Francisco Roque, the 75-year-old chef and restaurateur, refuses to retire. Twice given merely months to live due to cancer, remaining busy and working hard for his customers, he defied the doctor’s diagnosis by keeping a smile on his face and feeding the Costa del Sol some of the best food there is. To the doctors astonishment, he now has the ‘all-clear’ and is convinced that the secret to a long life is loving what you do. Roque’s restaurant is the hugely popular El Jinete, where he has been running the show and cooking for the last 12 years. Previously, he had the Fuengirola restaurant Aroma for 23 years with business partner John Kelly, and before that as head chef at Shakespeare, the biggest restaurant in Fuengirola at the time. Roque: ‘I work a lot of hours in the kitchen because it’s not hard for me. I’m passionate about the cooking. I work, and it’s not hard for me. My wife, Karen, wanted me to retire. I’m a positive person. When I stop working, I feel ill.’ 2 years ago, doctors gave him 6 months to live when they found a tumour behind his eye. He beat it. Last year, he was diagnosed with lymphoma, and they gave him between 3 and 8 months to live. He beat it again. How? Working. “The doctor told me that she would give me just one day of treatment because I’m a fighter. I fight to live. She told me it was a mental battle with me.” He refused the one day of treatment outright. Afterwards, the lymphoma disappeared by itself, and he was given the all-clear. Roque refuses to give up “The doctor called me and asked me what that noise was in the background. I said it was my kitchen. Don’t tell me you’re working, she said. Of course I’m working. I’m alive. And I don’t take medication of any sort,” Roque says. EWN: What’s the secret, then? Roque: “The secret is the passion to live. The passion to fight. The customers at this restaurant always give lots in tips. I think it’s the passion you transmit to the dish. We were born to live. Born to fight for life. The doctor told me I will die of old age, but not this. I won’t ever retire because work gives me life.” It’s the energy, the passion that Roque transmits, and the dedication that ensures a full restaurant every night. The food is mostly meat, cooked rapidly over a charcoal flame. Black Angus is popular at the moment, as well as suckling pig confit, chateaubriand and a lot of dry-aged beef. Prices are much more reasonable than at other restaurants closer to the coast. You can find the passion and the cuisine of Francisco Roque at El Jinete in Calle de La Cala Golf Km 4.5, Mijas Costa.