The passion of Eugenia Martínez de Irujo (Madrid, 1968) for painting has always been there, but it was during confinement when she resumed it with more force. According to the designer, "it was the best thing that happened to her" in those difficult moments and "the most satisfying". He painted about a hundred paintings whose sales went entirely to the Querer Foundation, dedicated to research and dissemination related to children with special educational needs.

Aware of this artistic gift of the Countess of Montoro, her friend Sandra Segimón, one of the owners of the Sushita restoration group together with Natacha Apolinario, then proposed to make tableware with her paintings to launch a joint line. After almost three years shaping the project, the Eugenia & Sushita brand was born, a collection of hand-painted plates, glassware and tablecloths inspired by Eugenia's drawings, initially sold online (or in some occasional pop-up).

Since last week, Eugenia & Sushita has its first physical store and is inside Sushita Green, the newly opened restaurant inspired by the Asian spring located in the Moraleja Green shopping center, in Alcobendas. The seventh establishment of the Sushita Group in Madrid has installed next to the sushi bar a large corner with the colorful and cheerful pieces of the collection. It is a pilot test that, since it was launched two weeks ago, is being quite successful, according to Sandra Segimón. If it goes well, the idea is to move it to the other restaurants in the group.

Eugenia Martínez de Irujo with Sandra Segimón (center) and Natacha Apolinario, owners of the group Sushita.

During the inauguration of Sushita Green, a place that proposes a fusion of Japanese cuisine with international and national creations and a wide variety of vegan dishes, Eugenia Martínez de Irujo talks with Metrópoli about this adventure and about her tastes in the kitchen and at the table.

What does this project bring you? A lot of personal satisfaction, because there is nothing better in this life than doing what you like the most. I love to paint, I do it every day, although there are streaks that I stop because I travel a lot and I also design jewelry for Tous. We are considering doing it in other Sushita locations, but what we would love would be for the crockery to be in restaurants and hotels. We already have one in Seville, but we want to expand. We have started little by little because the productions are still small, but our goal is to expand in that sector. With a lot of color mixing. In the evenings with a nice tablecloth and, during the day, more informal, with individual. But always with a lot of color.What is never missing from your table? Flowers by day and candles, many, at night. I love them! And if I don't have, something green or fruits to decorate. Table with crockery and tablecloth of 'Eugenia & Sushita'.Who do not fulfill this saying: 'Do not come home to eat because you will make them put the tablecloth'? Well, with my lifelong friends. There is trust. Anyway, the meals we make when we see each other every two weeks are always at my house (laughs), because it parks well and because, in reality, I have a hard time going out. I travel a lot and I'm constantly up and down and, in addition, I have my dogs, who I have a hard time leaving because they are older, so when I am in Madrid, I try to go out as little as possible and have my friends come home. They are always lunches, I am more for lunch than dinner. And I also love that my brothers come to dinner.What can't stand at a table? Uff, I'm a bit maniac. I can not with the noise of cutlery on the plates, or sucking the knife (yes, I have seen that), or putting the spoon inside the coffee before drinking ... How do you remember family meals? They were only on special dates, Christmas, New Year's Eve ... The rest of the days, in my case, I remember them very quickly, because I had 15 minutes to eat. My mother gave me an itinerary in which at the end of school at noon I always had to go on horseback or to tennis lessons, so I changed in the car and, when finished, I ate in 15 minutes to go back to school. In the afternoons, I also had ballet, flamenco or guitar and when I got home, I don't remember having dinner all together, I was the little one and everyone had their own life. So, I have the feeling that I ate like turkeys, and it makes me very angry, because that is fatal for digestion and so on. That's why now, I've been left to eat fast and the doctor orders me to chew 30 times before swallowing, and I've tried, but I can't. Rice, in all ways, even in dessert, I am passionate about rice pudding. I inherited it from my mother who also loved it. Yes, few things, but I have to say that what I do goes very well for me. I taught myself in a time that gave me there, especially when I lived in the countryside. I always like to make dishes and stews over low heat and with time. The 'Eugenia & Sushita' tableware inside the Sushita Green restaurant.Who would you cook your best dish for and what would it be? To my boy, obviously... I have already done so. I make a very good pasta and some chicken rolls with cheese and ham and with a lot of onion and butter for the sauce that are spectacular, but they are very fattening ... I also make a very good chocolate cake thatI caught a recipe from my mother. Healthy things. Is it conquered by the stomach? No, to me for laughter. I love to eat well, but my ideal date is not to be taken to a top restaurant, nor is it what can conquer me the most. Also, sorry, but I have to say it and I don't know if I'm going to screw up, but I don't like Michelin stars at all, I can't stand it. I'm going to hate all these superchefs, but I like to know what I eat, and I'm not going to do all those things about smoke, deconstructions, etc. I prefer homemade, traditional cuisine, that's why I always avoid Michelin restaurants. I respect and admire them a lot and I know that here in Spain they are the best, but I particularly like the food of a lifetime. Rekondo, in San Sebastián. I'm passionate about it, and those good wines... Why do you lack salt shaker? When was the last time you said 'Garlic and water'?To fuck and endure? I say it like that, with all the letters, I'm not diplomatic at all, so garlic and water I say it few times (laughs)... The truth is that lately I am in a very good mood and I do not say it so much, but when I cross paths, I have my soon. I try to make nothing, and if there is something, I relativize it. But there is one thing: I can not with the abandonment of dogs and everything related to animal abuse. Now nothing because I am happy with my husband, but when I was young, lovesickness. I was very thin and with tipazo! There is no evil that does not come for good, imagine that on top of lovesickness you give to eat.When was the last time you put yourself like a tomato? It happens to me often. I'm so embarrassed to be the center of attention and for people to talk about me and highlight me for something. I have a hard time. I don't like them talking about me.Who would you never share a table with? With a dictator, I'm not going to give names because we already know them all. Well, as I always avoid, sweet. I do it from Easter to bouquets, but when I eat a lot of something, it's for the sweet. I can eat a whole cake, so I prefer not to try it, because I can never take a spoonful alone, I stay with such good taste that I have to continue. These days, mosquitoes.Have you ever been caught red-handed? Yes, many... What horror (laughs).What sweetens your life? Travel. I love it. Everything that is simple and simple, because I hate the pretentious and the pompous, so I like to go to nice, small places, charming hotels. That's the way I sweeten my life.

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