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🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Joseba Arguiñano on His Father Karlos: “My Aita’s Cooking Is Home Cooking. We Eat Normally”

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Joseba Arguiñano says family meals with his father, Karlos, feature ordinary home cooking such as stews, breaded food and tomato sauce.
  • In an interview with Cadena SER’s “La Ventana,” he described a culinary philosophy based on good ingredients, simple preparation and an occasional special touch.
  • He also discussed the influence of his aunt Eva Arguiñano and recalled the large potato and egg dish his mother made for the family.

Joseba Arguiñano has sometimes been called “mini Karlos Arguiñano,” but he says the family kitchen is far more ordinary than many people imagine. The 41-year-old chef, one of Karlos Arguiñano’s seven children, described meals built around familiar home cooking rather than elaborate haute cuisine.

“My aita’s cooking is home cooking and it is the food we eat at home: stew, battered food, breaded food, with tomato sauce. We eat normally,” Joseba said in an interview on Cadena SER’s “La Ventana.” In the Basque family’s vocabulary, “aita” means father.

My aita’s cooking is home cooking and it is the food we eat at home: stew, battered food, breaded food, with tomato sauce. We eat normally.

· Joseba ArguiñanoHe described the ordinary meals served in the Arguiñano family home.

That approach reflects the culinary philosophy Karlos has promoted for decades through his kitchen, television programs and books: accessible recipes for everyday life, using seasonal ingredients. Joseba gave a simple example of how to add something distinctive without complicating a dish. “Simple grilled chicken breasts or prawns, if we add black garlic aioli, we have already given that day a special touch,” he said.

Simple grilled chicken breasts or prawns, if we add black garlic aioli, we have already given that day a special touch.

· Joseba ArguiñanoHe explained how simple ingredients and one detail can elevate an everyday dish.

Joseba also spoke warmly about his aunt Eva Arguiñano, who helped shape his professional path. “We have always lived like a pack, surrounded by brothers, cousins and uncles,” he said. Eva taught him about pastry and helped him learn to manage a bakery business while Karlos focused on television programs.

His strongest childhood food memory is equally domestic: the broken eggs his mother made for dinner. She prepared a huge dish of potatoes with plenty of slowly cooked onions, then added enough eggs for all the siblings to eat from the same plate. That memory captures the family image Joseba described, one built around simple food, shared meals and a large household.

We have always lived like a pack, surrounded by brothers, cousins and uncles.

· Joseba ArguiñanoHe recalled the close-knit family environment in which he grew up.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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