Benito Gómez

Chef at Bardal** (Ronda, Málaga)

With hands-on signature cuisine, Benito Gómez conveys the taste of the Málaga hinterland. His Bardal restaurant is drawing in patrons constantly.

Born in Barcelona, but carrying Ronda in his heart, Benito Gómez is a chef, an empresario and a keen sportsman. His love for cooking emerged when he was very young, because his parents ran the Masía Can Raimí restaurant in Argentona (Barcelona). He began his cookery career almost three decades ago, studying at the Sant Pol de Mar Catering School.

He then moved into his professional career at major restaurants such as Jean Luc Figueras, Las Rejas (owned by Manolo de la Osa), the Alquería de Hacienda Benazuza (with Ferrán Adriá) and Tragabuches (with Dani García). They were all spaces in which Gómez acquired passion and a sound technique which he now applies at his two restaurants: Tragatá, his Andalusian “tapas” outlet, and the gastronomic facility Bardal, both located in Ronda.

Benito Gómez was awarded the 2017 Prize for Best Restaurant in Málaga 2017 by the Málaga Gastronomic Academy, and the prestigious Michelin Guide gave the Bardal its second Michelin star in 2020 (the first was awarded in 2018). Ronda Town Hall also awarded him the “Puente del Turismo” prize in 2019.

With a cuisine very much rooted in the town and region, recently Gómez took a further step in his love for kilometre zero by setting up an agroecological production project to bring in supplies.