Beatriz Sotelo

Chef and professor at Paseo das Pontes VET centre (A Coruña, Spain)

In her heart, Beatriz is a chef, but she shares all the cookery knowledge and experience she has gleaned over the years with the new generations. Teaching has also become part of her heart.

Although she is the first member of her family who decided to take up cuisine on a professional basis, Beatriz's childhood focused on cookery, plantations and farm animals in the village of Ardán. This Galician village cookery seeped into Beatriz's heart, and when she had completed her internship at the catering college she worked at Casa Marcelo, Toñi Vicente and other leading restaurants.

In 2005 she took over the kitchen at the A Estación restaurant (Cambre), where she earned a Michelin star and a Repsol "Sol" with her advanced cuisine, albeit with unmistakable Galician roots based on fresh produce and quality. Beatriz's constant premise is that inspiration emerges from the raw materials the market provides her with on a daily basis, with no other roadmap towards excellence than a job well done and honesty on diners' plates.

She is now professionally involved in teaching, and events management at her Illas Gabeiras restaurant (Ferrol).