After the spectacular success of Chiltern Firehouse, the chef’s chef is recreating ‘blurred memories’ of childhood at his new restaurant, Taberna do Mercado. To launch his monthly recipe column, he shares the secrets of Portuguese cuisine
Exclusive: three recipes from Nuno Mendes
The week the Chiltern Firehouse opened in central London, it was so full of famous people that something went wrong with the cosmic ratios: my fella and I sat between Kirsten Dunst and Sol Campbell. We were outnumbered. Gordon Ramsay was there, and I asked him what he thought of Nuno Mendes, the superstar chef. I was in search of mischief, some spurt of alpha-male jealousy. Ramsay, smarter than that, said: “He’s a chef’s chef. Fingertip control.”
Mendes was already known on the foodie circuit for the Loft Project in east London, where he pioneered tasting menus and unearthed young talent. Viajante followed, in Bethnal Green town hall, where he got his first Michelin star. The Firehouse got him talked about at a different order of magnitude. It is still rammed with names, a year and a half in; paparazzi wait dutifully outside, and the flashing through the night makes it look, from the enchanting garden, as if you are surrounded by police helicopters. It is a great circus of a restaurant, distilling all the excitement and horror of 21st-century London – we’ve taken our fire-service infrastructure, sacked all the firefighters, and filled it with stars and front-of-house staff more beautiful than makes any human sense. God knows what will happen if there is ever a fire; hopefully the paparazzi will be able to help.
Related: Nuno Mendes’ small plates: sea bream, runner bean fritters and tomato salad
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