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Salamanca-born chef Paula Gutiérrez, at the helm of the Víctor Gutiérrez restaurant in Salamanca, has made history by becoming the first woman to win the seventh edition of the prestigious Chef Balfegó competition. Her winning dishes, ‘Lomo Balfegó bittersweet, coconut and marine consommé of its marrow’ and ‘Bloody Royal of bluefin tuna and Balfegó heart’, reflect her skill and creativity in the use of bluefin tuna.
Second place in the competition, which rewards the best handling and preparation of bluefin tuna, went to chef Leo Viola of A Spurcacciun-a restaurant in Savona (Italy), while third place went to Cristóbal Muñoz of Ambivium (Peñafiel, Valladolid).
The grand final, held last Monday at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, was attended by eight chefs from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany. The awards ceremony took place at the Gran Teatro CaixaBank Príncipe Pío in Madrid and was presented by Carlos Latre and Marina Valdés, with the attendance of more than 400 guests, including prominent institutional representatives, Spanish gastronomy figures and specialized journalists. The evening culminated with a cocktail party organized by Tunateca Balfegó (Barcelona), the first gastronomic space dedicated exclusively to bluefin tuna.
A stellar career
Paula Gutiérrez began her training at the Escuela de Hostelería Leioa in Bilbao and has worked in renowned restaurants such as Atelier Etxanobe in Bilbao and Noor in Córdoba. After gaining international experience as a sous-chef at the Ambassador Hotel in Zermatt (Switzerland), she returned to Spain as head chef at Deessa at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz Hotel in Madrid, and in 2024 she returned to Víctor Gutiérrez in Salamanca, where she currently heads the kitchen.
According to the jury, Paula stood out above the rest for ‘her impeccable technique, originality and ability to keep the bluefin tuna as the absolute protagonist in her creations’. The panel was made up of chefs such as Martín Berasategui, ambassador of Balfegó, and other prestigious names such as Toño Pérez of Atrio, Fina Puigdevall of Les Cols, and food critics such as José Carlos Capel and Javi Antoja.
The competition awarded more than €10,000 in prizes, including a trip to Japan for the winner and a short film starring the finalists. In addition to a trophy and a selection of Japanese knives, Paula received a prize of €6,000, while the second and third place chefs received €3,000 and €1,000, respectively. They were also offered the opportunity to present their creations at Madrid Fusión and to appear in leading gastronomy publications.