How Oriol Castro is serving magic, memory and a little mischief at the world’s best restaurant

As the co-founder and head chef of Disfrutar — the Barcelona restaurant that earned its third Michelin star in November 2023 and was named the World’s Best Restaurant in 2024 — Oriol Castro is a certified superstar of the global culinary scene. But when I tell him as much, seated in the sunny courtyard of The Oberoi New Delhi during a rare visit to India, he simply smiles and shrugs.

“I just try to make new things and be creative so that every guest has a magical experience,” he says modestly through his colleague and translator, Chef Eric Andrada.

Disfrutar, which means “to enjoy” in Spanish, lives up to its name with a dining experience as bold as it is unforgettable. Founded in 2014 by Castro along with fellow El Bulli alumni Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, the restaurant fuses technical virtuosity with theatrical flair. At its core is a commitment to relentless creativity — an ethos born during their years under Ferran Adrià at the now-legendary El Bulli, where the rules of gastronomy were rewritten dish by dish. All three chefs worked there until the restaurant, known for its molecular gastronomy, closed in 2011.

At Disfrutar, those lessons remain visible in a tasting menu that includes marvels like frozen gazpacho sandwiches, a Panchino doughnut bursting with caviar, and “Fear: The Prawn” — an interactive course where guests must plunge their hands into a pool of dry ice to retrieve a crustacean.

Despite the long waiting list and €315 price tag (plus €170 for wine pairing), the restaurant maintains a surprising ethos of openness. “We like to do new things — and then we share them,” says Castro, who was in India to host a masterclass in collaboration with Culinary Culture and Don Julio for The Oberoi New Delhi’s 60-year celebration. A book with all the recipes is also available for sale.

He demonstrated several signature dishes and spoke candidly about the creative process, which includes a dedicated R&D kitchen and custom-designed plating for every dish. “Some ideas come quickly. Others take months,” he says, recalling a rice cake that took three months to perfect.

His culinary journey began with his mother’s home cooking in Spain, where fresh, seasonal ingredients left a lasting impression. “Anything I loved as a child, I’ve tried to turn into a dish,” he says, noting that even childhood games inspire his creations.

So has India, too, left its mark? “I don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” he says of his trip, “but it will definitely be inspiring.” Perhaps, sometime soon, an India-inspired dish will find its way onto the plate at the world’s best restaurant.