Juan Silió gallery is hosting for the first time in its Santander space the photographic project by the chef Jesús Sánchez, under the title of Mirada de chef, which he produced between 2022 and 2023 in a collaboration with Leica. The exhibition, which coincides with the PHotoEspaña festival in the city, also has a charitable nature, as the profits will go to Cáritas Diocesana de Santander, an organisation that has been working with the most vulnerable people in Cantabria for 60 years.
Jesús Sánchez is known for being a reference point for Spanish cuisine in the world. His work at the head of Cenador de Amós in Cantabria, one of the most prestigious restaurants in Spain, has earned him no less than three Michelin Stars and the Green Star, which the renowned Gastronomy Guide awards to restaurants that are strongly committed to sustainable practices. His restaurant has also received three Repsol Suns and, most recently, the Madrid Fusion-Food of Spain 2024 award for Best Restaurant Bread, among others. As a chef, in 2022 he received both the National Gastronomy Award and the National Hospitality Award, as well as The Best Digital Chef in 2023. That same year, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Cenador de Amós, he published a book of the same name in which he describes this vital project, which was recognised with the Prix de la Littérature Gastronomique.
However, almost in parallel to his passion for his work, Jesús Sánchez is a great amateur photographer. Ever since he got a Kodak camera as a child by redeeming points from a bank account, he has been photographing his surroundings: his family, his friends, his travels, aspects of his work -such as ingredients or markets-, etc. He shares the latter with his customers when they pass through the corridor of Cenador de Amós, as for some years now he has been selecting 8 of his photographs related to gastronomy and changing them from time to time.
The works on display at Mirada de chef, taken with a Leica Q2 Monochrom, go beyond simple portraits of friends and colleagues. Sánchez not only captures a face as a good connoisseur of the portrayed, but an aspect that defines his model beyond the kitchen always emerges in the image. The relationship between them allows the presence of the camera to be forgotten in almost all cases, allowing him to obtain intimate scenes of great naturalness. Alberto Chicote, for example, is photographed in his favourite setting, the city; the looks of pride and admiration between Paco Morales and his parents in the intimacy of the family kitchen are the focus of his portrait, or the case of Dabiz Muñoz or Joan Roca, who were photographed in the places where they disconnect from everyday life.
The series, 51 photographs of which can be seen in the exhibition, is in black and white. If colour is of great importance in the world of gastronomy, in Mirada de chef it disappears to give way to the faces, gestures, attitudes and atmosphere projected by some of the great names of international haute cuisine in dialogue with Jesús Sánchez. Although he does not appear, he is equally present, as he has known how to ‘cook’ the ideal moment for the shot with his Leica, walking, talking, sharing a drink, when the reason for their meeting – the photo – has vanished and only two friends are left catching up.
For the Cantabria-based chef, ‘Mirada de chef is an intimate exercise, a way of getting closer to my colleagues, most of them good friends. We share many experiences, hopes and concerns.
Adversity unites us as much as moments of celebration. It is also true that the image we project is, to a certain extent, sweetened on some occasions, and distorted on others, by the echoes of a fame that has a lot to do with work, dedication, effort, and concerns. There is no doubt that this image is very close to us, although it is far from being us at all.
And that is what interests me’.