As the grandson of the founder of the legendary Faro restaurant, youthful Mario Jimenez Córdoba belongs to the greatest food dynasty of Cádiz. It’s a lot to live up to, and although initially Mario embarked on a commercial career in Madrid, restaurant life lured him back. “I first worked in top restaurants in northern Spain before becoming kitchen manager here—and I really love cooking!” he remarks cheerfully. He is extremely lucky to work beside Manolo Ojeda, a great hulk of a man who has headed the Faro kitchen for thirteen years—an impressive stretch. “That’s nothing,” chuckles Manolo. “There’s a waiter who has just retired after fifty years, and a couple of kitchen hands who have both worked here for twenty years.”
