Bagá covers 45 square metres and has a five-person team. Its owner and chef, Pedro Sánchez, publicly known as Pedrito Sánchez, received the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía al Mejor Jefe de Cocina after the Jaén restaurant earned its first Michelin star this year. El Economista reported the award, noting Bagá’s compact size and Sánchez’s dual role as owner and chef.
Sánchez said the award came as a surprise and described Bagá’s cooking as personal and distinctive. He was among those honoured on 9 November in Toledo. It was only the second time in the awards’ 52 editions that the ceremony had been held outside Madrid, and the first time it had taken place in Castilla-La Mancha.
The ceremony took place at the Palacio de Congresos El Greco, hosted by Toledo chef Pepe Rodríguez of El Bohío in Illescas. The Real Academia de Gastronomía administers the annual awards, which recognise professionals, projects and initiatives that contribute to the development and innovation of Spanish gastronomy and raise its profile. Each category had an independent jury, proposed by the academy and made public. Categories included kitchen direction, dining-room direction, sommellerie, research and innovation, gastronomic communication, lifetime achievement and young talent. Castilla-La Mancha President Emiliano García-Page attended the ceremony.
The awards also recognised experience across generations and work beyond restaurant kitchens. Emilio Medina, a horticulturist from Villalcázar de Sirga, Palencia, received the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía al Talento Joven for his La Mielga project. It works to recover traditional seeds and agricultural varieties, along with the knowledge tied to them. Jaume Subirós of Motel Empordà received the “Toda una vida” award after 65 years in professional kitchens. The recognition highlighted hospitality rooted in local produce and a strong connection to place, delivered through attentive service. Subirós recalled that chefs once learned day by day as they moved between restaurants. Formal cooking schools and culinary knowledge are now more widespread.
Other awards covered food writing and research. Pilar Salas of Agencia EFE received the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía y Comunicación for her work as a communicator. She said social media had made it harder to find critical voices in food coverage, pointing to the popularity of TikTok personalities without a clear critical standard. The award puts gastronomic journalism alongside restaurant and academic work in the awards’ national programme.
Salas’s award comes amid broader public interest in Spanish food, also seen in coverage of a Valencia paella meal after a PP rally. Another professional honour went to Josep Bernabeu, a doctor of medicine and professor of the history of science at the University of Alicante. He received the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía a la Investigación e Innovación for a career focused on gastronomy, including food and nutrition. Bernabeu said eating also involved sharing emotions and feelings. He voiced concern that people increasingly ate alone in front of screens.
Mohamed Benabdallah, sommelier at Asador Etxebarri in Axpe, Bizkaia, received the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía al Mejor Sumiller. EFE described Etxebarri as the restaurant recognised as the world’s best by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. In an interview in Toledo on the day of the ceremony, Benabdallah said great wines are enjoyed in good company. Casto Copete of Nou Manolín won the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía a la Mejor Dirección de Sala.
