Johanna von Múller-Klingspor is a Venezuelan-Austrian entrepreneur based in Madrid, known for her success in the world of hospitality and catering. Co-founder of establishments such as Café Murillo and El Velázquez 17, and the luxury catering company Coolinaria, Johanna has managed to consolidate a gastronomic offering that combines tradition, creativity, and sensitivity.
You’ve lived in several countries (Venezuela, Austria, the U.S., Indonesia…) before settling in Madrid. How do you think that multicultural experience has influenced your way of entrepreneurship and how you see hospitality?
“Having lived in such different countries gave me a special sensitivity toward people and their ways of relating to the table. In each culture I discovered a different way to welcome, to celebrate, to cook and to share. That has deeply shaped how I run my businesses: it taught me to observe, to listen before proposing, and to understand that hospitality is not just about food, but about creating spaces where people feel seen. I believe my perspective is hybrid: combining Central European discipline, Latin American warmth, American creativity and that connection with nature and simplicity that I experienced in Asia. All of that lives today in my projects.”
What lesson from your beginnings — from working as a hostess in university — do you still apply today in your hospitality ventures?
“Since university I understood something that still accompanies me: being a hostess is an act of generosity. It doesn’t matter whether you have a spectacular table or something simple; what matters is that whoever arrives feels that you’re happy to receive them. To this day I continue applying that philosophy in my teams and in every concept I develop: hospitality begins long before the guest arrives; it begins in how we take care of the team, in how a space is thought out, and in the intention with which each detail is designed.”
What does “success” mean to you? And how has that definition changed from when you started until now?
“When I started, success had a lot to do with achieving goals, growing, proving to myself that I could. Today, though, success for me is balance: being able to create projects that excite me without ceasing to enjoy my personal life; surrounding myself with a happy team; feeling that I bring something valuable to every place I touch. Success is no longer about speed — it is about coherence.”
What is your favorite dish?
“There are two flavours that always accompany me: some good tequeños — and my grandmother’s pesto spaghetti, which have that magical power to transport me back to my childhood. Both represent the same thing for me: home, affection and roots.”
What role does craftsmanship play in your daily life?
“Craftsmanship, for me, is a form of resistance: it rescues time, the human, beautiful imperfection. It constantly inspires me. In my work I seek to surround myself with pieces made by real hands — tableware, linens, furniture — because they convey soul and tell stories. I believe craftsmanship elevates any experience, especially in hospitality, where touch and sight also nourish.”
What place in the world would you like to explore wearing your “friulanes”?
“I imagine walking through Kyoto wearing my friulanes: strolling among temples, gardens, quiet streets… It is a place where tradition and modernity coexist with an absolute respect for detail. I think my friulanes would fit perfectly with that slow, contemplative rhythm.”
