Lucía Freitas: The star chef of Santiago de Compostela
After its cathedral, Santiago de Compostela's most visited destination is the Mercado de Abastos, the city's main food market, but chef Lucía Freitas doesn't have to embark on a pilgrimage to get there – it's directly across the street from her flagship restaurant, A Tafona. Her workday begins in the Mercado, scrutinising the fruit, making small talk with her favourite chicken farmer or eying a basket of red peppers so shiny they look like they've been polished. Built in 1941, the market is currently home to about 70 producers and artisans who sell seafood, meat, cheese, produce and other quality comestibles from the region of Galicia in north-westernmost Spain, a mountainous web of coastal villages and lush green valleys.