Cristina Oria's most intimate and personal self

- At the head of four restaurants, a catering company and a project that is currently underway, what is the essence of the Cristina Oria (CO) brand and what do you want to transmit through it?

Affordable luxury is what most characterises CO. We have always wanted to provide the best quality at a reasonable price. That's why we take great care of the packaging, the purchasing process, the customer experience in store, and the after-sales service. We take care of every detail. We want the client to feel cared for throughout the entire process.

- What do you value most when choosing the materials that accompany your projects? And for the kitchen, your place of work?

One of our standards at CO is to have the best quality products. In the kitchen, the best dishes are made with the best ingredients. The same applies to the composition and design of a room such as the kitchen. If you invest in higher quality materials, it will last longer, look better, and you will cook better.

My husband, Álvaro, is a forestry engineer. He loves everything to do with materials and we really like the authenticity of nature. That's why we wanted marble, natural stone, so when you touch it you can feel its texture and quality. I think we got the design right and the end result is spectacular.

-Tell us about the choice of XTONE's Altissima natural stone for Morata de Tajuña and the new restaurant and gourmet store in San Sebastian.

In the San Sebastian store, marble very similar to the one we had chosen from Altissima appeared when we removed the plasterboard. The combination of both has been perfect, making the interior design different and unique. We always want our projects to be authentic, unique. We want them to have our image, for them to take our customers to a special place.

-Tell us a little more about your projects, especially the one in Morata de Tajuña, what does Morata mean to you? What relationship does it have with your other professional projects?

I make dual use of the kitchen at Morata as a work space and as a second home. Every other week I use this kitchen to create recipes that I then publish on social media. The aesthetics of the space need to be impeccable. We have a black and white kitchen, very corporate, with an Altissima countertop. And on weekends it's where we spend time as a family. The kitchen opens on to the living room and has stools at the countertop where people sit helping me or trying things while I cook.

- Just a couple of months ago you embarked on the expansion of the brand with a new restaurant and location in San Sebastian. What led you to expand CO in the capital of Gipuzkoa?

I chose San Sebastian because I love the city. Gastronomically it is a challenge, since there was no space like ours in the city. Then, most importantly, my family is from here. My parents are from San Sebastian and I wanted the first opening outside Madrid to be more sentimental. In economic terms, perhaps it would have been more logical to choose a larger city, but I was very nostalgic and was especially looking forward to San Sebastian. I love going there in summer. We've spent summers there with the kids and it is a way to combine business and family life in a single place.

-Another of your latest professional projects has been the publication of your cookbook "Mis recetas favoritas para hacer en casa”. Tell us a little more about it. How did the idea of writing a cookbook come up? What will readers find in it?

During the months of confinement I published several recipes. We already had a project with ESPASA to make a very special book, something more elaborate. During the pandemic, we started making a lot of recipes at home and Álvaro takes spectacular photos, since he loves photography and has taken a course. So I said to him: "What if you and I do the book here while we are in confinement?" We would make the recipes to eat them at home, but first we would take a picture and that's how it came about. The book came about during the confinement. We are already thinking about the next book we want to do.

-Right now you are having a very sweet moment in your professional career. Could you tell us how you imagine the CO brand will evolve in ten years?

Whenever I am asked this question, I always say that I don't have any short-term projects and eventually new projects always come up. But I want to establish the brand as a reference in the market, to have a good team, which is the most important thing for the survival and implementation of any brand, and to grow in a smart and sustainable way.

We also want to grow a lot online, making available a larger number of decoration products which we design and manufacture ourselves. And finally, to maintain our commitment to local produce, to expand our gardens and do our bit to make the world a better place.

-Last but not least, what is the relationship between gastronomy and design/aesthetics for you?

Personally, I cannot conceive gastronomy without design. I believe that gastronomy is about more than just a single sense, such as taste, which is obviously very important. I think it's a given that the food has to be good. A dish has to captivate you with the other senses. The sense of sight is important and a dish has to enter through the eyes. When the atmosphere is welcoming, fulfilling and beautiful, it makes the whole experience round, complete.