i. Biography
At Casa Julián de Tolosa, Spain, the craft is built through repetition: beef steak, txuleta, and peppers handled on a grill with a house style that stays tight and legible. Xabi Gorrotxategi works inside that discipline, where the cooking is practical, exacting, and rooted in place rather than ceremony. As head of Casa Julián and grill master at the steakhouse, he keeps the business side and the fire side aligned, so the Casa Julián name carries both structure and heat.
The Climb
The role of grill master at Casa Julián de Tolosa sits alongside the responsibility of heading the business of Casa Julián. For Xabi Gorrotxategi, those duties define the work: one is stewardship, the other is the direct craft of the grill. Leadership here is not removed from the cooking. It is practiced in step with it, with the restaurant’s identity carried through both administration and the public act of grilling.
Today
Head of the business at Casa Julián in Tolosa, Spain, Xabi Gorrotxategi works on the continuity side of the house as much as the plate side. He is also grill master at Casa Julián de Tolosa, and that title marks the visible edge of his craft. The steakhouse’s signature txuleta, grilled beef steak, and peppers give the work its plain vocabulary: ingredients and preparations that define the house without decoration. The result is a disciplined clarity, with the menu and the method pointing back to the same place, the same kitchen, and the same local identity.
Signature
Xabi's signature dishes include la chuleta a la parrila. The name alone sets out the style: direct, elemental, and centered on the grill. It is the kind of dish that carries its own weight without embellishment, and that is what places it squarely inside the Casa Julián frame. The emphasis stays on heat, meat, and timing, with consistency doing the work of distinction.
Recognition
La chuleta a la parrilla is named as his star dish, giving the cooking a fixed point inside the Casa Julián lineage. Recognition here does not sit apart from the house; it sharpens the house’s identity. The dish stands for Xabi Gorrotxategi’s work at Casa Julián de Tolosa, where the business, the grill, and the signature flavors remain bound together in one continuous practice.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Xabi
What is Xabi Gorrotxategi's current role?
As of 2026, Xabi Gorrotxategi is Head of the business.
What is Xabi Gorrotxategi known for?
Grilled beef steak (txuleta) and peppers.
