Montse Abellà
Pastry chef and co-owner, with Óscar Velasco, of VelascoAbellà, the one-Michelin-star restaurant they run together in Madrid.
- Michelin stars
1- Repsol Soles
2- Restaurants
- 1
- Born
- 1976
Montse Abellà is a pastry chef and co-owner, with Óscar Velasco, of VelascoAbellà in Madrid, which holds a Michelin star (won in the 2025 guide, retained in 2026) and two Repsol Soles. She and Velasco spent close to two decades together at the two-Michelin-star Santceloni before it closed, then opened their own restaurant in Hispanoamérica in June 2023. She's won the Torreblanca Prize for Best Pastry Chef and the Prix au Chef Pâtissier, and at VelascoAbellà she handles pastry along with the dining room while Velasco runs the kitchen.
Biography
Early years
Montse Abellà was born in Cambrils, Tarragona, in 1976 and studied at the Escuela de Hostelería y Turismo in Cambrils. She trained further under pastry master Paco Torreblanca and at the Valrhona School, and worked early in her career at Parco Ciani in Lugano, Switzerland, at the one-Michelin-star Matteo in Oiartzun, and at the three-Michelin-star El Racó de Can Fabes and Le Prés d'Eugénie under Michel Guérard, where she's said she learned discipline and rigour.
Career
Abellà was pastry chef at Santceloni in Madrid, a two-Michelin-star restaurant, from its beginnings alongside chef Óscar Velasco, who led the kitchen. She won the Torreblanca Prize for Best Pastry Chef, awarded by the Real Academia de Gastronomía and the Cofradía de la Buena Mesa, and the Prix au Chef Pâtissier from the Académie Internationale de Gastronomie. When Santceloni didn't reopen after the pandemic, she and Velasco set out on their own: in June 2023 they opened VelascoAbellà together in Madrid's Hispanoamérica neighbourhood, splitting the roles the same way they had at Santceloni, with Velasco running the kitchen and Abellà handling pastry and the dining room. VelascoAbellà won a Michelin star in the 2025 guide, which it still held in the 2026 guide, plus two Repsol Soles.
Philosophy
The couple's cooking at VelascoAbellà is personal and creative, built around letting the product lead above all else. The menu runs from a semi-roasted tomato soup with pickled onion, basil and Parmesan to hake with Maresme peas and John Dory with lentils and bone broth, with Abellà's desserts, including a carrot granita with lime, dill, oats and ginger, closing the meal.
Restaurants
Montse Abellà in our guides
Editorial guides featuring Montse Abellà’s restaurants.
Accolades
- ·Torreblanca Prize for Best Pastry Chef, Real Academia de Gastronomía y Cofradía de la Buena Mesa (2017)
- ·Prix au Chef Pâtissier, Académie Internationale de Gastronomie (2019)
- ·1 Michelin star, VelascoAbellà
- ·2 Repsol Suns, VelascoAbellà
Frequently asked
Does Montse Abellà have a Michelin star?
Yes. VelascoAbellà, the Madrid restaurant she runs with Óscar Velasco, won a star in the 2025 guide, kept it in 2026, and also holds two Repsol Soles.
Where does Montse Abellà cook?
At VelascoAbellà in Madrid's Hispanoamérica neighbourhood, which she opened with Óscar Velasco in June 2023.
Does Montse Abellà run VelascoAbellà alone?
No. VelascoAbellà is a partnership between Abellà and Óscar Velasco, both formerly of Santceloni; Velasco heads the kitchen while Abellà handles pastry and directs the dining room.
What is Montse Abellà's culinary background?
She trained at the Escuela de Hostelería y Turismo in Cambrils and under Paco Torreblanca and the Valrhona School, then spent years as pastry chef at the two-Michelin-star Santceloni in Madrid before co-founding VelascoAbellà.
Where is chef Montse Abellà from?
She was born in Cambrils, in Tarragona province, in 1976.