Fran Martínez

The Path

Cookery training at Trades School in Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Barcelona, gave Fran Martínez the foundation of the trade before he entered the line. At Mas Pau in Figueres, he worked first as chef and later as second-in-command under Xavier Sagristà, a progression that sharpened the basics that matter in any serious kitchen: timing, order, control, and the ability to hold a room without noise. The value of that period is plain in the way it links schooling to practical authority, and practical authority to a lasting vocabulary for cooking. Maralba, which Fran Martínez co-founded and leads as chef since 2003, is the place where those lessons were folded into a distinct position. The restaurant’s identity comes from accumulation rather than declaration: training, repetition, and a clear decision to work from Castilla-La Mancha rather than away from it. The route from Barcelona to Figueres and back to Almansa is not incidental; it is the framework that shaped the restaurant’s point of view.

The Work Today

At Maralba Restaurante in Almansa, Fran Martínez cooks in the register described as La Mancha haute cuisine, with produce of the land kept in constant view and the Mediterranean never far from the plate. That combination gives the kitchen its range: grounded in its own terrain, but open enough to let in a different brightness. The result is a cuisine built on local character, but not narrowed by it. Alta cocina manchega is the clearest label for the style, and ajopringue is the dish that best shows how that style works. A rustic local specialty, it moved into the role of a main starter and, in 2009, marked a turning point for the restaurant. The significance is in the shift: a regional preparation brought forward, given form and weight, and allowed to stand as more than background memory. At Maralba, refinement does not mean replacing tradition; it means placing it where it can be read clearly. The title is direct, vernacular, and recognizably Spanish, and it shows a kitchen that understands the force of naming. In that context, the dish reads as part of a larger method: using language, sequence, and reference to sharpen the experience of the table.

Signature

Fran's signature dishes include ajopringue.

In Their Words “And if one day the third should come, it is meant to be for this restaurant and this way of looking at cuisine.”

Acclaim

Fran's honors include MICHELIN Guide — two stars, and Repsol Guide — three Soles.