Juan Mari Arzak visiting his daughter, Elena, in Switzerland

Juan Mari Arzak was one of the driving forces behind the New Basque Cuisine, which put the Basque Country on the international gastronomic map during the 1980s. Now 75, he remains at the helm of the family business, along with his daughter, Elena.

"My first contact with the kitchen was when I was little, in the summer. I used to go to my father's restaurant in the summer break and spend a couple of hours there, helping out with whatever they asked me to do," Elena remembers. She would later go on to study hospitality management in Switzerland. Before settling back at home, she spent time in great European restaurants such as Maison Troisgros, Pierre Gagnaire, Carré des Feuillants, and Le Vivarois in France; Le Louis XV in Monaco; Le Gavroche in London; and Antica Osteria del Ponte, in Italy. "The first dish that I made with my father was when I was 19. I used to cook at home, and experiment with recipes such as savory soufflés." At Ferran Adrià's El Bulli, one of the restaurants in which she worked before joining her father's team, she created many other dishes.