i. Biography
The Path
Chef of Solana, Nacho Solano works from a kitchen that reads the surrounding place as the brief. The title is secondary to the method: a daily practice shaped by locality, where the cooking is measured against what the land, coast, and mountain can actually provide. In Solana, that shows up as food with a clear point of view, built on precision and restraint rather than display.
The Work Today
Seasonal vegetables carry the menu at Solana, not as garnish but as structure. Under Nacho Solano, they connect the garden, the Bajo Asón valley, the coast, and the mountain in a version of Modern Cuisine and Asturian cooking that stays disciplined and legible. The result is a menu that moves across terrain without losing its line. That clarity gives the cooking its shape. The garden brings immediacy, the Bajo Asón valley widens the range, and the coast and mountain add contrast and depth. Solano keeps the register restrained, but the food is not severe: it has texture, warmth, and a steady respect for dishes that carry memory as well as flavor.
Signature
Nacho Solano’s signature dishes include ham croquettes, cod fritters, small squid (maganos) with onions, and chicken stew. As a set, they show a kitchen that values directness over ornament. Ham croquettes bring richness and softness; cod fritters give crispness and structure; small squid (maganos) with onions point to the sea and to patient cooking; chicken stew places emphasis on depth built over time. Taken together, the dishes define the working logic of Solano’s cooking. Tradition is present, but the emphasis is on clarity and exactness rather than nostalgia. Each plate seems selected to express the broader menu: grounded, readable, and attentive to ingredients handled with care.
Acclaim
The distinction here is in the sourcing and the style: a kitchen shaped by its own garden, the Bajo Asón valley, and a sea-and-mountain vocabulary. In Nacho Solano’s hands, that relationship between ingredient, place, and technique becomes the point of the cooking itself, not just the background to it.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Nacho
What is Nacho Solano's current role?
Nacho Solano is Chef.
What is Nacho Solano known for?
Modern Cuisine, Asturian.
