APICIUS 46. Camarena, Txispa, Ama, Manu Franco

Format: 21 x 29.7 cm

Distribution: Worldwide

Language: Spanish and English

Release: September 29, 2025

Some chefs cook. And there are others who think about cuisine. Who understand it as a language, as a way of being in the world. Ricard Camarena belongs to that second species. The kind that doesn't need to shout to be heard. Who constructs dishes as if writing music: with harmony, with precision, with emotion. In Apicius, we pay homage to those who lead the way. And Ricard does just that. From Valencia, with his own elegant and radically honest voice. A chef admired by all other chefs. For his talent, for his knowledge, for his way of understanding flavor as something vibrant, alive, connected to the land and to time. In the new issue of Apicius, Camarena is exactly where he should be: in depth, in detail, with respect and with light. Because some trajectories cannot be summarized. They must be studied. They must be celebrated. And his is one of them.

At Apicius, we have never felt the need to ask permission to tell what burns. We are not afraid of intensity. We do not embellish talent. We do not soften the pulse. If a chef shines, if their story deserves to be told, we do it. With their full name, skin, smoke, and soul. And that is why Txispa will be in the next issue of Apicius. Because greatness is not measured by the size of the city, nor by the stars that hang. It is measured by what it leaves within you. We saw it. We felt it. And now we bring it to paper. With the same force with which Tetsuro lights up every service.

Some decisions are not thought about. They are felt. Like an ancient call, as if blood whispered in your ear. Manu Franco had everything to continue traveling the world: he was one of the great sports journalists in this country, with the roar of engines as a soundtrack and Formula 1 as home. Until one day, he decided to stop. To return. To look inward. And then the inevitable happened: La Casa de Manolo Franco, that humble family restaurant full of memories, became the new circuit. But here there are no podiums or flags. Only substance, work, and emotion. From that corner in the Sierra de Madrid —hidden but incandescent— Manu has built a place that illuminates without needing to make noise. A gastronomic beacon where excellence is served with simplicity, and where each dish tells more than any sports report. For all this, Manu Franco is in Apicius. Because his story is fuel for the soul. And because, sometimes, stopping running is the best way to arrive.

From Tolosa, with the quiet strength of someone who knows their land down to the millimeter, Javi and Gorka cook with intact emotion and their feet firmly planted on the ground. At AMA, every dish is an act of love for what they have known since childhood. An honest, brilliant, and unpretentious way of doing things very well. At Apicius, we believe that talent multiplies when shared. And they do it like few others: they shed light on their suppliers, elevate those who work the land, fishing, craftsmanship, with the same passion with which they assemble a dish or open the restaurant door. AMA is in the new issue of Apicius because their cuisine deserves to be told. Because their story —deep, generous, unpretentious— speaks to us of what matters. And because when substance, truth, and sensitivity go hand in hand, the paper burns. This report burns just as brightly.