The Rules Do Not Apply

At Paco Roncero’s Sublimotion, the only rule is that there are no rules. The chef discusses running what is widely known as the most expensive restaurant in the world, and his passion for passing on culinary knowledge to the younger generation.

Words: Elly Earls • Portrait Photography: © Álvaro Fernández Prieto

In 2014, Spanish chef Paco Roncero opened what is widely recognised as being the most expensive restaurant in the world. Sublimotion, located on the balmy Balearic party island of Ibiza in Europe’s first Hard Rock Hotel, bills itself as a multi-sensory experience combining technology, haute cuisine and a touch of magic. It seats just 12 diners at a time, and comes with a hefty price tag of €1,500 Euros per head.

Eight years and one global pandemic later, the culinary ace did it all over again. Sublimotion Dubai, created in collaboration with creative director Eduardo Gonzáles, recently opened for its second season in the Emirate city’s lavish Mandarin Oriental hotel. Surrounded by 360° projecting screens, kitted out with state-of-the-art systems that control everything from the humidity to the scent of the room, and serving more than 20 courses combined with a wild entertainment programme of dance and illusion accompanied by a carefully curated playlist, Sublimotion mark two is equally as impressive as its forerunner. The new outpost follows the format of the original Ibiza venue, with some variations to the décor and menu tweaks to accommodate regional and cultural differences. As Roncero jovially points out, although the newer Middle Eastern iteration is different in some respects, overhauling the experience for the new location wasn’t a major concern, given that few people are likely to fork out for the planet’s most expensive dinner twice.

At Sublimotion, he says, the only rule is that there are no rules. The rest of his professional life, however, is regulated by the standards that must be met to bear the accolade of ‘haute gastronomie’. He certainly knows what it takes: his eponymous restaurant, which is located in the NH Collection Casino de Madrid, has been awarded two Michelin stars and three Guia Repsol suns. His eyes glisten slightly when he talks about it; “It’s my home,” he says. Its acclaim is a mark of recognition for both his advanced cooking techniques and creativity in the kitchen, and the exquisite care he exercises over every detail involved in the dining ritual at the venue. This ranges from the interior décor, which was created by Jaime Hayon, to the wine cellar featuring more than 900 different bottles.

Roncero also oversees gastro bar Estado Puro in Madrid and Shanghai, but Sublimotion is where he gets to let loose. Yet he was displaying a strong experimental streak long before its debut: back in 2012, he launched PacoRonceroTaller in the Casino de Madrid, a research lab where, for the first time ever, materials, high-precision technology and engineering techniques usually used in the aviation and film industries were applied to the dining experience. Two years later, this attempt to push the boundaries beyond taste and generate new emotions around food had evolved into Sublimotion.

Today, at both venues, a multi-disciplinary team of 25 different professionals – ranging from technicians to waiters, magicians, singers, dancers, chefs and designers

© Mario Pinta

Sublimotion comprises a two-hour extravaganza, with more than 20 courses served alongside an innovative entertainment programme

– gather each day before service to make sure every aspect of the experience is executed with as meticulous attention to detail as the evening before. When diners arrive at Sublimotion Dubai, it is to a relatively understated scene: an all-white roofless box bearing each guest’s name projected onto the table. But from that point on, anything goes. Dishes descend from the ceiling on motorised wires, Japanese kaiseki counters materialise seemingly from thin air, Sakura blossom moves across the walls and ingredients pulse on them in sync with the movements of the chefs assembling the food on the plates.

At one point, the room appears to descend through the earth’s crust to a virtual hell’s kitchen, where the Sublimotion devil dances around the guests and flames lick the walls. Later in the two-hour extravaganza, the space is transformed into an aeroplane cabin to the soundtrack of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’, at which point the lobster and caviar course is served on economy class-style trays. A giant Jaws-like prosthetic shark head has been known to open up to reveal a tuna galette, and Rubik’s Cube beakers of cocktails that seem to be mixing themselves on the table have also made an appearance, as well as self-spinning turntables displaying the petits fours.

“Think of the craziest thing you can imagine, and we can do it here,” Roncero grins. “Sublimotion is a theatre – it’s a mix of technology, experience, magic and food. We start with a blank canvas and construct on top of that. In the end we just have one goal: for our guests to leave happy.”

Sublimotion – each of which he aims to visits at least three or four times per season – is just one aspect of Roncero’s diverse professional portfolio. Aside from his other restaurants, speaking engagements, MasterChef appearances and writing – he has published several acclaimed cookbooks – he makes time to travel frequently to collaborate with his colleagues and contemporaries.

For example, we are speaking in the lobby of the luxurious Tivoli Palace Hotel Setais in Sintra, Portugal, where Roncero has travelled to join forces with the hotel’s recently appointed Executive Chef, the Michelin-starred Joachim Koerper, on creating a one-off tasting menu to round off a special day at Sintra’s Classical Music Festival. The main event was a mesmerising ballet performance by some of the world’s most accomplished ballerinas. Roncero’s contributions to the menu included razor clam in a garlic tartlet, marinated pumpkin flower and mushroom broth and a melt-almostinstantaneously-in-the-mouth black butter bass, all expertly paired with wines from Malhadinha Nova, a winery in Portugal’s Alentejo region. Koerper’s ‘gold bar’ of foie gras and wagyu with watermelon and two dessert courses by the hotel’s pastry chef completed the offering.

“I came not only because of the opportunity to cook with Joachim and to combine two different cultures - Spain and Portugal,” says Roncero. “I also think it’s very important to bring my team with me around the world so they can know other chefs, other kitchens, other ways of working and broaden their knowledge.”

He is one of many veteran chefs to have taken up the mantle of imbuing the younger generation with enthusiasm for careers in the culinary arts. “They don’t want to work hard; it’s very difficult to find staff,” he laments. Last year, he was involved in the creation of a culinary school, the MOM Culinary Institute, which provides vocational training and specialised courses

Sublimotion is where Roncero gets to let loose, playing with multifaceted culinary and theatrical concepts

about the science and culture of gastronomy in the 21st century – though a mismatch between his objectives and those of his partners resulted in him walking away from the project. But he won’t give up easily: “Many students write to me every day asking for advice,” he says. “We plan to build a new cooking school, we have lots of ideas and a huge desire to train the professionals of the future. I don’t want my knowledge to be lost – I want to pass it down to the younger generation.”

As 2022 draws to a close, Roncero’s energy levels are even higher than usual. This is a man who regularly completes Ironman challenges and never misses a New York marathon. He took a long holiday earlier in 2022 and is newly refreshed for the second season of Sublimotion Dubai, but also ready to expand his empire significantly further. New outposts of Sublimotion are planned for South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, for starters – and though timeframes are still to be confirmed, what is certain is that the prep work will involve a careful study of the cities and potential hotel partners. The main criteria, he says, are that they share the same objectives and are equally committed to the pursuit of excellence. Dubai and the Mandarin Oriental was an easy decision. “Dubai is an international city open to the world and Mandarin Oriental are the best partners we could have,” he says. It’s the diversity of his existence that Roncero most relishes. “I love my life,” he twinkles, “I love all the parts of my job: the planning, the careful management control, developing new concepts, creating new dishes together with the team and testing them, customer service and attending gastronomic congresses around the world.”

Though a current knee injury may be temporarily slowing him down on the running front, his excitement is palpable when asked what other projects are in the pipeline. “New amazing things will come that I hope to be able to talk about very soon!” he says. In the meantime, there is plenty to keep him busy.

© Mario Pinta