Alberto Pacheco
Head chef at RURAL, Madrid's meat-focused sister restaurant to Estimar, where he's cooked alongside Rafa Zafra since 2015.
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Alberto Pacheco is head chef at RURAL, a meat-focused restaurant on Madrid's Calle Marqués de Cubas that he opened with Rafa Zafra, Anna Gotanegra and Ricardo Acquista, the same team behind seafood restaurant Estimar Madrid. Pacheco has worked with Zafra since 2015, starting at Heart Ibiza, and the two built enough of a working relationship that Zafra brought him in as a partner on RURAL, the group's move from sea to land. He co-heads the RURAL kitchen with chef Willem Bonneu.
From @Alberto Pacheco on Instagram
Raors y más. Las maravillosas frituras de @pachesan en @esfumeral By www.anatomiadelgusto.com #foodporn #follow #anatomiadelgusto #pescado #fish
La ensaladilla de @esfumeral y el matrimonio. Aunque ahora son tres. De @pachesan By www.anatomiadelgusto.com #foodporn #follow #anatomiadelgusto #esfumeral #fish
Otra vez en @esfumeral, el gran restaurante de playa de @pachesan. Y nuevamente, la estupenda fideuá de mero. By www.anatomiadelgusto.com #esfumeral #beach #food #foodie #anatomiadelgusto
Biography
Career
Pacheco has worked alongside Rafa Zafra since 2015, when the two cooked together at Heart Ibiza. He later joined Zafra at Estimar Madrid, and their working relationship grew into a partnership: Zafra brought him on to open RURAL together with Anna Gotanegra and Ricardo Acquista on Calle Marqués de Cubas, a meat-focused sister project to Estimar the team framed as their move from sea to land. Pacheco co-heads the RURAL kitchen with chef Willem Bonneu.
Philosophy
RURAL is built around product-based cuisine that puts meat front and centre (beef, ox, pork, lamb, game and poultry, plus house-made charcuterie, terrines and foie gras) through recipes the restaurant describes as simple on the surface but technically involved. Vegetables, greens, legumes, mushrooms and fruit get equal billing rather than being treated as garnish, and the kitchen works meat every way: raw, cured, marinated, grilled, roasted, salted, steamed or stewed.
Restaurants
Frequently asked
Who is the chef at RURAL in Madrid?
Alberto Pacheco, who co-heads the kitchen with chef Willem Bonneu and opened the restaurant with Rafa Zafra, Anna Gotanegra and Ricardo Acquista.
What does RURAL serve?
RURAL is a product-driven restaurant on Calle Marqués de Cubas built around meat (beef, ox, pork, lamb, game and poultry) plus house-made charcuterie.
Where is RURAL located?
Calle Marqués de Cubas, 8, in Madrid's Cortes neighbourhood.
What is Alberto Pacheco's relationship with Rafa Zafra?
He's cooked alongside Zafra since 2015, starting at Heart Ibiza and later at Estimar Madrid, before Zafra brought him in to open RURAL together.
Is RURAL related to Estimar?
Yes, RURAL is a meat-focused sister project to the seafood restaurant Estimar Madrid, run by the same team: Alberto Pacheco, Rafa Zafra, Anna Gotanegra and Ricardo Acquista.
Does RURAL have a Michelin star?
No, but it's Michelin Selected and carries a Repsol Recomendado.