Meet the chef: Fernando Trocca of Sucre
His career is on fire, with restaurants everywhere from Buenos Aires to Dubai and London. We sit down with Trocca to discuss catching the booking bug and his big break
Having grown up in Argentina, Fernando Trocca trained in several prestigious kitchens across Europe and the US before launching Sucre in bustling Buenos Aires back in 2001. Over the last two decades, his flagship restaurant has featured regularly in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, with Trocca himself becoming a top culinary personality and household name. He opened Sucre in Soho in 2021, which centred around ‘fire dining’ – cooking over an open fire or asado – inspired by the rich flavours of Argentina, Spain, and Italy.
Situated on Great Marlborough Street, with music and art bar Alma downstairs, the fire-based cooking techniques imbue food with a smoky, rich flavour. Standout dishes include an Iberico matambre with gremolata, as well as monkfish with braised spiced butterbeans, while the sumptuous selection of British and Argentine steaks are elevated to new heights with a side of authentic chimichurri. The stove also sees plenty of action, with slow-cooked favourites including a brothy rice with scallops, cod, calamari and squid ink, and a slow braised lamb shoulder with polenta and thyme. And we’d be crying for Argentina without a taste of the traditional dulce de leche, to be devoured in fondant format for dessert.
It’s unsurprisingly popular but, for Trocca, a move to the capital was always going to be a gamble. Several years on from the opening, we sit down to talk about how he caught the cooking bug and Buenos Aires’ unique food scene.
I remember having lunch at my grandmother Serafina’s house every day for around the first 10 years of my life. I was lucky that my grandmother cooked very varied food, so I had the opportunity to try lots of things, and I was unusual in that I liked food that other children didn’t. She’s the one who instilled in me a love and appreciation for food and inspired me to cook.
I started cooking for fun when I was 15, and then professionally when I was 20. I don’t remember the first ‘career defining’ meal that I cooked per se, but I would say that risotto with osso buco is a dish that has been with me for more than 30 years – and is still important to me today.
When I decided to leave everything that I had in Argentina and go to live in New York. Sucre’s inspiration largely came from my experiences while there, along with my passion for Mediterranean cuisine.
Today Argentina, and especially Buenos Aires, have reached the same level of the good capitals of the world to eat, but probably with less variety of products. Peru and Mexico are, for me, the two most representative countries of Latin American cuisine. However, Argentina is much more European than Latin when it comes to eating.
Honestly, it was not my intention to bring something new to London where the offer is already very varied and truly excellent. I only try to bring what I like to cook, and something from my culture to the UK.
I try not to look at trends in general. I think the further away you are from trends, the more authentic you can be in what you do.
I feel that in many cases, we are returning to the basics of product cuisine: simple, quality-led, technique-based. Of course, there are also those chefs who are searching to achieve something different. But there is room for everyone.
Love what you do. The most important things are passion, effort, balance, and good leadership.
I am lucky to be able to do what I like and am passionate about. My wish is to continue doing what I already do.
Visit sucrestaurant.com
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