Jordi Artal
Canadian-Catalan self-taught chef-owner of two-Michelin-star Cinc Sentits.
- Michelin stars
2- Repsol Soles
2- Restaurants
- 1
- Born
- 1966 · Toronto
Jordi Artal is a Canadian-born, self-taught chef-owner of Cinc Sentits in Barcelona, which holds two Michelin stars and two Repsol Soles. He opened the restaurant in 2004 with his sister Amèlia after a decade as a Silicon Valley marketing executive, never having worked in another restaurant kitchen.
Biography
Early years
Born in Toronto in 1966 to Catalan parents, Artal grew up between Canada and California. He spent the 1990s in Silicon Valley as a senior manager and chief marketing officer in the technology industry, a career he left to pursue cooking with no formal culinary training.
Career
In 2004 Artal and his sister Amèlia opened Cinc Sentits in Barcelona's L'Eixample, conceived as a contemporary Catalan tasting-menu restaurant whose name ('five senses') pointed at its programme. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 2008, four years after opening. The 2018 move from Carrer d'Aribau to a purpose-built space on Carrer d'Entença cost it that star in the 2019 Guide; it was regained in the 2020 Guide, and in December 2020 the 2021 Guide made Cinc Sentits Barcelona's sixth two-star restaurant, alongside Àngle, Cocina Hermanos Torres, Disfrutar, Moments and Enoteca. Cinc Sentits is one of the very few two-Michelin-star restaurants in the world whose chef-owner is entirely self-taught, never having worked in another restaurant kitchen before his own.
Philosophy
Artal's cuisine is rooted in modern Catalan tradition with a strong emphasis on small Catalan producers, with each course conceived to engage a specific sense and the menu structured to chart his family history, from his roots in La Torre de l'Espanyol (Tarragona) to the move to Barcelona.
Restaurants
On Guidavera
1Jordi Artal in our guides
Editorial guides featuring Jordi Artal’s restaurants.
Accolades
- ·2 active Michelin stars at Cinc Sentits
- ·2 Repsol Soles at Cinc Sentits
- ·Self-taught chef-owner of a two-Michelin-star restaurant
- ·Family-business model, opened Cinc Sentits with his sister Amèlia
- ·Second Michelin star in the 2021 Guide (December 2020) — Barcelona's sixth two-star restaurant at the time
- ·First star in the 2008 Guide, four years after opening; regained in the 2020 Guide after the Entença relocation
Frequently asked
How many Michelin stars does Jordi Artal have?
Two, both at Cinc Sentits in Barcelona, the restaurant he and his sister Amèlia opened in 2004. The first star arrived in 2008; the second came with the 2021 Guide in December 2020, making it Barcelona's sixth two-star restaurant at the time.
Is Jordi Artal self-taught?
Yes. Before opening Cinc Sentits he spent ten years in Silicon Valley as a marketing executive and had no professional culinary training. He is one of the very few two-Michelin-star chef-owners in the world to have never worked in another restaurant kitchen.
Why is the restaurant called 'Cinc Sentits'?
'Cinc Sentits' is Catalan for 'five senses.' The menu and the dining-room programme are built around engaging each one (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing) through the structure of the tasting menu.