Luis Irizar


Luis Irizar Zamora is one of the founding members of the New Basque Cuisine.

Early years

Born to parents from San Sebastián, he has always had strong ties to the city and started his career as a chef in the prestigious Hotel María Cristina. During this early period he also worked at the Hotel Azaldegui in San Sebastián, the Restaurant Royal Monceau in Paris and the Hilton in London.

The catering school years

In 1976 Luis Irizar opened the Escuela de Hostelería del Hotel Euromar in Zarautz, then the first catering school in the Basque Country. This school over the years has produced some of the most renowned chefs of the new Basque cuisine movement in the Basque Country, amongst them Karlos Arguiñano, José Ramón Elizondo, Ramón Roteta and Pedro Subijana.

Later career

After spells of working in Madrid and running the Restaurante Irizar, he moved back to San Sebastián, this time to found the Luis Irizar Sukaldaritza Eskola in 1993.