Recetas de rechupete

Alfonso López Alonso and Jimena Catalina Gayo, Co-Founders

Madrid, Spain

Co-founders of Recetas de rechupete and husband & wife duo: Alfonso López Alonso and Jimena Catalina Gayo

2025

Recetas de rechupete serves up the sabor (flavor) of Spanish home cooking every day

In 2009, Alfonso López Alonso started Recetas de rechupete with his partner, Jimena Catalina Gayo, to share recipes for Spanish dishes. What began with lunches made for Jimena to eat at the office has since grown to reach Spanish speaking audiences from Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, to the U.S. and beyond.

From lunchbox to recetas (recipes)

Every office has its lunch hero.

And in 2009 Madrid, that hero was none other than Alfonso López Alonso, a sales rep who loved to pack restaurant-quality meals for his partner, Jimena Catalina Gayo, to take to work.

Then, like clockwork, when Jimena popped open the meal at her desk during lunch, coworkers would be sure to gather around.

“How is that made? What’s in it?” The questions would roll in.

But Jimena could only laugh, “I don’t know, I don’t cook!”

The same scene would play out over and over again, until Alfonso did something generous for them. He started a blog that has since become what’s known today to millions across the Spanish-speaking world as Recetas de rechupete.

And just like that, anyone (including Jimena’s colleagues at the time) could get answers to their questions and step-by-step recipes right at their fingertips for dishes from cordero al horno (roast lamb) and churros to lentejas con chorizo (lentils with chorizo).

At first, the blog was just supposed to be their weekend hobby. Alfonso cooked and photographed; Jimena handled WordPress and design.

They were posting a recipe whenever they could. “We were doing photos during the week and publishing on weekends,” Jimena remembered.

But by the third year, what started as a helpful link for friends was getting some real traction. In fact, the site had gotten to a point where it was generating enough money to match Alfonso’s monthly salary.

“The moment we realized this could be a real business,” he made the leap and focused full-time on the site instead.

Recetas de rechupete's version of Fideuà. which is a traditional Spanish seafood dish from the coastal regions of Valencia and Catalonia that is similar to paella but made with short, thin pasta noodles called fideos instead of rice

No paywall, just platos (plates)

When it came to monetizing the blog, they started with Google AdSense: a way to offset the costs of ingredients, hosting, and equipment, while keeping the recipes free and open to everyone.

Then, as readership grew, so did their ad stack. They even started to test various Google Certified Publishing Partners for publishers in Spain, until two years ago, they struck a novel sort of arrangement with a major Spanish newspaper called ABC.

And now, Recetas de rechupete appears under ABC’s domain via a redirect. ABC is able to manage their ad sales at scale, while Alfonso’s team stays focused on the cooking and the content.

“It’s common here in Spain,” Jimena explained. “Newspapers have the volume to negotiate better ad deals.”

Along their journey, they’ve held on to a philosophy, and that’s to keep the content free. “Subscription culture in Spain is weaker than in other countries,” Jimena says.

“People don’t want to pay for recipes on the internet… so we’re left with advertising and branded content as a means to support the site.”

“60 to 70% of our revenue comes from advertising. It’s by far our main source of income, which lets us keep producing quality content.”

From blog posts to libros y más (books and more)

All this scale also demanded that Alfonso and Jimena put some structure around their work. What began with “a couple posts a week” has now evolved into a consistent drumbeat of five pieces a day: three new recipes; two updated classics.

That’s also why they’ve had to hire. Today, the site is supported by 11 part-time contributors who all chip in to cook and write.

“To keep up with Google search and competitors, we had to grow daily content…and professionalize,” Jimena said.

And they’re able to do all this because of advertising. As a matter of fact, 60 to 70% of their revenue comes from advertising, “it’s by far our main source of income, which lets us keep producing quality content,” as they put it.

Since their site is in Spanish, about 60% of traffic comes from Spain, with the rest spread across South America (Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile), along with Mexico and the U.S. (especially Miami, California, and Florida).

But the site’s reach doesn’t stop online. Its contents also appear beautifully across ten published cookbooks in the real world, proof that Alfonso can hold in his hands and show his parents (who aren’t too tech savvy, admittedly).

“In 2013, bringing them a physical book made it real for them what Alfonso was doing,” Jimena said with a smile.

Then came the television invitations, including appearances that Alfonso made on Spain’s main public channel, and even two features with MasterChef!

Back at home, though, the ad-supported model bought something else for the team as well — time.

It’s allowed Alfonso to work from home since 2011, affording him more time with their kids, even relocating the family for a month each summer for vacations (with laptops in tow). “No bosses, less stress,” Jimena says.

As technology continues to evolve, Recetas de rechupete has learned to keep pace. The plan now is to keep investing in the content, keeping it all free on the open web, while using partnerships like the one they have with ABC to keep the business going.

It’s a simple but powerful recipe: ads help pay for what goes on in the kitchen, so that the recipes stay free online.

About the Publisher

Co-founder and head cook at Recetas de rechupete, Alfonso grew up in Galicia learning recipes from his mother and grandmother before building a career out of it in Madrid. Since starting the blog, he’s focused on sharing easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes for Spanish home cooking. He’s also the author of multiple cookbooks inspired by the site’s most-loved dishes. Meanwhile, his wife and the blog’s co-founder, Jimena, who has a background in advertising and product design, manages the site’s digital strategy, design, and operations.

Alfonso López Alonso of Recetas de rechupete celebrating Spanish home cooking with fresh tomatoes