On Sunday, September 27, The Gastronomic Academy of Ibiza and Formentera presented its Formentera awards for the 2025 season, in the fifth edition of the event, which recognizes exceptional careers, commitment to local products, and the promotion of the island’s and the Mediterranean’s gastronomy. The awards recognized chef Nandu Jubany and the restaurants Vogamarí and 190 Pasos, who were selected unanimously by the academy’s members.
The event, held at Hannah’s restaurant, brought together policymakers, academics, producers, chefs, and restaurateurs, with a mix of established professionals and new entrepreneurs. Beyond the awards, the gathering highlighted some of the main challenges facing Formentera’s gastronomy: product quality, the professionalization of service, and, in particular, the need to preserve local identity in the face of growing tourist demand.
Nandu Jubany
Among the awardees, Nandu Jubany has been recognized for his career in the kitchen and for his work as an entrepreneur. The chef has four restaurants in Formentera – Can Carlitos, Es Còdol Foradat, Pecador Formentera, and Agua Aire – which make up his unique culinary world on the island. His cuisine is inspired by traditional Catalan and Mediterranean recipes and their gastronomic roots, reinterpreting them with a contemporary touch, always putting the ingredients at the center of the spotlight.
He began his professional career at 18 as head chef at the family restaurant Urbisol. He then worked in kitchens such as Cabo Mayor in Madrid, La Fonda Sala – where he specialized in preparing game – and at Arzak and Martín Berasategui’s Bodegón Alejandro. This training has shaped a cooking style that balances tradition and innovation, using local and seasonal products and reinterpreting recipes, all while always keeping the focus on the ingredients.
Sea-Vogamarí
The Vogamarí restaurant has been recognized for its commitment to traditional Formentera and Mediterranean cuisine, and for its cooking based on fresh, high-quality ingredients. Its chef, Toni Mayans, combines tradition and creativity in a menu closely linked to the sea and the island’s produce.
Located right next to the sea on Migjorn Beach, Vogamarí combines its culinary offerings with a stunning natural setting. In the kitchen, fresh, locally sourced ingredients take center stage in a cuisine that revives Formentera’s most iconic flavors, transforming them into an experience closely linked to both the island’s landscape and its culinary traditions.
190 steps
The restaurant 190 Pasos, which opened four seasons ago, has been recognized for demonstrating that creative and fusion cuisine can be developed from a young, simple, and technical perspective, using local products and prioritizing the diner’s enjoyment. This recognition highlights a concept that moves away from labels and embraces contemporary Mediterranean cuisine.
Also on Migjorn Beach, exactly 190 steps from the sea, the restaurant is the life’s work of Borja Molins and his partner. The name refers precisely to this distance from the water, which also serves as a metaphor for their cuisine: the sea as a larder and fish as one of its main features. A concept based on local sourcing, freshness, and simplicity, with the Mediterranean as the common thread.
A look back at the fourth edition
This year’s awards add to those given last year. In 2025, the Academy awarded the Formentera 2024 Awards to Can Rafalet in Es Caló as a traditional restaurant; and Can Martí, on Migjorn Beach, with the Kilómetro Cero award; chef Carles Abellán, head chef of Casa Natalia in Sant Ferran, as best chef; and olive oil producers Ca Na Platera and Sa Tanca des Clot, who received the award for Sustainable Project.