The Rafa Zafra-Ricardo Acquista partnership is one of the most stable and successful on the Spanish food scene. Together they manage a dozen restaurants but are always longing to return to Jondal, their haven by the sea. “Maximum product quality and simplicity with sophistication” is the common thread at this chiringuito that has won the hearts of some of the most famous faces in the world.
Rafa, what is Ricardo like inside and outside the kitchen? And Ricardo, what’s Rafa like?
-Rafa: Ricardo is a beautiful soul and a fantastic guy. We’ve been together for over 20 years...and have a mutual respect and admiration that is magical.
-Ricardo: We’re almost family. We know what the other is thinking with just a look.
-Rafa: We’re a team, we’re a family, and we’re partners in everything. And, to date, we’ve never argued We know how far each of us can go, things are going really well, we’re happy...
What’s the secret to being friends and partners for 20 years without arguing?
-Ricardo: I think that’s just it: knowing ourselves and knowing how far each of us can go. Respect...
-Rafa: For me, there’s something even more important than respect: admiration. It’s magical... I have a deep admiration for Ricardo.
What stage are you at right now, professionally?
-Rafa: We’re at a really good place right now: we’ve done lots of things, we’ve grown extremely fast, and now we want to sit back and enjoy everything.
-Ricardo: Now is the time to enjoy things, and also to think and carefully choose what we want to do in the future...
What is “Gastrobio”: the project that you’re developing with biologist Arnau Subías?
-Ricardo: It’s about closing the circle we’ve been working on for a long time: joining the food part, which is our side, to the science side and to the fishermen, to better understand product traceability.
-Rafa: It’s work that we needed to do too because we sell respect and passion for the product. And we had all the history and love for the suppliers but were missing this scientific part. It’s a really beautiful project and it’s not just for us. It’s for the people.
Is it your contribution to the restaurant sector in terms of sustainability?
-Rafa: It’s another ingredient in the project. I think we’re all really lost in this... Everyone’s talking about sustainability, but no one really knows what sustainability is.
What new things will we see at Jondal this year?
-Rafa: This year almost 90% of our team will be back with us again, which gives us a huge amount of confidence. We’re also got lots of new dishes. At Jondal, we’re lucky to be able to create more new dishes each year, and we also have Alberto, the chef, and Arnau, who stay and work out of season to suggest new things to us. We’ve got much more freedom at Jondal to do this than at Estimar.
At Jondal you’ve created a chiringuito concept that didn’t previously exist in Ibiza. What’s the key to your success?
-Rafa: Honesty, above all. Jondal is a simple and unpretentious concept. You could eat really well in Ibiza before, but there weren’t many restaurants that served top quality produce. People often felt a bit cheated. If you’re paying top dollar for prawns, and the prawns are first-class, you leave happy.
-Ricardo: It’s not about paying more, but about knowing why you’re paying more. People aren’t stupid, they know what they’re eating...
-Rafa: Either way, you eat really well in most restaurants in Ibiza these days. The island has evolved incredibly in recent years. When we came here to open Heart in 2015, there were already some great, interesting places, but everything has evolved a huge amount since then. Businesspeople have started to invest more in tableware, in bringing over famous chefs, Michelin stars have arrived...
And talking about stars... You’re always among the favourites for a Michelin star...
-Rafa: I wish we had 30 stars (three for each restaurant) but it’s not something we lose sleep over. If we won them, we’d be really happy, but you have to remember that the hardest part of this is filling your restaurant and having satisfied customers, getting people to talk about you, and earning the respect of your colleagues.
Any future plans in sight?
-Ricardo: Jondal has possibilities for growth because it’s really attractive and is drawing a lot of interest. But we’ve got another two partners and are thinking hard to figure out where another Jondal would fit in. One thing we’re clear about is that we don’t want to recreate any of our projects. Our guiding thread is the product, and simplicity with a certain sophistication. Our restaurants have great energy, a good vibe... We don’t want to just repeat things, we want to create new things.