Xema Álvarez
Xema Álvarez is a Palma-born chef who trained under Andreu Genestra, Eneko Atxa and Wassim Hallal before running his own restaurant, Catalina la Fina, and now heads the kitchens at Xalest and NOI in Palma, Mallorca.
- Restaurants
- 2
Xema Álvarez is a Palma-born chef who heads the kitchens at both Xalest, inside the Concepció by Nobis hotel, and NOI, the signature restaurant of Nobis Hotel Palma. He trained under Andreu Genestra in Mallorca, then worked with Eneko Atxa at Azurmendi in Bilbao and Wassim Hallal at Frederikshøj in Aarhus, before serving as second head chef at Aromata in Palma. He later ran his own restaurant, Catalina la Fina, in Palma's Santa Catalina neighbourhood, where he won the TaPalma de Oro in 2019 with a modern take on rabo de vaca; Catalina la Fina closed in 2022. His cooking focuses on modern Mallorcan and Mediterranean sharing plates built on Km-0 local produce.
Restaurants
On Guidavera
2Accolades
- ·TaPalma de Oro (2019)
Frequently asked
Who is chef Xema Álvarez?
Xema Álvarez is a Palma-born chef (b. 1990) who heads the kitchens at both Xalest, inside the Concepció by Nobis hotel, and NOI, the signature restaurant of Nobis Hotel Palma.
Where did Xema Álvarez train before running Xalest and NOI?
He trained under chef Andreu Genestra in Mallorca, then in Bilbao and Aarhus with chefs including Eneko Atxa and Wassim Hallal, and worked as second head chef at Aromata in Palma before opening his own restaurant.
What did Xema Álvarez win at TaPalma?
He won the TaPalma de Oro in 2019 with a modern take on rabo de vaca, a braised oxtail stew, while running his own restaurant, Catalina la Fina, in Palma's Santa Catalina neighbourhood.
What happened to Catalina la Fina, Xema Álvarez's first restaurant?
Catalina la Fina, the counter-style restaurant Álvarez opened in Palma's Santa Catalina neighbourhood on Carrer Cotoner, closed in 2022.
Which restaurants does Xema Álvarez run now?
Álvarez is head chef at both Xalest at Concepció by Nobis and NOI at Nobis Hotel Palma, serving modern Mallorcan and Mediterranean sharing plates built on local produce.