Octavo (Eighth), the new season 2025

But OCTAVO is more than just a new menu. It’s a fresh perspective on cuisine as a unique form of artistic expression that goes beyond gastronomy itself. It also reflects the moment Quique Dacosta is currently living as an artist recognized worldwide for his creative impact on haute cuisine.

“I am here to communicate from my closest and most natural language, which is cooking. I have not come to this point to claim that cooking is an art, or yes. Gastronomy is the framework where cooking is consolidated as one of the fine arts in this century.” — Quique Dacosta

The new tasting menu at this three Michelin-starred restaurant in Dénia, one of the world’s most innovative and acclaimed fine dining destinations, explores cuisine as a language of its own. It’s a multisensory discipline enriched by emotion, where the act of dining becomes a way of participating in a living, evolving work of art.

Some forms of art reach us through a single sense, music or painting, for example. Others, like cinema, engage two. But in gastronomy, all five senses come into play.

The new menu tells a story that has inspired creators across all seven classical arts, from guitarist Vicente Amigo and writer Rosa Montero to choreographer Melania Olcina, architect Ramón Esteve, photographer Paula Anta, painter Guillermo Fornes, and philosopher Javier Gomá. Each dish evokes deep emotions, making every course a powerful artistic experience.

Artists like Alejandro Sanz and James Rhodes (music), Isabel Coixet (cinema), Manolo Valdés (sculpture), and Paula Bonet (painting) have also contributed their perspectives to this new season, adding their voice to the artistic world of Quique Dacosta.

Copyright in the Kitchen

In a groundbreaking project, Leo Burnett, along with Piel Creative Studio and Attic Films, created a historic campaign inspired by Quique Dacosta’s cuisine. Through the lens of the seven arts, they reinterpreted some of the chef’s most iconic dishes and registered them as original works by artists in each discipline. For the first time ever, a chef’s creations are being protected under artistic copyright.

“I deeply believe in the power of cross-disciplinary art. It’s always been a source of inspiration for me. To see other artists approach our work with such admiration is both humbling and a great responsibility,” says Dacosta about this landmark moment in gastronomic history.

Explore the project: www.eloctavo.art