Andorra
Paco Méndez
Chef at TOC Anyós Park, (La Massana, Andorra)
Paco Méndez is one of Spain’s best-known faces in Mexican cuisine, as borne out by his work at the Hoja Santa and Niño Viejo restaurants.
Born in Mexico City, he travelled to Spain to learn the trade among maestros such as Koldo Royo and Juan Mari Arzak, and then went back home to work at his old school. But he was given the chance of an internship at elBulli, which changed everything, and he finally settled in Barcelona in 2011 alongside the younger Adrià brother.
He began work with Albert at Tickets, helping to open Bodega 1900 and Pakta, and finally undertaking the Hoja Santa project, which won him a Michelin star. Following the closure of the elBarri conglomerate, he opened the Encanta restaurant at a luxury Riviera Maya resort and a restaurant in Barcelona in the same space as Hoja Santa, by the name of Come by Paco Méndez. Here he and his wife Erinna Mariciano have created a gastronomy format as the natural evolution of his work with Albert Adrià.
Méndez also went to Andorra to take over the TOC Anyós Park restaurant, where he combines Mexican food with local produce.
