Nicolas Lopez

Nicolás López is the Director of Culinary Development for Chef José Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain. In his role at Mercado Little Spain, Nicolas works on menu development, recipe creation and collaboration within the José Andrés Group restaurant group. 

Prior to focusing on Mercado Little Spain, Nicolas worked in the R&D kitchen at José Andrés Group developing recipes for Jaleo and working with chefs from different cultures to expand his skillset and culinary knowledge. Nicolas began cooking professionally at 16, studying in Madrid and doing stage in Zalacain, The Fat Duck in London and then working with Paco Roncero in Madrid. During his time with Paco, Nicolas worked in the R&D department for La Terazza, helped develop and conceptualize a month-long pop-up called Sublimotion in Ibiza, and opened Version Original in Bogota, Colombia. Nicolas stayed in Colombia for several years before moving to DC where he began at the St. Regis before joining José Andrés Group. 

During his time at José Andrés Group, Nicolas has collaborated with chefs from different cultures in the R&D kitchen, developing his skills and working with new ingredients to incorporate into his culinary repertoire. Focusing his culinary development on Mercado Little Spain has allowed Nicolas to learn more about Spanish cuisine and techniques, including exhaustive research on Spanish history and the traditional ways of preparing classic dishes. Nicolas will continue to oversee the culinary development of Mercado Little Spain and larger R&D collaboration across José Andrés Group.