Meet the Chef – Pau Aparisi

Flamenca is Closed

Originally from Burriana in Valencia, Pau came to Devon in 2019 to work in the hospitality scene. Along with his best friend Pepe Eixeres, who is front of house, head chef Ernesto Enrique and his partner, Ray Anne O’Connor, they all work together at Flamenca and are proud to serve authentic tapas dishes at this popular Spanish restaurant.

Pau’s humble, friendly demeanour makes him a joy to work with. “I had experience working in various tapas bars around Spain, so when I moved to England I looked for something similar, and ended up working in a little tapas bar in Magdalen Road in Exeter. I worked there for around two years, and we just got busier and busier as time went on,” he says. Pau’s ambition grew larger than the small restaurant. “I wanted more say in the food and the recipes that we created.”

The four friends now run Flamenca with enthusiasm, expertise and great passion, offering a large range of tapas using authentic recipes from various regions of Spain. For example, the paella recipe comes from Pau’s hometown of Burriana, the cheesecake from the Basque region, while the chorizo in cider is from Asturias. The calamares and crispy puntillita recipes originate from Spain’s southern coast.

As a small independent restaurant, the team works hard to follow the seasonality of its suppliers’ produce to ensure the best possible flavours and quality in each of the dishes.

Head chef Ernesto recommends a couple of must-try dishes on the menu: “It’s hard to recommend just one dish, as so much love goes into each one. The dishes that get the most ‘wow’ feedback are the slow-cooked beef cheeks, chorizo in cider and the truffle croquettes. Make sure you finish off the meal by trying our homemade Basque-baked cheesecake!”