The Segovian chef takes charge of the new restaurant at Hotel Faisanera Golf after consolidating Las Brasas de Valsaín and Reina XIV in La Granja.
Borja Aldea’s name has been steadily gaining weight in Segovian gastronomy over recent years. But before establishing himself in his home region, the chef passed through some of the most important kitchens in the country — a training that shapes his entire approach to the craft.
His career includes stints at DiverXO, Dabiz Muñoz’s three-Michelin-star restaurant in Madrid; Disfrutar, in Barcelona, recognised as the best restaurant in the world in 2024; Santceloni, the two-Michelin-star Madrid establishment from the Roca group; and Etxanobe, a benchmark of Basque cuisine in Bilbao. Kitchens with very different registers, but with one common denominator: uncompromising standards and impeccable handling of produce.
That experience gave him the tools to return to Segovia with a project of his own and a clear vision: territory-driven cuisine, fire as the backbone technique and local produce as the star. That is how Las Brasas de Valsaín was born — a family project where the Castilian grill sets the course for a no-frills proposal rooted in raw ingredients and respect for tradition.
This was later joined by Reina XIV, in La Granja de San Ildefonso, where Aldea revisits the historic recipes of the Royal Site from a contemporary perspective. Two distinct but coherent proposals: recognisable cooking, deeply rooted in the surroundings and underpinned by a refined technique built over years of learning in top-level kitchens.
Now, Aldea takes another step forward by assuming the gastronomic direction of Embarcadero, the restaurant set to open shortly at Hotel Faisanera Golf in Palazuelos de Eresma. The project, overlooking the golf course and managed by La Farm, commits to a line consistent with his career: recognisable cooking, free from passing trends and with the grill as its central axis.
According to sources close to the chef, Embarcadero’s offering will maintain the hallmark that has defined his work: locally sourced produce, clean execution and an honest reading of the season. A cuisine that needs no artifice, backed by years of training and a deep knowledge of ingredients.
Aldea’s arrival strengthens Hotel Faisanera Golf’s commitment to purposeful dining — where the kitchen is not a hotel add-on but an element with an identity of its own. A move that places the establishment firmly on the gastronomic map of an area that, between golf, nature and heritage, is cementing its profile as a quality tourist destination.
For Aldea, this new chapter means extending his reach without abandoning the principles that have guided his cooking from the start: knowledge of produce, mastery of technique and absolute respect for the territory. A philosophy that, judging by his track record, appears to be bearing fruit.