Josep Maria Kao

Josep Maria Kao is the son of Kao Tze Chien, formerly the chef at Gran Dragón - Barcelona's first Chinese restaurant - and, like his father, he has worked hard to consecrate the best Chinese cuisine. Although, in the case of Josep Maria Kao, it is more a matter of interpreting traditional Chinese cooking by introducing some creative nuances and adding in Mediterranean products. His speciality, in fact, is creating new recipes with local produce, adapted to the culinary techniques of the Asian continent. 

Josep Maria Kao began work alongside his father and his brother, Luis Kao, at the Shangai restaurant, where they were joined with the lady who would eventually become his wife, Mercedes Santin. Since this initial business, the Kao family have opened other restaurants, and the third generation has also emerged in the shape of Josep Maria daughters, Melian and Nayan Kao. This conglomerate features Kao Dim Sum, where dumplings are the star attraction; Mr. Kao, which fuses some of the recipes of the Shangai and the Kao Dim Sum in their simplest version; and Kao Soledu, his Chinese cookery outlet in Andorra's Park Piolets hotel.