Choco by Kisko Garcia

Choco is a restaurant with one Michelin star in Córdoba, Spain, run by chef Kisko García. It stands in the Sureste district, the part of the city where García grew up.

Staying in his home neighbourhood rather than moving to the historic centre says something about the place: the restaurant is tied to the chef's own story and to the people around it. Much of what reaches the kitchen comes from close by, seasonal and largely organic. Meat and other produce come from the Valle de Los Pedroches and Villanueva de Córdoba, the heart of a region known for acorn-fed Ibérico pork.

The cooking is creative and Andalusian, served as two tasting menus. The first drink is poured in the kitchen, among the cooks, and only then do guests move to the dining room. One of the dishes is a gazpachuelo with quisquillas, small shrimp, which takes a humble soup and gives it a place on a tasting menu. Starting in the kitchen makes the work behind the plates visible from the first minute, and it sets a tone that is personal rather than formal. The menus change with the seasons, so the same produce from the province turns up in different forms through the year.

The dining room is minimalist, with clean lines and little decoration, which keeps the eye on the food. The Guía Repsol and the Spanish guide Macarfi also rate it among the leading restaurants of Córdoba. Away from the old town, Choco shows another side of local cooking: produce from the province, read through a modern kitchen in a residential district.