Definition of Versatile by the RAE:

1. It becomes or can be easily returned.

2. Able to easily and quickly adapt to various functions.

3. Of fickle and fickle temper or character.

The routine of Zarza de Granadilla was agitated (and a lot) in December 2021 when at the Michelin gala they pronounced the name of Versatile. The restaurant located in this town of 1,800 inhabitants north of Cáceres landed in the gastronomic Olympus. From the emptied Spain to the league of the stars. Behind the party, three brothers born and raised in the town: José (sommelier and head waiter), David (in charge of La Bodega, more informal area) and Alejandro (in kitchen) Hernández Talaván, who located that night Zarza de Granadilla on the foodie map and put in value the Extremaduran cuisine of product, proximity and season. "At first many people told us that no one was going to come to eat; it was a different and new proposal in the area...", recalls José (39). They were wrong in the diagnosis.

A CORNER OF TRANQUILITY

In the Plaza El Llano, next to the restaurant, Tuesday passes calmly. A couple of bank branches, a pastry shop and a small beauty center called Confort House mark the activity; A group of neighbors chat on one of the sidewalks. In Versatile, which opens from Thursday to Sunday, tranquility reigns that day.

The story behind this "100% family" restaurant combines effort, daring, some luck and a clear and determined commitment to work for and for its environment. "They have tried us to get out of here, but we are very loyal to the people," explains Alejandro (35), who trained at the School of Hospitality in Salamanca before leaving for Lasarte to work in Martín Berasategui's team. "There you enter another planet. When you arrive and see that there are 100 cooks for 50 diners, you freak out. You learn to always seek perfection." He soaked up everything, took advantage of every minute, met the best... But in my head I had to go home. "We are very small-town," says the chef with a smile sitting in the living room of his premises, which before entering the club of the prestigious red guide housed the pub and cocktail bar of the town. The business was then taken care of by David (43), the eldest of the brothers. "In 2015 we closed it. I went to Madrid to try my luck with another business with my partner", although at the time he returned to Zarza.

Mushroom and mushroom ravioli with foie sauce, Iberian ham and black truffle.

The only one left in the town was José, who after studying Business Sciences, worked 13 years in banking in the area of La Vera. "We always wanted to stay here, each one of us doing our own thing," he says while looking at the mobile, which does not stop incoming calls and WhatsApp messages.

Find out more

Albacete.

Juan Monteagudo (Ababol), "the village chef" who achieved the Michelin star in 11 months and still has no salary today

  • Writing: AMAYA GARCÍA

Juan Monteagudo (Ababol), "the village chef" who achieved the Michelin star in 11 months and still has no salary today

Valence.

Begoña Rodrigo (La Salita): "I gave birth on a Sunday and the following Wednesday I was working in the kitchen... It was a mistake."

  • Writing: AMAYA GARCÍA

Begoña Rodrigo (La Salita): "I gave birth on a Sunday and the following Wednesday I was working in the kitchen... It was a mistake."

Despite the distance that separated them from Álex, as they call him at home, whenever time, money and schedules allowed it, they got together to make a gastronomic getaway to some point in Spain. Precisely in one of those meals came the idea of assembling something the three. "We were at the restaurant Echaurren, in Ezcaray, and we had also visited the wineries of Ramón Bilbao," recalls David. It was the fall of 2015.

From left to right, Alejandro, David and José Hernández at the door of Versatile.

The first thing they did was define the concept and think about what audience they were going to attract. "The only thing we were clear from the beginning was that we would do it in Zarza de Granadilla," says José. "We wanted to bet on a cuisine a little different from what was offered in the area, with product from here and at an attractive price." On November 2, 2017, Versatile opened; David had returned from his adventure in Madrid and Alex had closed his chapter for the kitchens of the north. José combined hospitality and banking for two years.

TWO WELL-DEFINED SPACES

The initial challenge they faced cost their own; Making yourself known in the environment was more complicated than expected. "We started with a menu of 27 and another of 35 euros. We also offered the T-bone steak menu", which was a success since they released it. The restaurant has two spaces: a more informal part below, La Bodega, which was then open from Thursday to Sunday, and the lounge, which was open from Friday to Sunday. "When we started to raise our heads a little, we used to fill lunches and dinners, the pandemic came." And again to the starting point.

