Martin Morales is at the forefront of London’s love affair with Peruvian cuisine. Catherine Whyte meets him in Richmond
Martin Morales opens the door of his Richmond home with a broad smile, pads down the hall in his socks, and ushers me in.
From this most informal of welcomes, you’d have no indication that this man has been at the helm of two of the most successful companies in modern history. As a founder member of Apple, he worked with Steve Jobs to bring iTunes to Europe. Following that, he was a board director at Disney, where he launched the careers of, amongst others, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.
But the man who once sold pop to the masses has now gone back to his roots, and reinvented himself as an evangelical ambassador for Peruvian cuisine and culture. As proprietor of the hugely successful Ceviche (Soho and Old Street) and Andina (Shoreditch) restaurants, he is arguably one of the most colourful and influential figures on London’s food scene.
Our interview is briefly interrupted by a phone call from New York (it later transpires he’s cooking for the Peruvian ambassador). As he sorts out his schedule, I look around his study, where a jumble of artwork fills almost the wall space like an autobiographical jigsaw. A disc celebrating landmark Hannah Montana sales; a poster from a DJ set in New York; interviews in leading British newspapers; a vintage picture of a lady in Peruvian dress. Elsewhere, in a bookshelf, sit numerous translated copies of his book Ceviche. One side of the room has been completely devoured by LPs.
Martin’s life reads like a bestselling novel. He grew up in Peru in the early eighties – a time marked with violence and kidnappings (“Many of my friends’ parents were kidnapped or killed”) – where poverty was rife, only to relocate with his English father to Coalville in Leicestershire, at a time when Thatcher was closing the mines, and unemployment and racism were endemic. Talk about frying pans and fires…
But Martin is an unfailing optimist. During those challenging times, Martin took refuge in food (he credits his great aunt with his love of Peruvian cuisine: “I could feel her love through her cooking”) and music; two constants that were to become the foundations stones of his life.
“For a migrant, Coalville was an oppressive environment,” says Martin, “so I sought comfort in music. I listened to blues, Motown, opera, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin – anything but heavy metal. I wanted the opposite of what my bullies were listening to.”
His childhood experiences have also informed his enviable thirst for life.
“My grandmother lived in the Andes and was a very humble lady. I get my strong work ethic from the knowledge that I could have been born in a similarly poor environment without the choices that I have had,” he says.
It has to be said that Martin’s subsequent success is a salutary and timely reminder that migrants to this country can – and do – reach dizzying heights. Yet, I tell him I can’t quite see this man in socks before me in thrall to a corporate behemoth like Disney.
“I’ve always wanted to work with talent trends from the beginning, where the energy is going upwards. I’ve always been good at spotting that. When I first started at Apple, it was very exciting and an amazing time nurturing that team that eventually went from three to 300.”
He continues: “I studied cultural imperialism at university, so I was very wary of joining Disney at first but I thought let’s find out from the inside and create change. What I found was a company that was fascinatingly large and diverse, full of politics but its core ethos of family values was sensible and universal – regardless of the nonsense in the working environment.”
“I’ve always wanted to change things for the better,” he says, “but you need to make it to the top to do it.”
Once he’d made it, Martin turned his back on the mainstream and turned towards his roots, promoting Peruvian music (from punk to funk) through his record label Tiger’s Milk, and Peruvian food and art at his Ceviche and Andina restaurants.
For those of you who haven’t been, Ceviche is revolutionary, raucous yet relaxed, where the conversation flows as fast and loud as the dangerously good Pisco Sours. The dishes are designed to be shared and the food takes you on a journey into ingredients and flavours you might not have tried before. The staff are super zany and smiley. Bold, bright Peruvian pop art line the walls. It’s all tremendous fun.
London has welcomed Ceviche with open arms and Martin is equally appreciative.
“This is the main restaurant hub in the world,” he says, without a shred of irony. I hesitate to agree. What about New York? Or Tokyo?
“There are some really exciting things happening here,” he insists. “Lima is also a phenomenal place to eat but London offers a huge variety of cuisines and there are a lot of great creative, artistic chefs working here. There’s a concentration of people in London from around the world seeking their own ethnic food but also people looking for the new. You could say it’s the least conservative city in the world, in that respect.”
It is affirming to hear him say so. He is similarly positive about Richmond.
“I absolutely love it here. I couldn’t think of anywhere else in the world I’d rather live,” he says. “As a family, we’ve always lived in South-West London. It’s got great schools; it’s very green and safe. There’s also a nice mix of people.”
He’s got so much going on that I wonder how he juggles family life and all the many projects he has.
“I’ve got two beautiful kids and my wife Lucy, who is my best friend, is extremely supportive. But yes, it’s a struggle finding the time to do everything. It’s a big world out there and there’s a lot to do.”
It’s all very impressive, I tell him. The phrases ‘autodidact’ and ‘renaissance man’ spring to mind. He shakes his head. “I’m nothing special, I’m just a guy who uses his brain and who works his arse off. My life is easy.
“I’ve just come back from the Amazonian city of Iquitos. It’s a city surrounded by water – effectively an island – and the level of poverty is staggering. There’s no way to escape; in one way it’s a paradise, but in another way, it’s a hell.
“Compared to that, I’ve got absolutely nothing to lose. Most people don’t; they just don’t realise it.”
Find out more, book a table or order takeaway on the Ceviche website
