The El Gusto es Nuestro cooking school hosted the sixth edition of “The Best Paquito in Madrid,” a competition promoted by the Interprofessional Agri-food Organization for Sheep and Goats (INTEROVIC). Each year, this competition seeks to recognize excellence in the preparation of suckling lamb, kid, and lamb sandwiches among all the establishments that offer them in the capital. The Paquito from Pacto Raíz was awarded the title of best in Madrid. Their sandwich, made with suckling lamb, will represent the region in the national final to be held this fall.
In this edition, it’s worth noting that the runner-up was a kid-based sandwich from Rafa Zafra’s Bikini Bar, and in third place was Roberto Martínez’s Paquito from Tripea, featuring young lamb.
“The celebration of the sixth edition of the Best Paquito in Madrid demonstrates that the lamb sandwich is now firmly established in Madrid. Consumers know it and seek it out, and as a result, we’ve seen the level of competition rise. The entries are increasingly surprising in both quality and creativity. Restaurateurs know this and spend all year thinking about their version of the Paquito,” highlighted Tomás Rodríguez, director of INTEROVIC. He also emphasized the versatility of the Paquito, “which allows for sandwiches of different types: suckling lamb, kid goat, and lamb, as has been evident in the award winners.”
A highly competitive sixth edition
In this sixth edition, 13 establishments presented their creations to the jury: Barbudo, Barra Alta Madrid, Bikini Bar, Candeli, Döggo, La Mercantina, La Raspa, Pacto Raíz, Pai Pai, Pintxolari, Terrace de la Vega, Treze, and Krudo.
The decision, far from easy, was made by a jury comprised of chef Iván Cerdeño of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Iván Cerdeño at the Cigarral del Ángel in Toledo; journalists Paz Álvarez of El País Gastro; Natalia Martínez of the Cocinillas section of El Español; Tatiana Ferrandis of La Razón; José Manuel Rodríguez of Elle Gourmet; and Beatriz Casares, head of communications for INTEROVIC. In a blind tasting, they sampled the finalist Paquitos and evaluated their visual presentation, the doneness and texture of the meat, the bread, flavor, originality, balance, and their own subjective assessment of each dish.
| Jury (from left to right): Tatiana Ferrandis, José Manuel Rodríguez, Natalia Martínez, Iván Cerdeño, Paz Álvarez y Beatriz Casares. |
During the event, the jury members highlighted the high level of the participants and decided that Pacto Raíz’s entry was the winner of this sixth edition of the “Best Paquito in Madrid” competition. Chef Iván Cerdeño emphasized the high quality of all the Paquitos submitted, stating that “any one of them could have won,” and stressed that for him, “the important thing in a Paquito is that the lamb is the star: a meat with a lot of flavor, with a lot of personality. Of all the meats we chefs usually work with, it’s one of the most characterful, and the challenge lies in finding the balance between the lamb’s distinctive flavor, its fat, and the acidity of the sauces and pickles.” The jury especially valued originality, rewarding cuts that respect the product’s identity.
A Winning Paquito
Chefs Alex Marugán, Rocío Martínez, and André Chumbe of Pacto Raíz presented a suckling lamb sandwich using a John Torres French sauce. “We make a traditional chimichurri mayonnaise, add a cured sheep and goat cheese, a xnipec onion that we’ve been pickling and fermenting for a week, the leg of suckling lamb seared over high heat with a drop of soy sauce and honey and a drop of yondu, and that’s it,” explains Alex Marugán, who was thrilled to achieve a perfect record of victories. Since winning the first edition of the Best Paquito in Madrid with his lamb sandwich from Tres por Cuatro, he hadn’t entered the competition again. “Winning the Paquito for the second time was, first of all, unexpected, because it’s already difficult to win it once, let alone win it twice out of the two times we’ve entered.” “And the truth is, it’s always a joy to win an award, because of the impact it has, because of the recognition. From now on, I’m going to call myself Alex Paquito,” he joked.
| Alex Marugán amd Rocío Martínez preparing the Pacto Raíz Paquito during the Best Paquito in Madrid competition. |
In addition, two finalists were also selected: the first, Bikini Bar, presented by chef Joaquín Barbeito, was a kid goat Paquito cooked at a low temperature and served on a Folgueroles coca (a type of flatbread). “We steam the kid goat shoulder for ten hours at 85 degrees Celsius and then shred it. With the garlic from the cooking process and the juices from the shoulder, we make a lactonesa (a type of mayonnaise) that we spread on the bread.” “It’s served with a demi-glace we make with the jus from meat cooked for three days and an oyster sauce. It also includes romaine lettuce, spring onion, and chives,” he explains. He adds, “We use kid goat shoulder because it’s richer, shreds better, and is more flavorful.”
The second finalist was Roberto Martínez of Tripea’s Paquito de cordero yearnal (young lamb sandwich). The chef opted to present a sandwich with Obrador Máximo’s baked roll, a base of yellow chili aioli, and using lamb neck, “a cut we like for its juiciness and collagen, and ultimately, for how tender it is.” He explains, “We brine it for 12 hours and cook it sous vide in a spice-infused broth. Once deboned, it’s mixed with a sweet and sour tipacay sauce that includes many spices: cumin, star anise, cinnamon, and a touch of chili.” All of this is glazed along with the boneless lamb, and we finish it with a salad of onion, lime, and cilantro.”
The Paquito has won over more than 300 bars and restaurants in Spain.
The competition to find the best Paquito in Madrid was held in 2026 following the Ruta del Paquito (Paquito Route), an initiative supported by INTEROVIC (Interprofessional Agri-food Association for Sheep and Goat Meat) that aims to highlight the virtues of Spanish lamb, especially among younger consumers, and showcase the versatility of this exceptionally tender and flavorful meat. In 2019, the Paquito arrived in 40 bars and restaurants in Madrid. This year’s edition has been its most ambitious to date: more than 300 bars and restaurants offered their original versions of the Paquito for a month in over 40 cities across 15 Spanish provinces, including Madrid, Barcelona, Lleida, Valencia, Alicante, Badajoz, Cáceres, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Albacete, Cuenca, Teruel, Zaragoza, Huesca, and Pamplona.
Commitment to Sustainability
In line with its European campaign “Celebrate the everyday with lamb,” INTEROVIC highlights the environmental benefits of consuming lamb and goat meat, two of the most sustainable meats within the European Union. Their production in Spain, carried out on more than 110,000 sheep farms and 75,000 goat farms in rural areas, contributes significantly to the preservation of natural landscapes, improves soil fertility, and supports biodiversity. Furthermore, these rural farms are essential for economic development in areas that otherwise could not be used for other agricultural purposes.
