When I think about Félix and Katie, I think about forging new beginnings, creating amazing experiences, and, most of all, family. I first met Félix working with Ferran Adrià in elBulli. He has been by my side through many great moments, from the opening of Oyamel in Washington, D.C., to The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and many more of my restaurants.
From the moment Katie came to work at my restaurant Café Atlántico, where she first met Félix, it was clear that she had an amazing passion for food, innovation, and technique, and a true appetite to learn. Since working at some of the best restaurants in the world, she has gone on to forge her own path. This takes incredible bravery and vision, something that she and Félix both have. Seeing the success of their restaurants is a true testament to their talent and amazing partnership.
They have helped make Asheville a culinary destination in the heart of the South. When they were opening Cúrate, Katie reached out to me for insight, and so the next day I flew to Asheville with four of my top chefs. My team and I, we wanted to be there, not only to lend a hand but also to be part of what was happening. Katie and Félix share a dream of mine—to bring American restaurants with a Spanish spirit not only to major cities but deeper into the U.S. Katie and Félix were living out this dream, and I just had to be there. The same way they were next to me years before.
As a Spanish chef in America, I am so jealous of this book. Nobody embraces Spain in the heart of America with more poetry, passion, and perfection than Katie. She and her husband, Félix, are family to me, and I feel great joy seeing how she has grown as a person and as a chef.
–JOSÉ ANDRÉS
Chef/Owner, ThinkFoodGroup and minibar by José Andrés