i. Biography
His career also includes Arteaga Landetxea in Mondragón, a role connected to Traditional Basque cooking. That work sits within a line of cooking built on memory, discipline, and respect for regional foundations. For Igor Ezpeleta, the focus is less on display than on care: keeping inherited forms intact while applying steady precision in the present.
Coming Up
Today, Igor Ezpeleta is chef of Amei. The role places him in a kitchen where routine service leaves room for concentration and a controlled expression of style. At this point in the career, the title registers as responsibility and continuity, with technique, tradition, and immediacy all held in view.
Where They Are Now
At Amei, Ezpeleta leads the kitchen in Tainan. The setting gives the work a clear sense of place, with each service tied to the meeting of tradition and location. In the room and behind it, the role is as much stewardship as command, shaped by a chef’s understanding of what a defined culinary vision asks of the kitchen. His current position also reflects the arc suggested by his earlier work at Arteaga Landetxea in Mondragón, where Traditional Basque cooking formed an important part of the story. Taken together, those chapters point to a chef drawn to cuisines with depth and lineage, and to established forms handled with enough control to keep their character intact. That continuity gives the career its coherence: different places, similar seriousness of purpose.
Signature
Igor Ezpeleta focuses on Traditional Taiwanese cooking and Traditional Basque cooking. The pairing points to an approach built on respect for ingredients, method, and the cultural weight carried by a dish. Rather than pursuing novelty for its own sake, the signature lies in working established culinary languages with clarity and discipline. In that sense, Ezpeleta’s work stays grounded while remaining active. Traditional Taiwanese cooking and Traditional Basque cooking are treated not as labels, but as living traditions that require patience, fluency, and a measured hand.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Igor
What recognition has Igor Ezpeleta received?
Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024).
What is Igor Ezpeleta known for?
Traditional Taiwanese cooking.
