dad was a chef and my brother is a chef too. My dad had a tapas bar when he was younger, but later he dedicated his life to cooking in a hospital, where he made 800 meals a day,” says Guzman with pride.
The cousins were in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks ago for a collaboration dinner with Spanish restaurant Bocado, at the behest of the restaurant’s head chef Victor Santos who has Galician roots.
The cousins both say they were “bad students” and despite the family lineage, not one single family member wanted them to become chefs.
“Our family – in the beginning – they were against it, because 20 years ago gastronomy and hospitality were not the same. It was long journeys and a lot of hard work but now of course they are very proud of us,” says Sotomayor.
Still, the cousins could not be swayed and both went on to work in prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain. Their journeys didn’t intersect but they both shared a dream of one day opening a restaurant dedicated to their Galician roots.
In 2015, the stars aligned when Sotomayor was returning to Galicia and Guzman was finishing up a job.
“To be honest, we always had that idea floating around in us, but we never put anything down in black and white. It all happened without force and we were both 30 then so we thought, ‘Now is the moment – it’s now or never,’” says Guzman.
That is how Nova, which means “new” in Galician, opened in 2015. The restaurant is devoted to the traditional recipes of Galicia that the cousins grew up eating at their grandparents’ homes.
“In Galicia, it’s pretty normal to have grandparents who have a farmhouse in the village where they rear animals and grow their own vegetables. It’s like time stops and everything gets slower.
“So we have very beautiful memories of these things from our childhood so we try to put these elements in our cuisine and our recipes,” says Guzman.
When the cousins first opened their restaurant, they ran a bare-bones operation – it was just the two of them in the kitchen alongside two other front-of-house staff. The menu was also priced very reasonably, at a mere 18 euros (RM80). And yet two years into operations, they received a huge, welcome surprise when they earned a Michelin star!
“I still get goosebumps when I think about it. We had worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants before but when we opened our own restaurant, it was just an honest dream. Of course, as chefs we always thought about Michelin stars but for us, getting a star was totally out of the blue.
“And I remember after the announcement, our phones just kept ringing non-stop. When we did interviews in the restaurant, we had to put our phones in the fridge because otherwise it would just keep ringing!” says Guzman.
The restaurant was booked out for nearly a year after it attained a Michelin star, which it has continued to retain since.
These days, the restaurant has 11 people working in the team and a 28-diner capacity. Though the cousins have achieved their dream of attaining a Michelin star, they are not content to rest on their laurels.
Instead, they continue to shine the spotlight on the Galician recipes and meals that have a place in their hearts. The restaurant has three tasting menus that change based on Galician seasonal produce availability. Ingredients that typically have a leading role include chestnuts, an ingredient that is pivotal to most Galicians as it pre-dated the arrival of potatoes and was once the dominant starchy staple in the region. Till today, chestnuts are featured in story-telling and Galician folklore.
“There are a lot of cold, hard winters in Galicia and chestnut gives people energy to work hard. Till today, we even have a celebration called ‘magosto’ to celebrate chestnuts in autumn,” says Guzman.
The restaurant also highlights the bounty of the ocean. Although it is about 100km away from Ourense, the part of Galicia where the restaurant is located, the cousins say seafood is a huge influence, from Galician octopus to monkfish and scallops.
“The Atlantic Ocean influences all Galician kitchens. If you go to a fish shop in Galicia, you’ll see all sorts of fish – various colours, sizes and shapes. Every chef who comes to Galicia is amazed at the variety that we get here,” says Sotomayor.
The cousins say their goal is to continue making the meals that have a special place in their hearts and souls and keep striving to do better as the years progress.
“I think getting the Michelin star is important for our restaurant but just as important is seeing diners smile and enjoy the food at our restaurant,” says Guzman.
Perhaps what makes running a Michelin-starred restaurant even better for the cousins is that they get to do this as a family.
“We are like brothers. If we look at each other, we know what the other person is thinking and what sort of mood they’re in,” says Guzman.
To this, Sotomayor adds, “It’s great because if I’m not in the restaurant, I know he’s there so I can sleep like a baby at home!”
