Dabiz MuñOz

Few have rocked and shocked the world of fine dining like Spanish rockstar chef Dabiz Muñoz. In a sea of stereotypical characters in chef’s whites, the 41 year old revolutionary stands out sharply with his mohawk, piercings and a wardrobe consisting mainly of t-shirts, torn jeans and sneakers. He earned his first Michelin star for his Madrid restaurant DiverXo at age 30 and his third at 33, making him a member of the chef world’s most exclusive and conservative club, yet still he cares little for conformity and tradition.

Dabiz looks nothing like a three-starred Michelin-starred chef, and to some he probably stands out as a sore thumb for more reasons than that. He is younger, for starters. Much younger than most of his peers, but has a god-given talent for raising the bar of fine dining. His level of thinking, his creative approach and his dishes are so radically different from the norm that they occasionally seem otherworldly. His dishes are as avant-garde and provocative as his punk rock persona. They blend culinary understanding, spotlessly perfect techniques, unusual flavor pairings, molecular mayhem and rock ‘n’ roll theater in ways that have literally never been seen before in the realm of fine dining.

His food has been described as shocking, controversial, provocative and inspiring, but to Dabiz, it is a simple matter of combining the best of European, American and Asian influences to create the perfect meal, and the perfect experience. Shunned by some for his unique approach, but loved by many, his uncompromising attitude and lack of conformity has earned him international recognition and honors for his contributions to the industry. Most recently at the 2021 Best Chef Awards in Amsterdam, where he won top honors: Best Chef 2021.

At the age of 41, Chef Dabiz has already been on the forefront of many culinary revolutions. And he has been the change he wanted to see in the industry. Yet, hardly ever content with the status quo, the energetic young chef is now again on a mission to revolutionize the hospitality business. By being one of the first major Michelin-starred chefs to address what some have called the darker side of gastronomy.

shedding light on the dark side of gastronomy

“I don’t know why nobody wants to talk about the dark side of gastronomy. I have been talking about it for months,” shrugs Dabiz to a question from yeswefood.com about labor conditions in the restaurant business and a lack of qualified personnel that is sweeping the industry. 

“I noticed some time ago that the world of hospitality has to change,” he says. “I’m 41 years old now, and I set out to become a chef when I was only 17. When I started out, people told me okay, forget about your personal life, if you want to become a chef, you have to work like hell. You will never have time off. You have to work during the holidays. All those things.”

When the world-class chef first got into the world of gastronomy 20+ years ago, he found what he described as a dark ambiance in most kitchens he worked in: Military structure, blind authority, tough conditions but first and foremost grueling long hours, he recalls. It was the only way, he knew, and it molded him into a dedicated workaholic. Yet, after seeing the world change around him, it also eventually inspired him to be the change he wanted to see in the business.

“When I first opened DiverXo, ” he explains, “we used to work very long hours. My team and I would work all the time and we used to be very stressed. Now we are starting to change those conditions for the better. It is a long term change, of course, but we are already well on the path. Our goal is to have staff work within the legal framework and no more than that”.

Chef Dabiz understands perfectly well that the times have changed since he got into the business. Today, young, talented people still want to be every bit as successful as back in the day but even more so, they also want to have a rich personal life. And this, to Dabiz, is okay. This is perfectly understandable. 

“Why do we assume that it is okay for a person in a shop or an office job to work 40 hours a week,” he asks rhetorically. “Yet, it is somehow not nearly enough for someone in hospitality. It is impossible to tell a 20 year old today that you need to be working 15 hours a day,” he continues, in reference to his past self. “Life has changed and we as a business should be the first to promote this change. To be more understanding. More human.”

A new and better DiverXO - for customers and for staff

His thoughts are noble, but how does he propose to be this change he wants to see in the industry? It is quite simple, he explains. “I want to change the location of DiverXO within the next couple of years,” he drops the bombshell mid-interview. “While we are in the process of changing our ways of operation, we also want to change to a new  location and drastically improve the experience we offer.

