Naman Shrestha
In Netflix’s ‘Chef’s Table,’ the viewers are introduced to the stories of a bunch of talented and well-established chefs from all over the world as they take us through their journey to culinary stardom. Like the previous seasons, the seventh volume also features several creative culinary masters, one of them being Ángel León, also known as “El Chef del Mar.” In his episode, he talks about the origins of his passion for cooking and how he persevered to earn three Michelin stars for his Cádiz-based restaurant.
Ángel Passion of Cooking Took Him to Different Cities Across the World
Hailing from Cádiz with a dream to make a lasting impact on the planet through his culinary knowledge and skills, Ángel León had to work hard to get where he is currently in the food industry. Born and brought up in the Spanish city with his parents and siblings, Ángel used to spend quite a lot of time with his hematologist father, Ángel León Lara, fishing in the Bay of Cádiz, mostly on weekends. Ever since his childhood, he was deeply connected to the sea and developed a passion for fishing. While he was calm and composed near the sea, he was just as troublesome on land, which resulted in him going to five different high schools and barely graduating.
Finding his calling, Ángel studied cooking for three years in a hotel school called Taberna del Alabardero in Seville. In 1996, he got the opportunity to cook at a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Bordeaux, France, called Le Chapon Fin, and he moved to France to pursue his dreams. To begin with, he prepared workstations for the chefs at the restaurant and worked about 16-17 hours each day. Whenever he had time in between, he used to learn the recipes, and after three years of hard work, he became a station chef at the restaurant. His professional path then took him back to Spain, where he worked with chef Fernando Córdoba at the El Faro restaurant.
Despite a Rough Start, Aponiente Became a Three-Michelin-Star Restaurant
With several years of culinary experience under his belt, he returned to his homeland of Cádiz, specifically to the town of El Puerto de Santa María, where he established his own restaurant — Aponiente. With the majority of the menu based solely on the sea, the restaurant failed to attract many customers in the early years. It had gotten so bad that the chef was afraid he would have to shut down the restaurant altogether. However, thanks to his perseverance and belief in his idea, people started to understand the concept of Aponiente and appreciate Ángel’s culinary artistry. The fate of the restaurant changed drastically in 2010, the year it earned its first Michelin star.
A few years later, in 2014, Aponiente won a second Michelin star, after which more and more people from different parts of Spain and the rest of the world came to enjoy his restaurant’s unique seafood dishes. By the time the restaurant earned its third Michelin star in 2017, he and his restaurant had already made a name across the globe. Given his innovative work with marine products and ingredients, he earned the nickname — The Chef of the Sea. Making the most of his influence and platform, Ángel pushed forward his vision to utilize the discarded marine ingredients and turn them into something delicious. He also worked with numerous universities, chefs, and academics to emphasize the fragility of the ocean ecosystems and the importance of sustainability projects.
Over the course of his decades-long career in the culinary industry, Ángel has achieved various milestones, such as creating the first saline cheese, discovering diatomaceous algae for making stocks, and utilizing previously discarded fish to make fine dining dishes. He also published a book titled ‘Chef del Mar’ in 2012. As of today, he is working on a project to find out if Eelgrass or Zostera marina can be used for culinary purposes.
Ángel León is a Devoted Husband and a Doting Father
Growing up in Cádiz, Spain, Ángel León was a close friend of Marta Girón, with whom he later reconnected. Since they knew each other from childhood, it did not take much for sparks to fly between them. As one thing led to another, they began dating and tied the knot to make their relationship official in the eyes of the law. While Ángel is the owner of Aponiente, his wife has been in charge of La Taberna del Chef del Mar, a seafood tavern situated near Aponiente, since 2016. Besides their shared interests and decades-long history, what strengthens their bond as a couple is their son, Ángel Jr.
Although he is a devoted family man, Ángel prefers to keep his personal life away from the prying eyes of the media. Talking about his family in an interview with Traveler, he explained (translated), “When you have a son you no longer think about yourself, you think: I don’t want to leave him any trouble so ‘you can sell croquettes now, daddy’ so that when he’s older he can only say about his father that he was a guy of art , who discovered many beautiful things about the sea and made known ingredients that his father first put on the table for the first time.”
He added, “Marta is the woman I hope will be by my side until I die, rowing together; through good and bad seas, because in the end life is like the sea…” The small family of three regularly gets the opportunity to travel to different destinations across the world. For instance, in November 2024, they traveled to Dubai and explored its culture through its food and landmarks. In both their opinions, Cádiz is the perfect environment for their son to grow up. Thus, they continue living in the Spanish city focused on their personal as well as professional lives.
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