Gerard Bellver
Barcelona-born, Mexico-raised chef of Jiribilla — Tezka, Arzak, and elBulli alumnus, with seven years at Biko Mexico City.
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Gerard Bellver is a Barcelona-born chef who lived in Mexico for 28 years before returning home in 2023 to open Jiribilla, his Mexican-Catalan fusion restaurant in the Eixample. Trained at Tezka, Arzak, and elBulli, he was Chef de Cuisine at the Spanish Embassy in Mexico and a cook at Biko Mexico City from 2007 to 2017. Jiribilla is in the Michelin Guide selection.
Biography
Early years
Bellver was born in Barcelona and moved to Mexico in 1995 at age twelve when his family moved there. He stayed for 28 years.
Career
Bellver trained at Tezka in Mexico City and the three-Michelin-star Arzak in San Sebastián. Juan Mari Arzak opened the doors of elBulli for him, where he spent seven months. He served as Chef de Cuisine at the Spanish Embassy in Mexico and was part of Biko in Mexico City — a Latin-American reference restaurant — from 2007 to 2017. In 2023 he returned to Barcelona to open Jiribilla on Carrer del Rosselló in the Eixample. The restaurant runs a Mexican-Catalan menu Bellver calls 'mexicanoide' — Mexican-based with Catalan accents in specific products and preparations. Jiribilla is in the Michelin Guide selection.
Philosophy
Bellver describes the Jiribilla concept as 'mexicanoide': the Mexican base is evident, but Catalan touches appear especially in the use of certain products and preparations. The cooking is the fusion of two culinary traditions he has lived inside — a Catalan childhood, then 28 years of Mexico City — refined through elBulli- and Arzak-tradition technique.
Restaurants
On Guidavera
1Accolades
- ·Michelin Guide selection at Jiribilla
- ·Trained at Tezka, Arzak, and elBulli (seven-month stage)
- ·Chef de Cuisine at the Spanish Embassy in Mexico
- ·Cook at Biko Mexico City (2007–2017)
Frequently asked
Does Gerard Bellver have a Michelin star?
No — Jiribilla is in the Michelin Guide selection. He previously trained at the three-Michelin-star Arzak and the closed three-Michelin-star elBulli.
Where can I eat Gerard Bellver's cuisine in Barcelona?
Jiribilla in the Eixample, the Mexican-Catalan restaurant he opened on returning to Barcelona in 2023 after 28 years in Mexico.