Art you can eat: Jimmy Millán and Gio Esteve at Virens Barcelona
Seven moments. Seven dishes. A life reinterpreted through art and gastronomy.
Contemporary artist Jimmy Millán and chef Gio Esteve present a proposal at Virens, the restaurant at Almanac Barcelona, that transcends any label: a sensory experience where memory, emotion and creativity are served at the table.
A biography turned into a tasting menu
This is not a conventional collaboration, but a true creative symbiosis. Together, they have managed to turn the artist’s life journey into a complete gastronomic narrative, where each creation functions as a chapter and each bite as a way of understanding his universe.
As stated in the original project, the experience is constructed as a biographical narrative in an exclusive showcooking format, in which matter and flavour are in constant dialogue.
“Jimmy expresses through images; we do it through flavour.” Gio Esteve
From dialogue to creation: when art is cooked
It all begins with a conversation. One of those conversations that does not seek immediate results, but understanding. For hours, Millán and Esteve identified the key milestones in the artist’s life, marked by constant evolution, rupture and exploration.
The challenge wasn’t simple: to translate visual emotions into gastronomic language. While one works through gesture, colour and texture, the other does so through flavour, temperature and technique. However, the meeting point was clear: emotion.
For his part, Jimmy Millán has understood this collaboration as an exercise in creative rigour. A process that has not only expanded his artistic language, but has also confronted him with new ways of narrating.
“Every memory carries a distinct emotion, and that emotion is translated into ingredients, texture and temperature.” Gio Esteve
Tableware as an extension of the narrative
There are no secondary elements here. The tableware, designed by the artist himself, becomes a fundamental narrative component. Each piece is an extension of his work, an intervened surface that acts as a bridge between art and cuisine.
The collection, produced by hand by the historic Alfonso Góngora pottery workshop, incorporates cracks, textures, glazes and strokes that reflect Millán’s visual identity.
But its value goes beyond aesthetics. Every mark on the ceramic has a meaning. Every imperfection is intentional. It is not decoration: it is memory and evolution. It is the physical trace of a life journey materialised in every service.
“It’s not a one-directional tableware concept with a discourse solely mine—it’s the result of a dialogue between both of us.” Jimmy Millán
Seven milestones, seven emotions: the menu as narrative
The menu is structured as a biography fragmented into key moments.
It does not seek to reproduce memories, but to interpret them, as well as to transform decisions into textures, ruptures into cooking methods and lessons into nuances.
The origin: purity and possibility
A green tea bread with coarse salt and olive oil from Jaén opens the experience.
Absolute minimalism. A clean starting point, like a blank canvas. And… absolutely delicious!
The rupture (2015): inevitable change
Leeks cooked in two ways symbolise the decision to leave behind what is familiar. Firm on the outside, delicate on the inside.
A direct reflection of personal transition turned into a very subtle bite that seduces the palate.
The pop phase (2018 – London): creative explosion
Maresme peas with cod pil-pil and pepper flowers create a vibrant dish, full of energy and contrast.
In the same way that London represented one of his most creatively fruitful periods, this dish acts almost like a gentle caress that comforts body and mind.
The journey east (2020 – Seoul): depth and fusion
The chickpea stew with smoked eel introduces the international dimension and became our favourite. Tradition reinterpreted with Asian nuances. It is a dish full of layers, standing out for its textures and for the nuances that gradually reveal themselves as it is tasted.
An unforgettable explosion of flavour.
The light of Asia (2020–2025): expansion
The red mullet with grilled lettuce embodies a stage of consolidation and openness: a structured, luminous and precise dish. As throughout the entire menu, Gio Esteve creates unique dishes of great visual impact, supported by top-quality ingredients, which he handles with fascinating skill.
A proposal that confirms that both Millán and Esteve are great artists in different fields.
Maturity (2025): time and craft
Stewed old cow’s tail. Intensity, depth and patience. A recipe less heavy than it may seem, exquisite and remarkable for the extra mellow texture of the meat.
It refers to the evolution and knowledge acquired by Millán throughout his career and, furthermore, it is a dish deeply rooted in his family, one that is usually cooked regularly.
“Through shapes, colours and flavours, each dish has a unique connection with me… However, I could highlight two: the white and red bowl where the Maresme peas are served, and the sun plate with the grilled lettuce and red mullet… but of course, then I’m leaving out the clay pot with the chickpea and eel stew, the blessed one with stewed old cow’s tail… how complicated it is to choose!” Jimmy Millán
Legacy: the emotional finale
Chocolate, cocoa soil and salt. Sweet, bitter, complex.
The end of a life journey condensed into one word: balance. It is served on a ceramic piece created specifically for the project, intervened with one of the artist’s most recognisable plastic gestures.
The result is a constant dialogue between container and content.
“It is not about illustrating memories, but interpreting them: transforming decisions into textures.” Gio Esteve
The space as part of the narrative
The experience takes place at Virens, the plant-based restaurant at Almanac Barcelona, transformed here into an intimate stage where everything happens in front of the diner.
The showcooking format — limited to just 10 people per session — turns each service into an almost performative staging. The counter ceases to be a functional element and becomes a meeting place between creator and spectator.
“Virens is already a very sensory and honest space. Here, the counter becomes a stage and the diner becomes a spectator.” Gio Esteve
There is no distance. The story is built live, and the closeness of the counter amplifies the experience, allowing the diner to become an active part of the narrative.
Living art: beyond the plate
The proposal extends beyond the restaurant thanks to the “Almanac Goes Art” initiative. The hotel becomes an extension of the project, with spaces intervened by the artist himself.
The Penthouse, transformed into an immersive environment, allows guests to live alongside the works. Not only to observe them, but to inhabit them.
Art ceases to be an object and becomes an experience, and an invitation to establish a more intimate and direct relationship with contemporary creation.
Balance as a creative challenge
One of the project’s greatest achievements is its coherence and harmony. Neither discipline dominates the other. Art doesn’t eclipse cuisine, nor does cuisine dilute the artistic message, and the great rapport between Esteve and Millán is evident.
That intermediate point, difficult to achieve, is what makes the experience truly relevant. Everything is at the service of the story.
“I feel this project as a recognition… a prize halfway along the road.” Jimmy Millán
When creativity becomes experience
“Union” is the word that best defines this project. Union between disciplines, between languages, between people.
Jimmy Millán and Gio Esteve have created something more than a menu: they have built a new way of narrating. One in which art can be touched, smelled and tasted.
“This experience is: Art + cuisine. Person + product. Story + experience. One plus one: something simple that, when it fits, becomes something you can feel.” Gio Esteve
A highly recommended experience, available once a month, which you can book through this link.
(*) Photos provided by Almanac Hotel.
