Jaén served up on the table. “My personal contribution is to have trusted in ingredients produced in Jaén”, says José Luis Navas, head chef at the Restaurant La Espadaña, a restaurant whoch offers tradicional Andalusian cuisine and signature dishes.

La Espadaña also incorporates the Escuela de Hostelería Gambrinus, the only privately run school of hostelry in Jaén. There are eighteen studendens, divided up beetween the kitchen and the dining room. Like  its sister establishment  in Seville, the school operates under the auspices of the Heineken Group.

Working with apprentices provides a constant flow of anecdotes: “We recently asked students to bring a lima, obviosly refering to a limefruit. But lima in Spanish also means “metal file”, and sure enough that´s what one of them turned up with”.

“A chef´s greatest satisfaction is to receive recognition for his work”. In José Luis Navas ” kitchen you will always  find good frying pan. And, he says, a chef must always love his work; “id describes myself as young, self- teaught and creative”.

Andalusia is brilliantly reflected in his dishes. “We´ve got sea, mountains, hinterland… and all that is evident in the comprehensive range of ingredients we use in the restaurant”. “The tastes of my childhood are all related to olive oil. For an Andalusian product, I´d choose not only olive oil but also olives themselves; They are products thet are really very typical of our region”, says José Luis.

“The Cruzcampo beer we have used as a pairing for our recipe is brewed only in Jaén. It offsets our spicy gachas very well”. Restaurant La Espadaña (Jaén).Tlf: (+34) 953 260 577.