Teresa Cordero, cook at Valladolid's Puerto Chico, dies at 65
She took over the tapas bar on calle Nicasio Pérez in 2017 with Isabel González. Local trade bodies and restaurants paid tribute; the bar's future has not been announced.
Teresa Cordero, the cook who ran the Puerto Chico bar and restaurant in Valladolid, died on Wednesday 21 October at the age of 65, according to Diario de Valladolid and El Español. Both newspapers reported her death on 23 October; neither gave a cause.
El Español reported that she died on Wednesday afternoon in Valladolid and that Puerto Chico had been closed since the beginning of October. Diario de Valladolid said the news had prompted messages from across the city's hospitality trade.
Teresa Cordero's years at Puerto Chico
According to Diario de Valladolid, Teresa Cordero began her career at the long-established Bar Zodiaco and later worked at Don Bacalao. El Español placed Zodiaco on calle Huelgas.
Puerto Chico stands at number 1 calle Nicasio Pérez, on the corner of the plaza de San Juan. El Español reported that the bar was opened by Fernando Pérez and that Cordero took it over at the end of 2017 with her business partner, the cook Isabel González. Diario de Valladolid described its cooking as cuisine in miniature, built on pinchos and tapas that combined tradition with new ideas; El Español said the menu included themed proposals inspired by different countries, reflecting her interest in travel.
Her competition record was documented by the trade. Diario de Valladolid cited a win in the national pinchos and tapas contest in 2015, which El Español linked to a creation called Lechazo Taj Mahal. In 2021, according to the Academia de la Tapa y del Pintxo, Cordero and González won the second Castilla y León pinchos and tapas championship in Palencia with Ganeca, a pincho built on Castilian black hen cooked en pepitoria, with maize, coconut and achiote. Palencia also hosts the international patatas bravas contest won in September by Mauro Barreiro.
Tributes to Teresa Cordero in Valladolid
Puerto Chico announced the death on Instagram, writing that "the heart and soul of Puerto Chico" had gone, according to both newspapers. The Academia de la Tapa y del Pintxo described Teresa Cordero as one of its honorary members and thanked her for her cooking, her closeness and her fight, Diario de Valladolid reported.
The provincial association of hospitality businesses in Valladolid sent "a huge hug" to her family and friends and said an event in her memory would be held soon, without giving a date, according to Diario de Valladolid. El Español reported messages from other restaurants in the city, among them Dámaso, which addressed Isabel González directly, and Suite 22.
Neither newspaper reported whether Puerto Chico will reopen, or when. Neither outlet had published funeral arrangements at the time of writing.
