Spanish Flavour
Renowned Spanish chef, Nieves Barragán, brought her flavoursome Basque roots to London in 1998, evolving her palette and success with every tasty restaurant opening until ultimately being awarded her own Michelin Star for the delicious Sabor (meaning flavour) on Heddon Street in Mayfair, London. We caught up with the busy chef to talk more about how much nostalgia influences taste.
Interview Sufiyeh Hadian Photography JC Verona
What made you want to become a chef?
Well, I wasn't sure if I was going to be a chef. Because I studied graphic design, as well as culinary. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do either. But I was very into cooking in my house because my mum is an amazing cook, first thing she does in the morning is put the apron on, making breakfast. She used to take me to the market and taught me how to buy the best ingredients through smell and touch.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do. A friend of mine invited me to London for a year, their boyfriend was working in a two Michelin star restaurant at the time and had me come on board. At that point, I didn’t see myself working in a Michelin star restaurant because I didn’t have the experience and I always thought my mum made better food. But I came to London and I started to work in a two Michelin star. I was there for two years. I said to my mum I'm gonna go to London for one year, but what happened was, when I arrived in London, I started to understand what is in real cuisine. I started to see different ingredients and got to meet people from all over the world, tasting things I've never tried in my life. One year passed by so quickly because I was working 16/17 hours per day, six days a week. Not complaining; I was like a sponge, soaking everything up and loving every single moment, it was very hard work, but I loved it.
After a year my mom said why don't you come home? But I didn’t want to, I knew this was the beginning, I fell in love with cuisine, I started to understand and respect the work behind it. Not just the cooking, but how to run a kitchen, how precise you have to be, the discipline you need to have. I just fell in love with it all and the rest is history.
What was your favourite dish as a child?
Many, many dishes. I loved eating sweetbreads as a kid, now in every single restaurant I’ve opened in London, it has to have sweetbread. It’s one of my specialities, my mum also used to make it a lot. She also used to make the best rabbit stew, she taught me how to get the premium cut of any meats.
Do you have any more learned family recipes that you use?
In Sabor? Yeah, a lot. The rice dishes, the stews and then obviously I add my own touch.
How did the regional Basque cuisine influence your palette and style of cooking?
When we opened Sabor, people thought I was going to just do Basque cuisine. Okay, I'm from Basque country but it doesn't mean that I want to cook only Basque cuisine. I travel a lot to Galicia and the South of Spain – so that's why some parts of the restaurant represent different parts of Spain; the bar is like South of Spain, the counter is more like Catalonia and the Basque Country and then I have Asador upstairs which is central Spain, Madrid and Galicia. I love every part of the regional culinary journey, but I feel Basque cuisine for me, was my route, it was how I started to understand how to respect the ingredients.
What would you say is your signature dish for Spanish cuisine and what ingredient can't you live without?
It’s a very complex question, because everything depends on the season. But the Arroz Negro in Sabor is one of the signature dishes, as is the suckling pig upstairs – which is cooked in the only oven like that in the UK. I bought the oven from a third-generation family in Spain, who made the iron and the clay. We have many signature dishes, including the octopus, the tortillas with a runny middle – learned from my mum, she always made the tortillas wet. I don’t like the hard tortillas. So here, we make the tortillas super juicy, we also have the different specials of the day. Every day is depending on the market and what is in season.
“Arroz Negro in Sabor is one of the signature dishes, as is the suckling pig upstairs – which is cooked in the only oven like that in the UK. I bought the oven from a third-generation family in Spain.”
You've earned a Michelin star at two restaurants in the UK, which makes you the only Spanish chef who's received them here. When did you decide to forge your future in London?
Okay, so when I opened Fino. At that time it was the best Spanish restaurant in the UK, in 2003, that’s when I realised I started to develop myself, when I started to introduce my tortillas – people were complaining it’s too runny! It was difficult in the beginning to introduce how we really eat in Spain to a London audience. The first time I made black rice, people were giving me funny looks like ‘what are you giving me to eat?’ yet those are now the same people who can’t stop eating it. After hearing the feedback and what was working, it made me push myself harder.
Being far from your home, foods and how did you become one of the best Spanish chefs without developing professionally in Spain? Did you have a mentor here?
No, no mentor, I just developed it. When I worked in different restaurants. First with chef Nico, and then I jumped straight away to Fino. But I used to watch Karlos Arguiñano (a Spanish TV chef) when I was younger, he was so funny and he was always on the TV, I remember watching that all the time with my mum – everything he made my mum would re-create the next day.
How did you come to launch Sabor?
First, I opened Fino, then Barrafina, then in 2017 Jose and I decided we want to open something that was missing from the London culinary scene, I also wanted to have my own restaurant – that’s where Sabor came into play; we designed everything inside the restaurant, every single detail from the kitchen to the floor, to the staircase was envisioned and designed by us.
Okay, so you wanted to do something that was entirely just yours?
Yes, I also wanted to make sure that people understand the different regions from Spain and their individual food. That was my dream, Sabor is my dream. Well, one of them.
”I used to watch Karlos Arguiñano (a Spanish TV chef) when I was younger, he was so funny and he was always on the TV, I remember watching that all the time with my mum – everything he made my mum would re-create the next day. “
What would be the next dream?
We have a few projects coming up, maybe another follow-up to my book of Sabor.
Can’t wait to read it. Let’s ask the age-old question: Is there any such thing as too much garlic?
Do you know how much garlic I use in Sabor?! You know garlic is an aphrodisiac, that’s the only reason why I use it and no, there’s no such thing as too much. I think that’s why we have a lot of customers, there’s something about garlic, I think the aphrodisiac aspect to it is definitely working.
“The secret is to do things well; eat well and drink well.”
In Spain, you start a day with a continental-style breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, then sobremesa, then you go for tapas or merienda (afternoon tea) and after dinner/supper… what’s the Spanish secret to a balanced diet?
The secret is happiness and good wine, there is no type of diet, especially in the Basque country. The secret is to do things well; eat well and drink well.
How are you doing with the issue of Brexit?
I mean, are we still open. We are only open four days a week. Half of my team moved back to Spain during the pandemic, now with Brexit, it’s extremely difficult to find European staff. We have to make sure the team we have, is able to stay here with us. So we need to make sure that the team is happy working with us and keep them happy because we can't afford to lose more people.
With thanks to Pedro Cubino, Ignacio Casco and Lauren Chester
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