Hilario Arbelaitz has been awarded the National Gastronomy Award A lifetime, a recognition that honors personalities whose professional career has made an extraordinary contribution to Spanish gastronomy in any of its facets.

Hilario Arbelaitz (Oiartzun-Guipuzcoa, 1951) said goodbye professionally to the kitchen on December 30, 2022 after 53 years of “impeccable career”, the Royal Academy of Gastronomy highlighted this Friday.

That day Zuberoa, the restaurant that saw him grow and establish himself as one of the great chefs in this country, closed its doors. Together with his brothers Eusebio and Jose Mari, he made the centennial mansion of Oiartzun, where he was born, a gastronomic destination of worship and pilgrimage.

From his mother and his aunt he inherited his love for traditional cooking that he turned into a “true art”, and that constant dedication that led him to arrive first and leave last.

His foie gras with chickpea and cabbage broth, the guillardeau oyster or the cheesecake that has created a reputation will remain forever in culinary memory, to mention a few of his creations.

The 2023 National Gastronomy Awards ceremony will be held on October 3 at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.