we interviewed Ismael Fernandez, head chef of the restaurant Minami Japanese Restaurant, which is located in Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, one of the best places on the island to taste delicious and high quality sushi. The philosophy of Minami Japanese Restaurant seeks to creatively combine the ancestral techniques and flavors of Japanese cuisine with the Mediterranean essence to offer an innovative gastronomic journey.
-What does being a chef mean to you?
Being a chef for me is the great responsibility of represent a team of great professionals who work hard to meet the expectations of the customers who visit us.
- Since when did you want to be?
In my case I did not expect to be and it was curious. I was Minami's sub chef and one day the director of F&B arrived and said to me: “Boy, next season your chef will go as an executive to a company hotel and you will be Minami's chef and I do not take no for an answer".
-Do you remember the first time you prepared food for people?
One of my fondest memories was the first season as Minami's chef. Almost 50% of the workforce was new and the other 50% assumed different roles and responsibilities. When the season started I was scared shit, not for them, if not for not knowing if I was going to be up to the task of that great team that we had formed.
-How long have you been the chef of the Minami restaurant and what has been the evolution of the restaurant since it opened until now?
I started as Minami's kitchen manager at the 2016 season. The evolution has been marked mainly by the improvement of the team's professional technique, both in the living room and in the kitchen, and improvement in product quality that we have had.
-Why do you have to come to eat here with the wide gastronomic offer that exists in Ibiza? What makes it so special?
Minami is special and it is not credible that I say it but it is so. To begin with, that forms it, both in the living room and in the kitchen, he loves to do his job, when this happens, you manage to transmit it to the client with great service and a great dinner. To finish, Minami is a restaurant curious and atypical, which manages to harmoniously combine the Japanese gastronomic culture with those fun afternoons partying at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel.
-What do you like the most and what do you like least about your job?
What I like the most about my job is work with my team, what I like the least is miss important people in summer for me because I have them a little far away.
-What do you eat at home?
There is a popular saying that goes "At the blacksmith's house with a wooden knife" because with that I tell you everything, ha, ha, ha ... When I'm in town at my parents' house they eat wonderfully!
-When you are not working and you can go to lunch or dinner in Ibiza, where do you go, what are your favorite restaurants?
I usually visit traditional Ibizan restaurants, a good rice or a good fish and, if the economy allows it, I visit a restaurant that is standing out this summer for its gastronomy. On my day off I usually frequent the Aramara Mexican restaurantApart from the fact that the owners are friends, it is a restaurant where you always eat well, it is cozy and the professional team makes you feel at home.
-What would you highlight of the Ibizan gastronomy?
In recent seasons with the arrival of renowned and starred chefs, the gastronomic offer is increasingly wide, competitive and is more renewed. Too bad in some cases it is too expensive and prevents us from enjoying it!
-How do you see the restoration in Ibiza with respect to leisure at the moment?
Today the hoteliers are the real artists in Ibiza! I would like to send a message from encourage everyone for the difficult moments they are going through.
