José Pizarro has put Spain on Britain’s gastronomic map. Sophie Farrah finds him preparing to pub it in the park...
In a time of uncertainty for restaurants on the high street, José Pizarro is flourishing. Twenty years since he arrived in London, the man often described as the ‘godfather of Spanish cooking in the UK’ has no fewer than three successful ventures in the capital: José Pizarro Broadgate, his restaurant near Liverpool Street; José, a sherry and tapas bar on Bermondsey Street, south of the river; and Pizarro, another restaurant, just a few yards away.
Last year he expanded his culinary portfolio further with his very first gastropub – The Swan Inn at Claygate, near Esher. June saw the release of his fifth cookbook. And in September he will be cooking up a storm at Pub in the Park: a roving food, drink and music festival curated by fellow chef Tom Kerridge, which comes to Chiswick House and Gardens for the first time this year. There is no siesta time, it seems, for this energetic Spanish chef.
“It’s mad at the moment, but I have no complaints!” he enthuses. “To be busy in my business is good!
“My restaurants and books are like my babies and my customers are my family.”
Most of the chefs that I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing have told me romantic tales of how cooking is in their blood, their culinary prowess genetically derived. Not José.
“I grew up on a farm where my mum was always busy helping my dad, so she didn’t have much time to teach me cooking. It was more like: ‘Get out of my kitchen!’” he laughs.
“So I didn’t really cook very much – my mum always did it for me. But growing up in a place like that, on a farm, I was surrounded by the best ingredients, smells and flavours. I loved my mum’s cooking – simple, but amazing food. From her I learned always to do my best; to put love into everything I do.”
Still, as Shakespeare points out, the course of true love never did run smooth. And when José was old enough, he left his home in Cáceres – a province in the Extremadura region of western Spain – for a rather different way of ministering to the mouth: a career in dentistry.
It was only once qualified and searching for a job that he decided, on a whim, to enrol in a cookery course.
“I don’t know why! I suppose I always have to be doing something,” he muses. “But that course changed my life. I realised that I didn’t want to spend all day sitting in a chair but to be around people.
“I love entertaining. That’s my passion – people and flavour! I want my customers to feel like they are visiting my house. Hospitality needs to come from the heart.”
Fresh from the course, José worked in the kitchens of Madrid before moving to London in 2000, in search of new flavours and techniques. He spent a decade honing his skills at some of the capital’s top Spanish restaurants, before taking the plunge with his first solo venture, José – the Bermondsey Street tapas bar – in 2011.
“I went from simple, regional food to newer, more creative cuisine, but after experimenting for a bit I went back to my roots. I wanted my customers to understand the flavours of Spanish food.
“Today, there are so many amazing Spanish restaurants in London – and the more the better! People really understand the quality of Spanish food now, as well as the culture behind it. They know that Spanish food is more than just paella and sangria – although those are both amazing!
“What customers really want is more regional food. Already restaurants serving Catalan and Basque food have opened – and if you’d told me that 20 years ago, I would have thought it was strange. People want to learn more and more about Spanish food, and if I’ve put just a small stone in that wall, then I am incredibly happy.”
And it’s the many and varied regions of Spain that have provided José with much of the inspiration for his beautiful books. Following Seasonal Spanish Food (2009) and Spanish Flavours (2012), he published Basque in 2016, Catalonia in 2017 and, in May of this year, Andalusia – each volume a mouthwatering journey designed to showcase the food, people and culture of the region concerned.
“Spain is 17 countries in one – every region and area is completely different,” explains José.
“Andalusia offers so much – the food, the history of the food, the people. It is totally different from the other regions I’ve written about. It’s sunnier and everyone wants to be outside – everyone wants a dance! When people open the book, I want them to think: ‘Wow! I must go there!’”
Another of José’s recent achievements is the acquisition of The Swan Inn. Whilst retaining a typical British pub feel, the Claygate venue now serves Spanish classics in José’s signature style, using top-quality ingredients alongside some locally sourced produce.
Classic pub favourites have received a Pizarro twist and now sit alongside regional Spanish dishes and familiar José delicacies, such as his croquetas, tortilla and hand-carved Iberian ham. All served, of course, with plenty of Spanish wine and beer.
“I always wanted a pub and spent a very long time looking for one. I’ve always thought, and even more so now that I am a landlord, that local pubs are really similar to Spanish bars. In my village bars are community places where you meet your friends – it’s all about being together.
“The pub is now a Spanish tapas bar, but with some twists. I have my Scotch egg, my fish and chips and my Sunday roast! With a pub, you have to have those things on the menu. But you can also try all the flavours of Spanish cuisine. Lots of good olive oil, hams hanging from the ceiling. I am actually going to be there tomorrow cooking for the whole day. I love it.”
And as if all this weren’t enough, José is also a regular on BBC 1’s Saturday Kitchen – amongst other cookery shows – and on the food festival scene, where he serves up signature dishes and gives entertaining cookery demos, filled with a Spanish flavour.
Which brings us to Pub in the Park. Hosted by Rick Stein, James Martin and Monica Galetti, the Chiswick weekend’s pop-up pubs and restaurants include Tom Kerridge’s The Hand and Flowers, Heston Blumenthal’s The Hind’s Head and Jason Atherton’s Berners Tavern, while live music comes from Kaiser Chiefs, Gabrielle, Will Young, Texas, Razorlight, Clean Bandit and more.
“I am going to be doing a demo, but I’ll also be cooking on the stand, having a beer and a few cod fritters,” enthuses José.
“The festival is a great celebration of amazing chefs, food, music and just being together, with tapas and Spanish flavours included! And hopefully some sunshine – I will try my best!”
- Pub in the Park is from September 6-8 at Chiswick House and Gardens (pubintheparkuk.com).
- Andalusia: Recipes from Seville and Beyond (£20, published by Hardie Grant) is out now. For more from José visit: josepizarro.com
