Joan Roca

The Climb

Technical formation in Girona runs through Escola d'Hosteleria de Girona, where Joan Roca studied the foundations of the trade before returning as a teacher. The school matters here not as scenery, but as a working source of method: instruction, repetition, and the transfer of technique from one cohort to the next. Family restaurants teach a different discipline: service rhythm, local expectation, and the pressure of consistency. At Can Roca in Girona, Joan Roca worked in the Family Restaurant until 1986, carrying forward a house practice before founding El Celler de Can Roca. The move in 1986 kept the family name in play while creating a separate kitchen for a more developed restaurant language.

Where They Are Now

High-level contemporary cooking at El Celler de Can Roca is built on control, memory, and presentation rather than excess. Joan Roca’s work there is tied to Girona, to the Family Restaurant that preceded it, and to the discipline of keeping an idea legible on the plate. A first dish can set a house grammar. Hake with rosemary and garlic vinaigrette, the first ever served at El Celler de Can Roca, remains a useful marker of Joan Roca’s approach: recognizable product, aromatic direction, and a vinaigrette used to define the fish rather than bury it.

Career - Founder and Chef — El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain (1986–present) - Chef — Family Restaurant (Can Roca), Girona, Spain (until 1986) - Teacher — Escola d'Hosteleria de Girona, Spain Education: Escola d'Hosteleria de Girona

Signature

Signature dishes include hake with rosemary and garlic vinaigrette and El Somni.

Recognition

Peer and industry recognition followed both the chef and the restaurant. Joan Roca received The Best Chef award in 2018 and 2017. El Celler de Can Roca was named Best Restaurant in the World in 2015 and 2013, and Second Best Restaurant in the World in 2014 and 2012. Those awards sit on top of a clear professional line: Escola d'Hosteleria de Girona, Can Roca, and El Celler de Can Roca. The continuity matters for the trade. The work did not discard formation or family context; it converted them into a restaurant practice with international reach.

FAQ What is Joan Roca's current role? Joan Roca is chef at El Celler de Can Roca. Where did Joan Roca train or study? Joan Roca trained at Escola d'Hosteleria de Girona.