Born in Barcelona and based in Ibiza, chef Oscar Molina is the responsible for the whole culinary offer at Ibiza Gran Hotel, including Grand Breakfast at Costa Mara, the Pool Restaurant, and his most defining project: La Gaia. The latter is the hotel’s favourite spot and the second place on the island of Ibiza to be awarded with a MICHELIN star.

OSCAR MOLINA has created a culinary offer based on KM0 produce where the sea is the main protagonist, using local suppliers and championing the Slow Food movement.

Why would you recommend our readers to visit Ibiza? And Formentera?

Ibiza is full of magic, it is the place where we can find absolutely everything, from wonderful nightlife to amazing restaurants and gorgeous beaches. What other place would you choose to go on holidays?

What is your favourite spot in Ibiza and Formentera?

This is a very difficult question. I have been a runner, and this has allowed me to get to know a beautiful side to Ibiza, its interior. I would say different places such as Sant Mateu area, especially to escape from the hustle and bustle of the centre.

I don’t know Formentera so well because I work during the season and it is very difficult to escape, but I would say the Natural Reserve is where the magic is.

What made you choose Ibiza as your destination to develop your job?

I came to Ibiza by accident. I was working as the head chef in a renowned Barcelona hotel, and I was presented a very ambitious and interesting project with huge potential, and this made me land here in Ibiza. The decision to stay here after finishing such project was the combination of several factors: the light, the people, how integrated I felt in the Ibiza society… At the end I feel I come from where I live and here is where I feel most comfortable with my surroundings.

Does Ibiza inspire you as a chef?

Of course. Ibiza is an endless source of inspiration, especially its people: the farmers, fishermen and stockbreeders who transmit their thrill and work and I try to create that transformation of the produce through whatever they transmit me. The truth is that my job is exciting because this transformation of the local produce is after rewarded by the priceless response from the crowd, who is always receptive and open to the new options the island has to offer.

How do you compare the island to the city in your profession?

Ibiza and Barcelona are two very different places. Barcelona also has that type of receptive and open crowds but when people come to Ibiza, they come to experience a lot of things. Barcelona is alive but more with residents and locals and there is not that much movement with seasonal visitors. It is more an all-year-round destination. Therefore, the perception changes. In Ibiza everything is much more momentary but more intense.

What have your dishes got of Ibiza and Formentera?

They have it all, the Pitiusa Islands are the base of our recipes. We try to explain an experience through each dish; therefore, each recipe has a lot to do with Ibiza and Formentera. For example, one of our recipes is called Santa Agnès and it is inspired in the almond blossoms at Pla de Corona. For this dish we take a piece of carob tree wood, and we reproduce this area on the plate, it’s a sort of almond after eight simulating the beautiful landscape.

We also have another dish called Ses Matances, here we tell what that day means for the Ibiza people. Our goal is to represent this community day of hard work and its beautiful reward. Once all the work is done people enjoy its delicious fruits.

We try to explain through the dishes the details of Ibiza’s life, the areas that strike us the most and especially the most representative daily experiences.