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The life of Spanish chef Dabiz Muñoz has been adventurous. In the last two years, the Best Chef Awards has consecutively recognised him as the best chef in the world – beating colleagues such as Josep Roca, René Redzepi and Mauro Colagreco. His flagship Madrid restaurant, DiverXO, with three Michelin stars, has had a skyrocket climb in the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants: it appeared for the first time in 2021 at number 20, climbed to fourth in 2022 and was third this year. It is already one of those tipped (on the informal betting exchange that dominates the influential list) to take the number one spot next year.
If that wasn't enough, he is about to become a father, is working on the final details to open a branch of his beloved StreetXO restaurant in Dubai, and is meticulously planning an international expansion of the brand to the US next year: Miami might be the first stop, as the chef also considers other cities in the future.
DiverXO
"StreetXo is a concept that we can and want to replicate abroad. We put together a cuisine based on street food and with a serious international appeal," Muñoz explains. He’s also contemplating other expansions in the future, like having new branches of his GoXO delivery concept and even opening a RavioXo (his pasta restaurant) outside the Spanish capital. “We want to do things calmly, in cities that I really like and that have enough economic movement, of course,” he explains. There are many possibilities out there, Muñoz says. “The only thing not on the table is having another DiverXO. It is a unique place that will never leave Madrid,” he points out.
There is still time for him to plan the new version of DiverXO 2.0: the restaurant's new headquarters, set to open in 2024, is being built on the outskirts of Madrid (in a secret location) and will be "a true gastronomic amusement park," Muñoz promises. “We want it to be a temple of hedonism, where people can have the best gastronomic experience of their lives," he says, without modesty. The chef is willing to take its dreamlike atmosphere (flying pigs, waiters dressed in marching band uniforms, and even an Addams Family Thing-style hand as support to serve snacks) even further.
A dish at DiverXO
“It's going to be a fun restaurant, more than anything else. I think haute cuisine, in general, has left behind the goal of entertaining guests,” he points out. “We live in an era where restaurants must make a political statement about everything. Of course, restaurants have a social role – regarding their surroundings, the local producers, sustainability – and should be held accountable for that. But we cannot forget that they are, essentially, entertainment spaces,” he adds.
In his work, Muñoz says he always seeks avant-garde cuisine, taking cooking techniques to a higher level of precision and creativity – either in a delivery kitchen or a three-starred restaurant. "I am a perfectionist and we spend many hours dedicating ourselves to creating new recipes, new ways to entertain our guests and connect with them,” he says. According to the chef, innovation has high value today in gastronomy, but many people mix up the avant-garde with creativity. “ElBulli was avant-garde, changing the language of gastronomy, without ceasing to be a place where people went to spend hours of complete amusement, forgetting the outside world. Not all restaurants have this capability or necessity today,” he says.
RavioXO
Muñoz, known for his characteristic mohawk and a bad boy attitude on social media (gathering millions of followers), took a different path from most of his compatriots: he did not train with any famous chef in Spain. Instead, he pursued an international career, spending six years training in London. In 2008, the chef opened DiverXO, the place that made him famous and has become one of the country's most expensive – and coveted — restaurants. During the pandemic, he created GoXO, a unique delivery restaurant that serves chicken wings to tacos with a chefs approach, and last year he expanded his UniverXO (as he named his restaurant group) with the opening of RavioXO, showcasing the world of pasta in dishes inspired by Chinese and Italian cuisines.
“I feel like a complete cook, and I like being able to cook from haute cuisine dishes to hamburgers and hot dogs. I think creativity always needs to be stretched, with no boundaries,” he says. Munõz has just partnered with Doritos – with a recipe mixing cheese, mortadella and truffles called DoriXO, of course – and still develops ready-to-eat products ranging from nougats to sauces (from pesto to aioli), available on shelves at gourmet markets such as Corte Inglés, a brand with whom he has maintained a long-standing partnership.
A dish at StreetXO
In recent years, he has worked to professionalise his group and give opportunities to his staff. "We want not only to build an excellent restaurant for our diners but above all for our team," he says. The decision to focus on his employees (around 150 people today, as opposed to the team of only four he relied on when he first opened) has paid off: Miguel Angel León, head sommelier at DiverXO, was just recognised as the best in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Two years ago, Marta Campillo, the restaurant's maitre d', received the Spanish National Gastronomy Award for her role as a front-of-house manager.
"Much is said about valuing professionals nowadays, especially with the staff shortage we are experiencing. But it's obvious: when it comes to hospitality, a restaurant is essentially defined by the people involved in its operation," Muñoz says. "Their development is the reason for the development of my business. Without them, I couldn't even consider the idea of going further," he concludes.
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