Amaya Arzuaga (54) was 10 years old when she found the first Michelin Guide at home. "My parents would take a trip every year with friends around Europe to visit the recommended restaurants," she says, sitting at a table in the garden of the family estate in Quintanilla de Onésimo (Valladolid).
It has been a decade since the designer from Burgos, National Fashion Design Award winner in 2013, left the world of fabrics and pattern making to focus on the family business, then centered on wine. "The concept of fashion was changing, and I felt out of place," she says. Her creations were once applauded on the catwalks of New York and Paris, but "what was my dream began to fade," and she decided to stop. "It coincided with my father expanding the wineries, and I suggested joining the project."
She had not studied cooking or oenology, but her palate was well educated. "I proposed to my father [Florentino Arzuaga] to open a restaurant that would complement the hotel's offerings and the wine aspect." The patriarch -"the walking wisdom," as she describes him- was enthusiastic about the idea. He only had one condition: "'You set it up,' he said to me."
And so it was. Amaya called on chef friends to recommend names to lead the kitchen. "Francis Paniego [Echaurren, two Michelin stars] was one of the first I spoke with." Armed with a list, she sat down with all the chefs they had recommended. "There were five candidates," she says with a hint of mystery.
It took a little over a year to put together her gastronomic venture. "We aimed for everything from the beginning." Including the Michelin star, which they achieved in 2019 and have maintained since. The name, Taller, sought that parallel with her former world "because this space was also a lively and changing place," she argues in the dining room.
She divides her time between the golden mile of Ribera del Duero and Madrid. We spoke with her on the day of the Harvest Festival, a major event at the Arzuaga estate - around 1,500 hectares of vineyards - which dresses up to welcome dozens of visitors that day.
Amidst deer, mouflons, the vegetable garden - which supplies the dining room - and the vineyards, guides unravel the history of the place. "The tear of the wine indicates there has been a good fermentation process, which means there won't be a hangover," explains one of the guides leading the tasting included in the package.
Amaya moves around there like one of the team. She wears black pants, a blouse, and sandals. "Now an orchestra is coming to liven up the party," she says with a glass of red wine in hand minutes before the music plays from a tractor in the distance. The woman from Burgos is in her element.
She says she learned "to love culture" from her mother and "the art of living" from her father. "Wine is culture. It's like eating a truffle. You don't need to understand it. You like it, and that's it. All you have to do is taste it to enjoy it, not to get drunk."
They have an annual production of two million bottles. "We export 40% to Mexico," she says. The harvest season coincides with the fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, and New York, where the trends for the upcoming spring-summer season are revealed. "At night, I watch all the fashion shows," she confesses with a laugh. She has her eye on Japanese designers: "I really like what they are doing."
Among the routines she enjoys the most is the restaurant service, where she is attentive to everything and everyone. "The details, the presentation, the wine glasses... The experience is comprehensive and consists of many little things." She applies her creative side whenever she can. "Now I'm going to design a collection of dishes."
Leading the kitchen is chef Sara Ferreras; as a sommelier, Irene González manages over a thousand references. Only women make up the dining room team. "I think we are more delicate in our approach," she argues. They offer the option of à la carte dining, but they have also designed two tasting menus that are based on seasonal products, one of the entrepreneur's obsessions (Reserve, 120 euros; with wine pairing, 165 euros, and with a special wine harmony, 185 euros; and Grand Reserve, 160 euros and with a selection of wines, 250 euros).
"I have always allowed freedom in the kitchen for them to create the menus. Then we taste them and refine them," she assures. Bites from the current menu come and go without any complexes. "Nothing remains from the menu we started with." Her current mission is to "get closer to this land and the Duero," with two clear guidelines: "Sustainability and local sourcing."
In the dining room, the night is bustling. Amaya coordinates orders with Sara and delivers some of the dishes to the tables. "We needed to differentiate ourselves from others and have our own identity." Among the standout bites in the current menu: the wild boar tongue pastrami, the game rice, the grouper with pine nuts and yuzu, and the hare with green curry.
Ascending to the gastronomic Olympus has not made her lose her way. "There's a bit more nonsense in fashion, although I'll tell you that there are chefs who have a more difficult character than many designers." She enjoys listening to critiques, even if they are negative. "When a customer complains, it bothers me more when they are right than when they are not." From her previous life, she carried with her the ability to stay calm. "I don't panic when unexpected situations arise."
The first Michelin-starred restaurant she visited was Arzak; she was 12 years old. "I remember a fish soup and the baby eel salad." Now, she enjoys the best tables with her son. "Tasting what others do is also part of this job." She admits that she is drawn to challenges and does not hide her aspiration for a second star. "I believe you should never settle."