"During the months we were closed, we took the opportunity to refine our gastronomic proposal," says Alejandro. One of the reasons he decided to start was to "have the freedom to be able to tell my story and my roots through my dishes," he says while plating a mushroom and mushroom ravioli in the local kitchen. "I was always curious to do something of my own and that also means making mistakes."

Iberian loin carpaccio with black truffle vinaigrette, fresh herbs and parmesan.

When reopening after Covid – they were closed for 10 and a half months – the schedules changed: the salon was opened from Thursday to Sunday and La Bodega, on weekends. "We also took the opportunity to make reforms in the premises", where some of the works that are exposed on the walls of both spaces are for sale. Delivery was never considered as an option to keep the business open. "It didn't make much sense here."

VISIT OF THE INSPECTORS

The reopening came on May 13, 2021; the Michelin star on December 14 – they share Olympus in Extremadura with Atrio, in Cáceres, which has three. "We don't even know when the inspectors visited us," José confesses, "and almost better, because we didn't get nervous or have the pressure of the moment." When they received the mail from the Michelin Guide to attend the gala, they almost didn't believe it. "David and I were in the car," José recalls. "When they told me I lost control of what I was doing," confesses Álex, who went with José, while David and the rest of the team followed the ceremony on television from La Bodega. "It was crazy."

The photo of Alejandro with Martín Berasategui and the dedication of the Basque chef.

At 21:50 p.m., they said the name of Versatile on stage; "At 23.30 we had the mail collapsed. Online reservations were filled for two months." The menus that brought the star cost 42 and 52 euros and were served only in the living room. Word of mouth had been his only ally up to that point.

Chef Alejandro Hernández, in the kitchen of Versatile.

Since then everything took another rhythm in Calle Lagar, 6, where a photo of Berasategui dedicated to Alex welcomes the gastronomic. "From Martín I learned respect, perseverance, humility and always wanting to learn. In his restaurant you live unique things, from the techniques used to the product you handle. You get an internalized method of work."

A few weeks ago they have released the spring menu -they change it every season-. "We have been raising the price of the menus while improving the quality of the raw material we use and the service," says José. In the room they started with a team of three and now there are six. In the kitchen they have gone from three to eight people.

The gastronomic proposal is defined based on bites of traditional cuisine, classic and recognizable flavors. Like that ham broth that takes Alex to moments shared with his grandfather. "Every ingredient we want you to know what you need to taste like. We offer a balanced, clean and honest proposal."

The vegetables they use come from their own garden, which is also worked by their father and is located in the village. The butcher shop is two minutes walk from the premises and five minutes by car the company that supplies them with mushrooms and mushrooms, Micoambroz. "Zarza is an enterprising town," José says as he poses for photos.

Now they are going around to create a menu with their iconic dishes, which would not miss the carpaccio of Iberian prey with EVOO, the ravioli of mushrooms and mushrooms with foie sauce, Iberian ham and black truffle, the fritter with marinated bacon foam, home-cured salmon and hazelnut powder, coffee and caramel and the seasonal chestnut soup with pigeon mousse. "We work with proximity genre, but we do not close ourselves to bringing a good product from the sea," clarifies the chef. The evolution of the restaurant has gone through "improving the raw material, expanding the menu passes and treating the product with more and more care". The winery, with more than 350 references, takes care of it at the same level.

"In the villages, it takes longer to make a gastronomic one profitable," says José, but everything arrives. For a few months, its clientele has come from the Basque Country, Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, Huelva and also Portugal. The menus cost 69 and 84 euros. Zarza benefits from all this. Those who come, in addition to visiting Versatile, take the aperitif before, buy a cheese, some stay to sleep in a rural accommodation ... "Before, people stopped here, but they went to Granadilla to eat; now they eat in Zarza and go to visit Granadilla," José says proudly. The Hernández brothers have fulfilled their dream without leaving their village.

Of the three definitions of the RAE perhaps the second is the one that best defines this Versatile.

  • Cáceres
  • Coronavirus
  • Extremadura

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Learn more