Other
Idoia Lacambra
Head Pastry Chef
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Born in Barcelona and trained at ESHOB in hospitality, the formation behind Idoia Lacambra’s pastry work runs through the room as much as the bench. Aponiente, in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Spain, entered the record first through hospitality study, then internship, then house work. That sequence matters in a restaurant where the marine idea is not a garnish but the operating language of the meal.
The Route
Hospitality training at ESHOB gave the first structure before Idoia Lacambra entered Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Spain (from 2015) as a work-placement intern. The progression that followed was built inside service: cold section, dining room, starters / appetizers, and finally pastry. The cold section sharpened the handling of temperature, texture and timing. The head waiter role added direct knowledge of pacing, reception and how a menu lands as a sequence rather than as separate plates. Responsibility for starters / appetizers extended that sequence work to the opening of the meal, where appetite, tone and expectation are set early. The wider formation also includes Alevante, El Invernadero by Rodrigo de la Calle in Madrid, Spain, and StreetXO by Dabiz Muñoz in Madrid, Spain. Those entries add range, but the through-line remains contemporary Spanish gastronomy worked through discipline, service awareness and section-by-section craft. The dessert section at Aponiente now sits under Idoia Lacambra as Head Pastry Chef / in charge of the dessert section. In that position, pastry is required to close a marine menu without breaking its logic. Sweetness is only one tool; aroma, texture, memory and the final rhythm of service carry equal weight.
Current Practice
Marine pastry at Aponiente treats the final sequence as part of the same vocabulary as the savory menu. In Idoia Lacambra’s work, desserts and petit fours keep the sea in play rather than shifting into a separate register. The result is pastry aligned with the restaurant’s marine perspective: saline, mineral, tidal, controlled. The specialty is marine-flavored desserts made from sea-derived ingredients, including moray eel skins, squid or cuttlefish slices, fish eyes and scales. The point is not provocation for its own sake; the craft problem is how to move those materials into a sweet frame with intention. The desserts explore the sea from a sweet perspective: iodine aroma, seaweed and seabed flavors, and textures aligned with Ángel León’s creativity. Place is the governing constraint. The sea is not applied to the dessert course as a motif after the fact; it structures the menu’s final passage. Through Idoia Lacambra’s desserts and petit fours, the last bites continue Aponiente’s ocean vocabulary while still meeting the precision expected of pastry.
Accolades
Idoia Lacambra has received Madrid Fusión Premio Pastelero Revelación: nominee (2024). Premio Pastelero Revelación nominee (2024) places Idoia Lacambra’s dessert work in the current Spanish pastry conversation, specifically for a practice that keeps Aponiente’s marine language intact through the final course.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Idoia
What role does Idoia Lacambra hold?
Idoia Lacambra is Head Pastry Chef.
Where did Idoia Lacambra train or study?
Idoia Lacambra trained at ESHOB.
What recognition has Idoia Lacambra received?
Premio Pastelero Revelación nominee (2024).
