There are many examples of rebels. We sometimes use this term loosely to refer to people who go against authority or rules, often in wartime settings, or to describe those who are difficult to control. In the culinary world, many chefs have been given that label for different reasons—like Gordon Ramsay, infamous for his rants on Hell’s Kitchen; Ferran Adrià, who defied French cooking traditions and sparked a culinary revolution in Spain; or Dominique Crenn, who even titled her memoir Rebel Chef after battling against a male-dominated industry to become one of the few women with three Michelin stars.
Young Spanish chef Alejandro Serrano has rebelled in his own way. He’s not fighting authority but resisting society’s expectations, choosing instead to work hard, find himself, and do it with a smile—and a pink apron with more meaning than one might expect.
Alejandro Serrano was named “Breakthrough Chef” at Madrid Fusión in 2020 and was a finalist in the National Brine Competition that same year. At just 24 years old, in 2021, he became the youngest Spanish chef to earn a Michelin star. In 2022, Forbes selected him as one of Europe’s “30 Under 30” in Arts & Culture, recognizing young leaders shaping the future of fashion and the arts. In 2023, he was the only chef chosen by the Spanish royal family to represent his region during the swearing-in of Princess Leonor of Asturias, who is a fan of his cooking and vision. And the list continues to grow. 
But what has brought so much attention and success to this young man from Miranda de Ebro—an industrial city often overshadowed by its neighbors? His unique vision, his refusal to accept tradition as a limit, and his bold imagination.
Serrano has become a revelation in Spanish gastronomy—a feat easier said than done—by presenting a colorful, creative dining experience that highlights the sea in an inland city. He doesn’t treat territory or land as the sole baseline; instead, he draws inspiration from the happiest moments of his life and, with a touch of fantasy, transforms them into imaginative dishes. Alejandro chose at a young age to listen to his heart, believe in himself, and turn what felt like an unexciting, grey existence into a pink adventure—and the best part is that as guests, we get to take part in the story.
When Pink Became Grey
Alejandro is an only child who grew up surrounded by pots and pans. His grandmother Juana still cooks and makes one of the best Spanish omelets in the country. His uncle owns the bar where dozens of those tortillas are sold every day. His parents, Andrés and Susana, opened Restaurant Alejandro the year their son was born and still serve accessible, unpretentious menus daily. It’s a family deeply rooted in hospitality and hard work, carried out in the most respectable, traditional, and repetitive way possible. Alejandro couldn’t escape it. He helped his grandmother clean fish at seven years old. Every day he walked through the kitchen of that other restaurant—almost like a sibling to him—and all of it stayed with him, shaping his career path and still inspiring him today. He only wanted to do it in his own way.
Two things can be true at once: Alejandro is quiet—reflective, introspective, calm, sometimes even distant. At the same time, he is rebellious, bold, incredibly mature, and wildly imaginative. That loud spirit is hidden inside, and you wouldn’t guess it until you taste his food and experience a meal at Alejandro Serrano, the place where he expresses it all.
This almost therapeutic urge to express himself and go against tradition is not coincidental. It comes from growing up having to restrain his creativity, from hating school days that drained his artistic side with every math class, and, most importantly, from having to suppress his sexuality in a traditional Spanish culture that still dominates outside bigger cities like Madrid and Barcelona.
“I remember loving my childhood. I was free and encouraged to be myself—to paint, to play, to imagine. But when I started to grow up, I felt how my world lost its color. I was told pink was for girls and started to feel restricted. It was a time when my life turned grey, and I hated it. That is why pink is such a symbol of my identity today. It represents me and how I was able to reclaim my true self,” Alejandro explains.
Becoming a Young Star
After finishing his culinary studies at the Bilbao School of Hospitality, Alejandro worked in several kitchens with the idea of eventually joining the family business. He trained with some of Spain’s best: Eneko Atxa of Azurmendi, Dabiz Muñoz of DiverXO and StreetXO, and Mario Sandoval of Coque. In 2017, he earned certification as a specialist in Avant-Garde Culinary Techniques from the Basque Culinary Center. In 2019, he won first prize in two competitions: the 8th Dénia International Red Prawn Creative Cuisine Competition and Chef Balfegó. In November of that year, he opened his own project, Alejandro Serrano restaurant.
It’s hard to forget what the world went through in 2020. The pandemic, which made many in the culinary world question their future, became a blessing in disguise for Alejandro. It made him realize he had to follow his vision, be himself, and dare to be different. This led him to create the “Sea of Castile”—a concept celebrating his native inland region without red meats, using only seafood. Strange for an inland city, yes, but completely true to Alejandro’s personality.
