The origin of the Arzak Restaurant dates back to 1897, when Juan Mari Arzak’s grandparents built the house that is now home to his restaurant. In the early days, it used to be a wine shop and tavern. Then, Juan Mari Arzak’s parents turned it into a fine eatery whose cook was Paquita Arratibel. Her stews and traditional recipes from the Basque Country, especially Donostia, were highly pleasing. Currently, Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena share the kitchen, as well as the culinary knowledge, passion and enthusiasm they bring to cooking and to managing their restaurant. Arzak’s cuisine is all about research, experimenting and a pinch of magic, all of which can be found in the lab. The lab, a place where creativity, ingenuity and inspiration wander freely about. The team at the Arzak lab test flavours and textures. They reject some recipes and redesign others. They define new, seductive concepts and integrate them into the menu. The lab has a ‘flavour workbench’ with more than a thousand products and ingredients that are used to do research and create new recipes. The Arzak lab, adjoining the restaurant, has cutting-edge technology and a team of alchemists who try what no-one else has tried before.