With restaurants such as Batik, Bendito and Yubá Experience, which offer a unique signature cuisine, Grupo Premium is a benchmark in Malaga cuisine. At the heart of these gastronomic experiences, we can meet Mario Rosado, a Malaga chef whose career of more than 17 years is marked by a deep connection with Malaga and a creative vision that merges tradition and avant-garde in each dish.
Mario started his career in the kitchen unexpectedly. He tells us how his path changed when, by chance, he came across a cooking course that sparked his interest in gastronomy. “I entered the world of cooking by chance. I was studying business and administration and worked as a waiter on some weekends. One day, I went to do a three-day course as a catering operator, and in the classroom next door, a cooking course had just started. I don’t know what I saw that caught my attention so much, but the next day, I left my studies and signed up for that course. Seventeen years have passed since then,” shares the chef.
Despite having no previous experience in cooking, Mario acknowledges that his family was always involved in gastronomy. “In my family, everything has always worked around the table; we had a garden, we went to the market every week, we ate in different restaurants… My mother is a great cook, and my fishing grandparents also cooked the traditional marengas (people working in the fishing market) recipes of Malaga. Now, when I think about it, I realise it was all too obvious, but I didn’t see it at the time.” His family influence, together with his love for local products, has been vital in his development as a Malaga chef.
When asked about his inspiration for creating restaurant menus, Mario explains that he does not follow any specific sources of inspiration. He instead prefers to work according to the personality of each restaurant. “I have no inspiration as such. My life revolves around gastronomy, and it is constantly changing. I usually give each space a personality, and then I design the menu based on that. For example, Bendito is a restaurant of rich food, with no pretence other than that. In Batik, I look for colourful and mixed cuisine; in La Terraza de San Juan, a fun, international and cosmopolitan offer; and in Yubá, an authentic cuisine with flavours rooted in taste and elegant memory. Respecting these qualities, we design our gastronomic offer.”
Mario confesses that the concept of “fusion cuisine” does not fit with his philosophy. In his experience, he prefers to speak of “mixed cuisine”; this approach allows him to deeply explore the culinary culture of other countries while maintaining his identity. “I don’t like the concept of ‘fusion cuisine’. I prefer to talk about mixed cuisine. When I travel or train in the local cuisine of a country, I do not look so much at its recipes. Still, I try to understand its history and the evolution of its cuisine. Deeply knowing the authenticity behind its ingredients allows me to use them as I please, depending on the needs of the dish. My cooking pivots on a balance of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy undertones.”
A clear example of this philosophy is his version of Genoese pesto. “I love Genoese pesto, and its ingredients are basically basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. I make a pesto in which I change the pine nut to the pistachio; the pistachio has a more roasted flavour than the pine nut. Therefore, I need acidity and freshness. Suppose instead of using Mediterranean basil, I use sacred basil, a variety from Southeast Asia that has menthol and aniseed notes. In that case, I will get the freshness I need to balance the recipe. It is not a forced fusion to merge two kitchens, but I use it as a resource to obtain a perfect dish,” details the Malaga chef.
When it comes to highlighting one of his most emblematic dishes, Mario has no doubt: “There is a dish in Yubá that is called ‘Rape a la serrana’ (monkfish stew with prawns, ham, asparagus and egg), a tribute to Casa Pedro, a restaurant that no longer exists but was one of the best restaurants in Andalusia. It was my first job, and I learned the basics of Malaga’s seafood cuisine there. The most famous dish of his creation was the ‘Rape a la serrana’, and he had a particular recipe that today would be unthinkable since the dogmas of cooking have changed. We make an updated version of that dish, where we maintain the essence and enhance the flavours of Malaga products such as Dehesa de los Monteros ham.”
To keep his creativity alive, Mario reveals that he is continuously training and exploring. “My life revolves around gastronomy. I not only cook in the restaurant, but I also cook day by day at home. Many of the dishes that are in the restaurants are tests that I do at home. In addition, I am constantly training, reading books, attending conferences, looking for the most authentic cuisines in the countries I visit and analysing new gastronomic trends.”
When asked about the fundamental ingredients in his kitchen, Mario reveals that they vary according to the season. Currently, green lemon and Iberian acorn pork stand out, which are essential in their dishes during this time. “Every season, I have fetish ingredients. Now, for example, I use green lemon a lot. I like its freshness and the nuances it brings to the dishes. I also love the use of spices and aromatic herbs and the way their use completely changes a recipe. I really like acorn-fed Iberian pork. It is an undervalued product with endless possibilities. The noble products of the sea, such as sardines or anchovies, products that are common but well-used, are ingredients of haute cuisine.”
Regarding the differences between Yubá and Bendito, Mario points out that, although they both share the philosophy of careful signature cuisine, the expectations of the diner vary. “More than the differences that a diner might find, I would say that what varies is the expectation with which they come. For me, they are two very similar restaurants linked by the same common thread: good cuisine with very marked flavours.
❝Blessed is the restaurant with rich food for me, and that is what I transfer to diners when they ask me for recommendations. Yubá is a restaurant where diners expect to be surprised; there, we offer meticulous cuisine with flavours designed to surprise or touch the fibre of the taste memory.❞
In the end, Mario wants his diners to live a memorable experience. “I just want them to enjoy themselves, to feel at home and, if possible, to smile at them. I want that the next day, or when they remembered the food, they wanted to revisit us soon.”
With an eye on the future, Mario is clear that his goal is to deepen the sensory experiences in Yubá to take them to a new level while continuing to promote unique events in Bendito. “I want to continue developing sensory experiences in Yubá and continue designing unique events for our Bendito agenda,” he says with enthusiasm.
While Mario Rosado continues to take signature cuisine to new heights, his projects promise to continue captivating the most demanding palates in Malaga. With his unique approach and his tireless search for new gastronomic experiences, it is clear that his passion for gastronomy knows no limits. Mario is not only transforming signature cuisine in Malaga; he is creating experiences that diners will never forget.
Tags: Bendito, gastro-hotel, Malaga restaurants, Yubá
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