David Muñoz has achieved his “impossible dreams” through “a lot of hard work and crazy sacrifices” and is “happier and more comfortable than ever in DiverXO, the only three-star Michelin spot in Madrid that he wants to become “the best restaurant in the world”, although he knows he won’t retire there due to the gruelling pace of work.
He has no intentions of slowing down for the moment and is even working on opening new restaurants. StreetXO, its more casual version in Madrid and London will have two new venues “outside of Spain”, in countries that are yet to be revealed, although he has made no secret of his intentions to take the concept to Asia, the United States and even Paris.
He’s also planning “two new concepts for Madrid: “One of them is the biggest goal in my entire life. It will be completely different to anything else out there, and I hope to make it a reality before the end of 2019”.
However, in the meantime, he’s determined to make DiverXO “the best restaurant in the world”. “I’m not talking about lists. I want the diner to come out saying it’s the best place they’ve ever been. It might sound vain and not very humble, but we’re a very talented team, and we work extremely hard”, he added.
He strives for a cuisine “with more flavour than ever before, more surprising and with fewer random elements” – this is currently expressed in a single tasting menu called The Flying Pigs Cuisine (€250) – and further development of the front-of-house and the wine cellar.
Dishes that reflect his travels, that he plans based on where he wants to try them, and are always governed by the motto “avant-garde or die”. “In Spain, it seems that avant-garde cuisine has to be linked to technical and technological innovation, and I think this is a mistake. The line of discussion can be much broader at all levels”.
He has worked himself to the bone since he started in his small DiverXO on calle Tetuán in Madrid twelve years ago. Muñoz works at least 13 hours per day, and since opening StreetXO in London, he’s given up his days off to cook there: “It’s too much, it’s not sustainable. At some point, I’ll have to slow down”.
“My life project is to have several restaurants in various cities around the world and devote myself to cooking and travelling – he confesses-; If I can manage to only work five days a week and have two days free, it would be a dream, but for the moment it’s unthinkable. But I aim to do it. I don’t see myself retiring in DiverXO, but definitely in some other kitchen”.
EFE
