Tenerife recently attained not one but two new Michelin stars, with San-Hô restaurant, located in the Royal Corales Hideaway Hotel in Costa Adeje, achieving its first-ever Michelin star, and Rincón de Juan Carlos, also in Adeje, being awarded its second Michelin star. These impressive awards result from the continued advancements the island of Tenerife is making in the culinary scene. The accolades are worthy recognition for the quality of the island’s gastronomy, both for its professionals and for the local produce with which it is prepared.
In addition to now housing an impressive seven Michelin-starred restaurants on the island, the Basque-inspired M.B. restaurant, named after renowned Spanish chef, Martín Berasategui and located in The Ritz-Carlton Abama (Guía de Isora), has also revalidated its two stars; as has Japanese-fusion restaurant, Kabuki, in the same hotel, maintaining its Michelin star. The NUB restaurant at the Bahía del Duque hotel (Costa Adeje), offering a sensory journey between Latin America and Europe, has also retained its Michelin star.
In recent years, Tenerife’s gastronomy has become one of its great tourist attractions. Tenerife’s cuisine takes influence from Europe, America and Africa. This is the result of its privileged location between the three continents in the Atlantic. Its cuisine can be enjoyed in a wide range of restaurants, from haute cuisine establishments to cosier but equally tasty eateries. Unique to Tenerife’s culinary scene are the “guachinche”, local and usually family-run taverns that offer local wine long with traditional dishes from the island.
Tenerife’s traditional culinary base consists of using local products available on the island, such as fish and seafood, potatoes, cheeses and meats. Typical products from Tenerife that every visitor should try when holidaying on the island include bananas, honey, potatoes (in particular the Papas Antiguas de Canarias) and gofio, a kind of flour made from toasted grains whose use comes from the Guanche people, Tenerife’s first inhabitants.
Oenophiles will enjoy pairing these products with Tenerife’s wines, of which boast global prestige. Home to wineries that date back hundreds of years, as well as traditional ageing and cultivation techniques such as the braided cordon, a system of conduction unique to the Orotava Valley, wine touring and tasting in Tenerife is unparalleled. Up to five specific designations of origin can be found on the island to cater for all tastes.
