It is an expected novelty of the gastronomic autumn: the opening in

Madrid of Carne

, the hamburger restaurant format of

Mauro Colagreco

.

It will be the first business in Spain for the Argentine chef based on the Costa Azul, where his haute cuisine mother house is

Mirazur

, which was the best restaurant in the world in 2019 according to 'The World's 50 Best Restaurants' list.

A 'burger' with three Michelin stars or the 'burger' of one of the best restaurants in the world?

Meat can indeed bear that 'surname', exemplifying a trend that is not new, but which, in some cases, did drive the pandemic: chefs with a Michelin star or other awards include 'fast food' formulas such as ' burger' or pizza.

Visionary Adria

No less than twenty years ago,

Ferran Adrià

devised a gastronomic 'fast food' format, which ranged from gourmet hamburgers to sandwiches and salads.

Fast Good

was a project created for NH, when the chef of

elBulli

-at the height of his role as leader of elBulli and, in fact, of the world movement of avant-garde Spanish cuisine- was an advisor to the hotel chain -in the times when Gabriele Burgio was its CEO.

"Make fast food compatible with the highest quality" was looking for a concept and where you ate for an average ticket of 15 euros.

Its last location closed in June 2011 -a month and a half before elBulli closed as a restaurant-.

"I've been wrong many times. There are projects that haven't worked, but I've learned from them. Why didn't Fast Good work? The premises should have been smaller. What happened? Thanks to Fast Good, today the world The world is full of Fast Goods and places offering quality hamburgers", argued Ferran Adrià in 2012.

His brother

Albert Adrià could not resist allocating a corner of

Enigma

, his restaurant in Barcelona, ​​to the 'burger world'

, when he reopened it in June after 27 months closed due to the pandemic;

he included the dinner snack in his offer, including a 'smash burger' at a bar.

Coming back from vacation, Enigma dispensed with this time slot and the option of enjoying the live show of that ephemeral 'burger à la minute'.

"We will have to end up setting up a hamburger restaurant," they suggest from Albert Adrià's team, who, by the way, got fed up with eating 'burgers' during the restaurant's closure -his trusted people continued to work on different projects with Enigma turned into offices and R&D space,

Carlos Maldonado, with a hamburger from his 'delivery' El Círculo.

From Colagreco to Redzepi

There are many chefs who succumb to the charm of fast food and, specifically, of hamburgers.

"It's what we actually like the most, only well done," admits a star chef.

There are a few cases of gourmet 'fast food', some the result of the pandemic, but not all.

Carne started in 2016 in Argentina, as a family business owned by Mauro Colagreco, his sister,

Carolina

, and his brother-in-law,

Rafael Lima

.

With 5 branches in Argentina and one in Brussels -owned or franchised-, the model consists of using ingredients from local producers, 'growth hormone-free' meat or organic vegetables.

A burger bar, where you order at the register in the style of a large chain.

To disembark in the Spanish market,

Nino Redruello

and the consultant

Patricia

, while relying on providers such as

Discarlux

,

Madreamiga

and

Huerta de Aranjuez

.

The price of the 'burger' is yet to be determined.

His plan contemplates opening the first two Meat stores before the end of the year to reach a dozen in 5 years.

Is it profitable for a chef to bet on a format as 'casual' as a hamburger restaurant?

Balancing can be complex when aiming to use high-quality ingredients, with the creativity of the associated name, and charge moderate prices.

René Redzepi

, chef and partner of

Noma

, who was number one in the world in 2021, created with his team

De él Popl

during the pandemic in Copenhagen, a city that has become a global gastronomic destination for its innovative projects.

It was the result of a trial: his haute cuisine space reopened in mid-May 2020 after the first confinement, turning his garden into a 'burger bar' with meat, vegan and vegetarian recipes and with natural wines as a complement.

It was a 'success': queues of local public that, for the most part, had never set foot in Noma and who found this opportunity with this very 'casual' format.

