Read the leg before carving
Every jamón is different.
Antonio Romero, Master Ham Carver
Founder of ARC Iberico Imports · Richmond, British Columbia
Some people sell jamón, and some people know it. Antonio Romero Casado has hand-carved thousands of legs, and everything ARC brings into Canada passes his judgement before it reaches a shelf. This is who he is and how he got here.
He didn't discover jamón. He grew up inside it.
Antonio was born in San Pedro de Alcántara, on the Málaga coast. His family ran a bar there, El Labrador, and in that house jamón wasn't a treat for special occasions: it was stock, service and daily work. Legs in the holder, knives always sharp, and customers who noticed instantly when a slice was badly cut. That's where the standard comes from. Long before it was a profession, it was simply how things were done at home.
He learned the craft in London, with Spanish masters
In 2010 Antonio moved to London and joined Brindisa, one of the most respected Spanish food houses outside Spain. It was there, working alongside professional carvers, that carving jamón stopped being something he knew how to do and became something he wanted to master.
Then came Tozino, a jamón bar in Bermondsey, where he devoted himself to the one thing that truly turns a carver into a master: legs. Thousands of hours of legs, one after another, in front of customers who were watching.
What being a master ham carver actually means
It's a title earned in practice and recognised by fellow professionals.
What that level demands:
Work with the temperature
Ibérico fat behaves differently at different temperatures.
Carve thin enough to melt
Almost translucent, following the grain.
Leave nothing behind
The bone comes out clean.
Present it
A plate of carved jamón is composed.
Magazine has described him as the only master ham carver in North America
Introduced him as Vancouver's only Spanish master ham carver. Years later, the list is still very short.
Why he ended up importing
Antonio came to Canada to keep building his career behind the jamonero and ran into an obvious problem: there was barely any real ibérico here to carve. Rather than wait for someone else to solve the supply, he became the supply.
ARC Iberico Imports opened in 2017 in the corner of a Richmond warehouse with one jamón and a box of chorizo. Today it is Canada's leading importer of authentic Spanish food: around 270 Spanish product lines, many with DOP and IGP status, an ICEX Colmados from Spain certification, and the exclusive Cinco Jotas importer in the country. It ships to homes, restaurants and events nationwide, and Antonio still selects the range personally.
Antonio Romero Productos Españoles
After years of tasting across Spain, Antonio launched his own brand: a curated range of jamón ibérico, charcuterie, olive oils, Marcona almonds and pantry staples, chosen by him one by one and not pulled from a catalogue. The brand was a 2022 Pentawards finalist in brand identity and is distributed exclusively in Canada through ARC.
In July 2026, ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones (Spain's state foreign trade agency) awarded Antonio's two businesses its official quality certifications for Spanish food and cuisine abroad:
Colmados from Spain
ARC Iberico Imports, with a score of 92/100
Restaurants from Spain
Jamonería by ARC, with a score of 91%
Shop the range Antonio selects
Everything Antonio chooses in Spain ends up here: jamón ibérico from Cinco Jotas and other DOP producers, charcuterie, olive oils, Marcona almonds and the pantry staples that make Spanish cooking work. Around 270 products, shipped from our warehouse to anywhere in Canada.
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