Ignacio Echapresto Garcia is one half of Venta Moncalvillo. He was born in Daroca de Rioja in 1976, and he is the younger brother, the self-taught, restless, curious, and meticulous cook, who together with his brother Carlos, sommelier, and host, have made Venta Moncalvillo a gastronomic reference point on the national scene.

Ignacio’s cuisine is a cuisine of the people, of proximity, of surroundings, of flavor, one of the main sources of supply being his own vegetable garden, which is cultivated by the Echapresto family. Ignacio master’s traditional cuisine that he combines to perfection with some of the best avant-garde techniques because he never stops learning, being a regular at gastronomy congresses.

Among his many awards are the La Rioja Quality Award for his professional career and commitment to the land, the Award for Best Chef of La Rioja and a finalist in the Bocuse D’OR. In 2011, with his hard work and perseverance, came the most awaited award: Venta Moncalvillo obtained its first MICHELIN Star, and after that turning point, Ignacio, together with his brother Carlos, have turned the discreet restaurant into a gastronomic pilgrimage restaurant of the highest world level. In addition, in recent years, it has also become a benchmark restaurant in terms of sustainability, for which they received the Green MICHELIN Star in 2022.

Like Carlos, Ignacio is an emissary of his land, La Rioja, giving talks and presentations at Spanish and international meetings where he tells of the richness of its gastronomy and culture. He has participated as a speaker at national level at Madrid Fusión, Millesime Zaragoza and Madrid, Soria Gastronómica (Soria), Córdoba Califato Gourmet and Galicia Fórum Gastronómico, among others. And on the international scene, Gastronomic Festival La Rioja (USA), Copa Gastronómica “Gols pela Vida” (Brazil), Congresso dos Cozinheiros (Portugal), GastroAntep and Gastromasa (Turkey), and in many other events as ambassador of La Rioja in some of the most important wine fairs and events in the world together with great wineries of his land.

In 2019 he organizes in his own village, in his own home, the event ‘Cocinas de Pueblo’ which aims to be a meeting point to give value and visibility to the cuisines made in the small villages of the Spanish geography and in 2022 they carry out with great national and international success the second edition of this meeting.

In 2021 he received one of the most significant recognitions for him: he was appointed Ambassador of La Rioja by the Government of his homeland, something he has done since the beginning of his career both inside and outside Spain.