Viri Fernández

'Guisandera' and chef at El Llar de Viri (San Román de Cándamo, Asturias)

Faithful to the history of Asturian guisanderas, Elvira (Viri) is the guardian of the traditional recipe book.

Viri Fernández is the chef and owner of El Llar de Viri, a restaurant that, since it opened in 1996, has become a temple of traditional cuisine and the gastronomic memory of Asturias.

Before opening El Llar de Viri, Elvira worked as a shop assistant to support her three children, until an accident prevented her from continuing her long journeys. She decided to return to her hometown and to the family home and business, the sausage and butchery shop where they sold their products. The return to her origins was a return to the kitchen, and now she has created a whole philosophy of life and a guild with her fellow travellers, the guisanderas. Majo (María José Miranda), a student, cook and daughter-in-law who is her right hand in the kitchen, has also joined the club. This ensures a generational transfer in the kitchen, but also in the dining room, where his son Daniel is present.

El Llar de Viri has been awarded the Michelin Green Star, which recognises a way of understanding cuisine that is linked to the land and therefore respects it.