“All my dishes talk about my life, and most of my life has been in Miranda and Castile and León, so it is always part of my cooking. I chose to highlight what I love the most—those core happy moments that shaped me as a person and that I still hold close. Seafood was always part of my grandmother’s and my parents’ cooking, so how does that not represent Miranda?” Alejandro explains.
Cooking Happy Moments
Each dish at Alejandro Serrano tells a story that blends reality and fantasy. His culinary style is the result of six years of work, shaped by his childhood, travels, team—especially his right hand in the kitchen, Saúl Barquilla—and every experience along the way. In Imaginarios, a docuseries he filmed with Ferran Adrià, Alejandro explains that the recipe for imagination begins with freedom and self-knowledge—and that is what he strives for daily.
Today his menu begins in a lounge area before the dining room with a group of snacks they call the forest: a cube of melon with rosemary, cucumber, and mint; a green bean and garlic tartlet; and a playful “macaron” of strawberry kimchi, paired with cocktails.
Guests are then guided into the dining room, handed pink-tinted glasses, and asked to set aside expectations and see the world through Alejandro’s eyes. The first dish is his signature: the Pink Salad, his reimagining of the popular Russian salad found across Spain. Seasonal tomatoes in different textures follow, along with a playful take on carbonara inspired by noodles he tried while cooking with Danish chef Kamilla Seidler in Georgia—this version includes cheese ice cream, smoked eel, and caviar.
The theatricality continues. Artists Alejandro collaborates with contribute to the dining room’s sense of wonder. Italian ephemeral designer Luca Hugo created a star-shaped piece placed under a plate by Venezuelan potter Ainara Garay, which glows in the dark as escabeche of mussels is served—an homage to the glow-in-the-dark stars many had on their ceilings as children.
The menu is full of artistic interventions and surprises and it some of it needs to be left to the imagination, but other stand out dishes include the bonito with roasted peppers, the hake a la marinera and the turbot with cava and lemon, each with its own happy core story as a drizzle.
The Pink Salad
The Pink Salad, Alejandro’s version of Russian salad, embodies the values and messages he wants to share through his food. First created for his 2023 pop-up at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen—where he and his team served more than 1,400 guests in just over a month—it has since become a fixture on his tasting menu.
Each dish at the restaurant is paired with an illustration. For the Pink Salad, artist Andrei Warren depicts a young Alejandro, glowing with light, leaving behind colors and stars as he passes through an abstract world. Saúl Barquilla begins the story for guests:
“We start with the beginning. As you know, Alejandro’s parents have a traditional restaurant right under their house, the one in which Alejandro grew up and still lives. Every morning he goes through that kitchen and watches his mother and aunt cooking dishes like the Russian salad and so we decided to begin this journey with our version of it. We changed the color and the texture, but left the most important parts, the flavor and soul.”
They make a creamy version of the usually sturdy salad, with three different sauces with mayonnaise, tuna and potato flavour, and of course, use different shades of pink. All together, the sauces blend in the mouth to perfectly replicate the flavor of the beloved tapa. It combines his respect for what exists with his eagerness to create, his love and appreciation for his family and his new, artistic and colorful way of looking at Spanish cuisine and at the world. It is a quintessential AS (Alejandro Serrano) serving.
Art, Travel, Fashion and Inspiration
Asked about his sources of inspiration, Alejandro is direct: he avoids following what other chefs are doing. “Sometimes it feels like everyone is doing the same thing. On top of connecting to the happiest moments of my life and turning them into dishes, I try to look into other artistic expressions for inspiration. Design, art, music—they all give me a lot.”
He sees these collaborations with other young creatives as a way to make fine dining more accessible to a younger generation often intimidated by old-school formality. He works with local producers for seasonal ingredients and with artists for music, plates, and visual design.
The restaurant’s artistic collaborators include illustrator Andrei Warren; designer Luca Hugo; potter Ainara Garay; and Spanish expressionist painter Andrés “Piro” Sánchez, whose vivid, emotional works have become a recurring presence in Alejandro’s projects.
“I’m currently very inspired by a young artist called Pedro Hoz. I think he’s a surrealist genius and for him mystery and spirituality is very important. We’re talking and exploring things that we can do together for the restaurant”, says Alejandro.
This passion for art has also led Alejandro into the fashion world, where he has collaborated with brands such as Nike and Paco Rabanne and created custom menus for events, including two LOEWE shows at Paris Fashion Week.
After six years, Alejandro Serrano’s work has evolved into an imaginative, personal culinary language that resists both Spanish and global dining trends. It is a reflection of who he is and where he comes from. His plan is to keep rebelling, keep experimenting, and keep sharing his story—one dish at a time.
Alejandro Serrano (A/S)
C. Alfonso VI, 49, 09200 Miranda de Ebro, Burgos
serranoalejandro.es
