Portrait of Rafa Zafra
i. Biography
Juan Rafael 'Rafa' Zafra Rodríguez, born in 1981 in Alcalá de Guadaíra near Seville, Spain, is a chef and owner of Estimar restaurants in Barcelona and Madrid, known for modern seafood cuisine described by Ferran Adrià as 'the seafood restaurant of the 21st century,' which earned two Repsol Suns and was named Europe's best Gourmet Casual Restaurant by OAD guide for two years. He began cooking at family-run Posada de Alcalá, trained at top Spanish kitchens including El Bulli where he spent winters, became Head Chef at La Hacienda Benazuza (El Bulli Hotel) in 2008 at age 26 earning two Michelin stars, collaborated with Albert Adrià on Tickets, and later led Oasis Sens and Heart Ibiza before launching Estimar in 2016. In 2020, he opened beachside Casa Jondal (also called Jondal) in Ibiza's Jondal, and currently operates Amar Barcelona at Hotel Palace Barcelona alongside projects like Rural in Madrid.
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