Fierro: The language of memory, identity, transformation and fire

EBRU ERKE

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Valencia’s Michelin-starred Fierro shows how cuisine can transcend flavor to become a language of memory, identity and transformation — bridging the Mediterranean and Argentina through fire, roots and reinvention.

Born in Valencia’s Ruzafa district, Fierro marks its 10th anniversary by reminding us that gastronomy can be more than flavor — it can be a language of memory, identity and responsibility.

A decade ago, in Valencia’s Ruzafa neighborhood, Fierro was born — not just as a restaurant, but as a stage where cuisine transformed into a language of emotion, memory and geography. Founded by Argentine chefs Carito Lourenço and Germán Carrizo, Fierro has built a new identity between the Mediterranean and Argentina: Fusing roots, reinventing traditions and treating fire not only as a tool for cooking, but as a narrative voice. In 2021, the Michelin star arrived, inscribing Carito in history as the first Argentine woman ever to receive such recognition. Yet what gives Fierro its true meaning is not the accolade, but the coherence of the language it has built across the triad of place, time and people.

Today, Carito manages the restaurant’s daily rhythm with the precision she inherited from her background in pastry, while Germán anchors the creative process and oversees their sister projects (Doña Petrona, Maipi, L’Oficina, La Central de Postres). This division of roles is what makes the clarity of their cuisine possible: One hand guided by instinct, the other by intellect, both converging on the plate. Fierro is an intimate 57-square-meter space with just 18 seats — “small space, high intensity.” At this scale, luxury does not mean spectacle, but rather attention and focus.

Their tenth anniversary is framed under the manifesto “Memory – Identity – Transformation.” Fierro interprets geography not simply as location, but as connection. The most powerful example lies just south of Valencia: La Albufera, a vast lagoon surrounded by rice fields, where centuries of human–landscape interaction have shaped the city’s memory. This is more than farmland — it is the symbol of Valencia itself. By grounding its dishes in this context, Fierro transforms “geography = origin” into more than a gesture of respect for ingredients — it becomes a framework for decision-making. Which product, why now and with what technique? The answers to these questions shift the local–global equation from nostalgic cliché to method. Thus, at Fierro, locality is not “heritage tourism” but the rebuilding of memory through the techniques of today.

To celebrate “10 Years of the Mediterranean–Argentinian Spirit,” I joined a three-day program in Valencia that offered a living portrait of this philosophy. The celebrations began in the city center, with the support of partners (Estrella Galicia, Ramón Bilbao, Itac Professional, Visit Valencia, INNSiDE by Meliá), but the heartbeat came from the Valencian community itself: Journalists, podcasters and people from the field. Fierro was not celebrating alone; it was celebrating with the city. The emotional climax unfolded in La Albufera. Santos Ruiz, Director of D.O. Arroz de Valencia, reminded us that “rice is more than an economic activity — it is a symbol of identity.” And there, in a boat at the heart of the lagoon, Germán served empanadas made from his grandmother’s recipe. When Carito and Germán declared, “You are our family,” hospitality revealed itself as their central ethos. The final act, a paella cooked by Vicente Rioja of Restaurante Rioja in Benissanó, was no coincidence; it was a tribute to the memory of the land itself.

The “10 iconic dishes” chosen for the anniversary menu are not a nostalgic anthology but markers of evolution — turning points in the life of the restaurant. Two ideas define them: Repetition and rewriting. Repetition is the discipline of practicing a technique until it becomes second nature; rewriting is revisiting the same idea through the lens of today’s context and ingredients. Carito shapes structure with the rigor of pastry: Heat, texture, the balance of acid and fat, the layering of elements — she provides the skeleton. Germán brings fire, smoke and aromatic gestures, weaving emotion into the frame. The result is a culinary language where clarity and intensity coexist, balancing feeling with form.

The strategic dimension cannot be overlooked. For the anniversary, Fierro created two tasting menus, each with a distinct position: 10 Years of Fierro (195 euros, beverages excluded), revisiting the restaurant’s iconic dishes with fresh interpretation; and The Years (135 euros, beverages excluded), a distilled journey through the plates that marked the chefs’ personal evolution. This duality responds to two types of guests: Those seeking “the icons” reimagined and those chasing the distilled essence. It is a narrative logic we have seen in Europe — “the grand story” and “the intimate story” — but here anchored in identity and legacy.

Fierro on Tour extends this journey beyond the restaurant walls, weaving a network across Belgium, London, Madrid, France, Italy and the Netherlands between 2025 and 2026. Each stop will feature collaborative menus with host chefs, turning cuisine into a dialogue across communities. The value is twofold: Fierro's identity is tested in new contexts without losing its roots and the Valencia–Argentina axis contributes its voice to Europe’s gastronomic stage. In this way, the restaurant ceases to be just an address; it becomes a moving idea.

As for accolades: one Michelin star, one Repsol Sun, #3 in the Macarfi guide, five radishes in the We’re Smart Green Guide, the 2024 Discovery Award and global #32 ranking, plus the 50 Best Discovery list. These matter, but what matters more is the foundation they rest on: respect for ingredients, loyalty to memory and relentless innovation. Awards come and go; what sustains a restaurant is the ability to keep these three alive and authentic. In much of Europe, “locality” has collapsed into marketing jargon or romantic nostalgia. At Fierro, it has been elevated into a decision-making principle. That is why the anniversary program’s reliance on “the memory of rice” was so resonant: the ingredient cannot be separated from its geography, the geography from its culture, the culture from the techniques of today. On the plate, what you encounter is not merely a recipe but a network of relationships.

So what does this “Mediterranean–Argentinian spirit” taste like? Against expectation, it does not fall into the clichés of heavy smoke and excess fat. Instead, it builds a clean intensity through acidity, heat and texture. Fire leaves an aromatic signature, but never overwhelms. Pastry precision comes into play here: the lines of sauces, the restraint of creamy textures, the calibration of burnt or caramelized notes — all aiming at clarity within simplicity. What lingers after a bite at Fierro is not a catalogue of flavors but a single, distilled memory.

The presence of Valencia’s city officials and cultural institutions at the celebration underscored gastronomy’s role as a tool of both economy and diplomacy. Councillor Paula Llobet’s recollection of Carito’s solidarity after the DANA storm was telling: Hospitality is not only about service, but about how you act in moments of crisis. This is a restaurant’s ethical profile, and today, it is the standard by which major institutions are measured.

In 10 years, Fierro has proven one thing: memory is a starting point, identity is a framework and transformation is the labor of continuity. Just as subtle adjustments of heat, acid and texture can create a profound impact on a plate, so too do steady bonds with city, producers and community turn a restaurant into a narrative. What Fierro tells us today is not just about Valencia or Argentina, but about cuisine’s ability to speak to the world. The lesson is clear: Feed on roots, read the present and speak through fire.