That led at the end of 2020 to replace 108, haute cuisine space of the 'Grupo Noma', by Popl, a hamburger restaurant that dispatches each 'burger' for an average price of about 15 euros to change.

But all that glitters is not so business.

"

It is much harder to make a hamburger restaurant like Popl profitable than a 'fine dining' -haute cuisine-", confesses Redzepi. "It involves high costs for using meat from organic farms, highly selected ingredients and our sauces and, at the same time, offers prices attractive.

In addition, 5 days after opening, we had to close due to a new wave of Covid until after 5 months.

In the worst possible situation for a new business, the first year we lost money.

We still need quite a bit of time to build the concept," she adds.

we had to close due to a new wave of Covid until after 5 months.

In the worst possible situation for a new business, the first year we lost money.

We still need quite a bit of time to build the concept," he adds.

we had to close due to a new wave of Covid until after 5 months.

In the worst possible situation for a new business, the first year we lost money.

We still need quite a bit of time to build the concept," he adds.

Mauro Colagreco, at one of the Carne headquarters in Buenos Aires.

Dabiz Muñoz's 'burgers'

In Spain,

Dabiz Muñoz

, the only tri-star from Madrid, dispatches 'burgers' in his GoXO 'foodtrucks'

, a

brand created in May 2020 that he uses for projects such as his 'delivery'.

His two trucks usually park in front of

El Corte Inglés

centers (right now, one is in Murcia and the other is pending announcing its destination);

Within its menu, there are two types -they change some ingredients and sauces- of 'double cheeseburger' of matured beef, for 15.50 euros each.

It is the most 'casual' and affordable version of the kitchen of the owner of

DiverXO

, where the tasting menu costs 365 euros (without drinks).

For his part,

Carlos Maldonado

, winner of the third edition of

MasterChef

and with a star in

Raíces

, in Talavera de la Reina, his hometown, where he created

El Círculo

, a concept of gourmet hamburgers, which arrived in Madrid this year as a 'delivery' via apps like

Glovo

and

UberEats

.

With 5 recipes, they have prices from 11.95 to 13.95 euros.

"My dream is to bring special hamburgers to people's homes, with powerful flavors and very tasty sauces," he says.

Last summer, the Galician

Pepe Solla

(a star) dispatched 'burgers' (including a fish one) within his more 'casual' brand

La Radio

, at

El Náutico de San Vicente

, in O'Grove.

In the midst of the pandemic, several renowned chefs launched hamburgers in home delivery formats, such as

La Gran Familia Mediterránea

, by

Dani García

, or

Cuatromanos

, by

Ramón Freixa and Paco Roncero.

Rafa Panatieri and Jorge Sastre, partners of the Sartoria Panatieri pizzeria,

'high' pizzerias

Pizza is also 'sexy' for chefs.

Colagreco himself has the

Pecora Negra

pizzeria (with locations in Menton and Strasbourg).

In Madrid,

César Martín

, owner of

Lakasa

(with a loyal 'foodie' and business clientele), decided in July to replace a gastronomic trattoria with

Mola Pizza

, a pizzeria where these dough recipes and various ingredients are priced between 11 and 15 euros.

Roberto Ruiz

, a Mexican chef who had a star at

Punto MX

-closed in the pandemic-, apart from the

Barracuda MX

restaurant and dedicating himself to his 'delivery' of tacos (MXRR), signs a spicy pizza from the popular chain until October 16

gross napoletano

.

Even haute cuisine chefs are recycled towards popular formats, although very gastronomic at the same time.

Sartoria Panatieri

is the project of

Rafa Panatieri

and

Jorge Sastre

in Barcelona.

After working with the Rocas in the now-defunct

Roca Moo

, they started this pizzeria shortly before the pandemic.

Their commitment is to use products made by themselves (such as sausages) and Catalan ingredients (including organic flour) in a menu with prices from 11.50 to 18.90 euros per pizza.

With two locations in Barcelona, ​​Sartoria ranks 21st in the Top 50 best pizzas in the world in 2022. Now, these entrepreneurs are preparing to open a grill concept.

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