We are planning to open a new version of DiverXo  in September 2023,” he reveals. “I want to redefine the restaurant, the experience, the architecture. Everything, and I want to have much better conditions for staff. Time and space wise,” he gestures ecstatically. “The new space is going to be three times bigger with room for the same amount of guests, mind you. We want to make room for everybody. For diners as well as staff. We want to be a world class restaurant, for guests - and for our staff.”

“I want it to be more of a luxury experience,” he explains. “Even more spectacular. The dining scene is changing these days. And in the end, the restaurants that survive are the ones that provide a truly unique experience. There are a lot of nice restaurants out there, but how many of them are truly unique,” he questions. “I think in the future we will see fewer fine dining restaurants as we know them, but still there will be a space for the truly unique.”

“Look at Alchemist in Copenhagen,” he smiles dreamingly. “They charge 480 EUR for their menu. And they sell out three months in advance. Within ten minutes of bookings opening up. This proves that there is a space in the culinary world for limitless top-class experiences,” he concludes. And in that way, Covid-19 has to some extent been a good thing, he argues. Crisis breeds innovation, every self-taught entrepreneur will know, and this includes Chef Dabiz. “Every time a crisis takes place, not only in gastronomy but for all of humanity,” he reasons. “There is purge and refinement.”

But here is the thing. For Dabiz and others operating in these strange times. Building a new restaurant does not come cheap. Neither does redefining and refining a dining experience. Who, in the end, is to pay for this change towards a better, more luxurious experience? If not the staff nor the restaurant, then there is only the customer left. And is it even fair to pull a higher price point over their heads in these times of crisis and ever increasing prices. Yes and no, the charismatic chef replies wisely.

“It is a question of simple economics. If I raise my prices, will I see the same number of guests? Maybe not. But who is at fault, then? It is easy to blame the customer. Maybe you simply have to adapt your business to the times we are living in now? In my case, I am hundred percent sure I am going to raise the price, but I am also confident I will see the same number of guests. My prices will still be fair and relative to the experience. It is only fair to raise the price and create a better environment for guests and staff alike, but you have to add to the experience to justify the increase.”

a world-class working environment for world-class talent

Impressive as this mission may seem, redefining the DiverXO experience is not the only thing on Chef Dabiz’ agenda. In fact, his creative mind is overflowing with projects. It would seem strange otherwise for someone who has already achieved so incredibly much. 

Asides from his 3-star flagship DiverXO, his restaurant empire has already expanded to include several more down to earth concepts like the street-food inspired StreetXO in Madrid and the fine dining-inspired  fast food and takeaway offering GoXo in Madrid and Barcelona. Yet, he is far from achieving his goal.

“What is next, you ask? Well, we are opening in Dubai, but we have many more things coming. Before that, we open an entirely new concept in Madrid in December,” says the driven young chef and entrepreneur.

“All the concepts we are developing are completely new. While, at the same time, we are also planning a new concept for DiverXo. It is a lot of work,” says the young chef who is known for his fast pace and relentless work ethics, but has found a different pace in life, as his ending sentiments reveal: “Yet, I do not want to be in a hurry. I want to go step by step. We are doing fewer things than we could, but you know, I also want to do them right and have fun along the way.”

They seem unlikely words from a man who has skyrocketed to the very top of his game through endless dedication and extremely hard labor. Yet, they are also the words of a man who has burned his candle both ends for over 20 years. A man who may now have been shown a better way by one of the few things in his life he has not been able to control or work his way out of. The global pandemic. 

“To me, the pandemic has changed my perspective,” he confesses. “I used to spend all of my time in the kitchen. Now, I want to have fun, be creative, change things for the better; the dining experience, staff conditions,” he says, then adds that this is about more than just better conditions and happiness for the staff. It is about him as well as his team. “I want to have much more fun and be more happy,” he reveals and hints that he may be on his way away from narrow kitchen focus and on a path towards fine-tuning and expanding his operations to create a better dining world, for his staff and guests alike.

“I create strong teams,” he says, “I have had a group of maybe 20 talented people that have been working with me for 10 or so years. They are talented people and they help me to keep growing. Myself and my brand. My goal now is that I want to get as many talented people working with me as I can, world-class people. And to do that, you need a world-class salary and world-class working conditions. And for that reason, I am changing the company and my ways,” he ends his tale in the most beautiful and unselfish of ways.