
29-year-old Valencian Vicky Sevilla is chef of Arrels in Sagunto, a small town on the Mediterranean making waves thanks to this young talent. The word ‘arrels’ means ‘roots’, and Sevilla’s style is to create nostalgic dishes from local ingredients, with the intention of feeding her memories to guests. Recent dishes include grilled eel with tarragon hollandaise and fig, bonito with Mediterranean herb granita, and ajo blanco with goose barnacles. Sevilla credits self-sacrifice, vocation, and enthusiasm for her successes so far, and dreams of opening her restaurant in a hotel, so she can feed her friends dinner, have them stay over, and make breakfast the next morning. Count us in!