The Marriage of Food and Research

For chef Santiago Lastra, cooking has always gone hand in hand with research. The science, technology and history are as much a part of what’s on the plate as the ingredients, inspiration and technique.

Born in Mexico City, Santiago was raised just south of there in Cuernavaca, known locally as “The City of Eternal Spring.” The young Santiago wanted to be a mathematician rather than a chef, competing in Maths Olympic events more attracted to research and problem-solving. This sense of curiosity inspired Santiago’s first attempt at cooking. Noticing a recipe for Crab Dip on the back of a packet of Ritz Crackers, he purchased the ingredients and prepared it for his family. Then, aged 15, he started working part-time in a local Italian restaurant.

After graduating high school at 18, Santiago was offered an internship at 1 Michelin-starred Europa Restaurante in Pamplona and moved to Spain, where he worked for two years. He returned to Mexico to study at the Instituto Arte Culinario Coronado before leaving again for Spain. He worked for fifteen months at Mugaritz while completing a Master’s Degree in Culinary Innovation at the Basque Culinary Centre.

From Mugaritz, like many chefs of his generation, Santiago moved to Copenhagen. There, he began a development course at the prestigious Nordic Food Lab in the University of Copenhagen, researching how to make tortillas using Nordic grains.

While in Russia in 2016, Santiago received a message that would change the course of his career. His world tour had introduced him to many global chefs, food writers, and journalists. When René Redzepi had his idea to take Noma to Mexico for a 7-week pop-up to Tulum in the country’s southwest, he was looking for a project manager – and Santiago’s name was recommended.

The Marriage of Food and Research

Driven by a desire to build a community – restaurant team, local producers and suppliers, guests – Santiago sought the perfect location and settled in London.

While he jokes that it was because he was bored of sunshine, London ticked all the relevant boxes: a cosmopolitan and well-travelled population, open to trying something new; a familiarity with spice – thanks to its national love of Indian food; a city recognised as one of the world’s greatest culinary locations; a connection to Mexico.