Rooted Leadership: Enjoying an Encounter with Joan Roca at the Málaga Business Circle

The Málaga Business Circle hosted one of its “Leaders’ Encounters” at Bbou Hotel Cortijo Bravo — an exceptional gathering with Joan Roca, conceived as a space for reflection on leadership, family enterprise and creativity, illuminated by a rare depth and clarity.

The setting —the Axarquía in its most luminous expression— and the impeccable hospitality of the CEOs and hosts, María and Andrés Herrero, created the perfect stage for an inspiring day.

Joan arrived in Málaga at a particularly symbolic moment: El Celler de Can Roca has just retained its three Michelin Stars, Esperit Roca has confirmed its own, and the family once again celebrates the solidity of a project that has been named Best Restaurant in the World on multiple occasions and for many years.

A milestone that reaffirms the vigour, coherence and rigour of a model that remains unique in the international landscape.



A Setting with Soul: Bbou Cortijo Bravo and the Axarquía

Bbou Hotel Cortijo Bravo is one of those places where landscape and architecture converse in quiet harmony. The open light of the Axarquía transforms every encounter into an experience and shapes a style of hospitality that feels authentic: thoughtful, local, balanced between simplicity and intention.

That spirit —light, territory, tranquillity, truth— infused the entire day.

Having this encounter take place here, under the sensitivity of María and Andrés, reinforced Joan’s message:

“Cooking is caring. And caring begins by listening to the territory.”

At Cortijo Bravo, the territory is not a backdrop — it is presence.

The Voice of Joan Roca: Thought, Values and a Distinctive Form of Leadership

Listening to Joan Roca is listening to a philosophy. His words went far beyond gastronomy: he spoke of purpose, roots, identity and that silent ethics that sustains great projects.

Three ideas shaped the encounter:

1. Memory as a Structural Ingredient

“Memory is an essential ingredient.”

Memory not as nostalgia, but as method: an origin that orients, a root that gives meaning.

2. Excellence as an Act of Care

“Our profession is to care for people and make them happy.”

A declaration of essence that transcends any discipline: caring is the true foundation of excellence.

3. Innovation That Preserves Identity

“Creativity makes sense when it connects you with who you are.”

An innovation that advances without losing its root, guided by values rather than trends.

His profile goes beyond that of a chef: he is a thinker of territory, family enterprise, and beauty as responsibility.




El Celler as a Living Ecosystem

Joan described the family business as an ecosystem where sensitivities, knowledge and disciplines coexist, nourishing one another.

His creative map —memory, landscape, chromaticism, sweetness, scent, magic, transversality— reveals a philosophy in which everything is connected and nothing is accessory.

He also presented the constellation of profiles that sustain the project: botany, philosophy, industrial design, multimedia, agroecology, sensorial research, distillation, communication…

A choral structure that explains the depth of their work.

One sentence captured it with clarity:

“Creating as a trio: together we are unstoppable.”

My Personal Relationship with the Roca Universe

This encounter holds a special meaning for me because I know and deeply admire their project.

I have experienced El Celler de Can Roca on several occasions —as a total work where cuisine, atmosphere, gesture and memory speak a single language.

I have stayed at Casa Cacao, where I have enjoyed several of the best breakfasts of my life —my favourite meal—.

I have eaten at Can Roca de Tot la Vida, celebrated the singularity of Normal, enjoyed tapas at VII Tapes and Platillos, immersed myself in the joyful fantasy of Rocambolesc, and I know Esperit Roca.

I admire this brilliant and exceptional family profoundly —with their dreams set on the stars and their feet firmly on the ground.

What I Take With Me as a Wedding Architect

While listening to him, I recognised parallels that resonate deeply with my own vision as a creator of experiences:

1. Origin as the Foundation of Design

Just as they cook from memory, I design from each couple’s identity.

2. The Team as an Emotional Symphony

A high-level event, like a service at El Celler, requires diverse voices tuned to a single purpose.

3. Beauty as Emotional Responsibility

The ethics of detail they embody reaffirms my own conviction:

beauty is what you make others feel when they close their eyes.

A Delicious Close: Axarquía at the Table

After the talk, we shared a wonderful meal prepared with local products from the Axarquía.

A perfect homage to the territory that hosted us, and a fitting finale to a day defined by authenticity, culture and truth.

A Personal Note: Returning to a Space I Also Helped Shape

The encounter held an even deeper significance for me because I know this hotel from the inside.

As part of my creative consultancy for Bbou, I developed the design of the ceremony area —a space with its own identity, conceived to reinforce the property’s distinctive character and appeal to the international market. A design created to attract a more discerning clientele and multiply the perceived value of each celebration, enhancing the project’s overall performance through a more considered, more beautiful and deeply memorable experience.

Returning to this space on such a meaningful day —listening to Joan, surrounded by leaders— reminded me that places hold memory, and that when a space is designed with intention, that memory expands.

Conclusion: A Day That Broadens the Gaze

This Leaders’ Encounter of the Málaga Business Circle became a celebration of rooted leadership, the value of territory, the power of memory and the importance of creating from truth.

A day that confirms that lasting projects are built upon:

• solid values,
• identity,
• authenticity,
• purposeful passion,
• and an ethics of care that permeates every gesture.

A day that brings Joan Roca’s vision into dialogue with my own: designing experiences that become memory.