CHOCOBAR CORTÉS - ABOUT US   

Ricardo de Obaldía

 

Ricardo De Obaldía is the Head Chef at ChocoBar. From inspiration to presentation, this Panama born Master Chocolatier and Patissier is an incredible creative flavor alchemist.

 

A graduate of Escuela Superior de Hostelería in Seville with a Bachelors Degree in Pastry, Chef De Obaldía, while still a student, in 2005 initiated training at Abantal, the One Star Michelin restaurant in Seville. In 2006, he continued his apprenticeship at Celler de Can Roca, the celebrated Three Star Michelin restaurant and ranked as the World’s #1.  From 2007 to 2008, he interned at Le Calandre, Padova, one of eight restaurants in Italy to receive Three Michelin Stars and rated in the Top 50 World’s Best Restaurants.

 

Upon graduation, De Obaldía relocated to Madrid, where he joined Nunos, the prestigious Spanish pastry shop. While there, Chef De Obaldía and his team were the recipients of many awards including- La Cocina Casual en Miniatura 2006, The Best Roscón de Reyes 2009 and 2010, Best Buñuelos de Madrid 2011, Best Madrid Typical Dessert 2009 and 2010, Originality and Gastronomic Work Award 2009, and Baker Youth National Championship of Spain 2010.

 

His creations are original, sometimes experimental and others daring, but always perfectly balanced. He works in a truly artisan way and all his creations are completely made by hand in ChocoBar kitchen, in small batches and at every stage using fresh ingredients. 

 

However, Chef De Obaldía talents far exceed those of Master Chocolatier and Patissier. He leads the kitchen staff at ChocoBar, best described as upscale casual dining, where as he has expressed “chocolate is an ingredient as basic as salt” to make elaborate and visually interesting creations using old and new techniques, creating original shapes or making a surprisingly high-quality menu always using Chocolate Cortés products.