Meet the chef: Akira Back of Dosa
The Korean chef on how opening in London is “a dream come true”
London has always drawn chefs from across the world. While the capital is a hub for homegrown talent, it’s also a haven for acclaimed chefs from Europe, Asia and America who wanted to put their stamp on the city’s cosmopolitan food scene; think Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse hailing from Beverly Hills on Park Lane, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s outpost at The Emory which blends all three of his famed New York restaurants, and a clutch of French chefs such as Hélène Darroze, Alain Ducasse and Anne-Sophie Pic all with permanent residences (and plenty of Michelin stars).
Naturally then, acclaimed Korean chef Akira Back also wanted to get in on the act – and that finally came to fruition last year with the opening of four different dining outlets at the Mandarin Oriental’s second UK property. “I always wanted to open in London; everybody wants to open in London. This has been a long time coming,” he says, as we chat in his newly opened rooftop bar which acts as the crown jewel of Hanover Square hotel. “I told everyone I was going to open in London 16 years ago – it took me this long. Bringing my concepts to London has been a dream come true.”
Last year was busy for Back. With a staggered opening that began in June 2024, followed by his eponymous restaurant and fine-dining outlet in September, Back said he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. With several Michelin stars and 30 restaurants, spanning Paris to Riyadh, to his name, he admits that the pressure was on when he decided to relocate his award-winning Korean restaurant, Dosa, to London. But, clearly, diamonds – or, in the culinary world, stars – are made under pressure and he breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was awarded one Michelin star in February, just five months after opening.
Akira Back restaurant
All four of his eponymous outlets at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair have been designed to complement each other. Guests are invited to indulge in his modern Japanese-Korean dishes at the ground-floor Akira Back – expect the signature tuna pizza, as well as London exclusives such as dynamite lobster and wagyu striploin with yuzu kosho bordelaise – before capping (or kicking) off the night with panoramic skyline views at ABar Rooftop or the intimate, high-energy ABar Lounge. Back says if you’re “really, really serious about food, then Dosa – meaning ‘expert’ in Korean – is for you.
If four outlets in the capital weren’t enough, Back has recently been announced as the chef overseeing the flagship restaurant at Montcalm Mayfair: one of London’s hottest hotels which has just re-emerged from a thorough, two-year refurbishment. Named Lilli by Akira Back, the new menu promises to honour his Korean heritage while featuring modern interpretations of classic British dishes.
ABar Rooftop
So, perhaps things aren’t slowing down after all – but for Back, that’s not a bad thing. Here, we sit down to discuss the importance of a resilient and versatile team in the kitchen, his ambition to create a restaurant “ecosystem” and how London’s food scene was a tough cookie to crack.
I wish I could tell you a story like ‘the first time I touched my knife, I wanted to be a chef’ but I do not have a story like that. I played a lot of baseball and wanted to play professionally. But my father threw a curveball and our family decided to move to Aspen, Colorado. I wanted to learn English, and I saw two sports which I thought were really cool: snowboarding and skateboarding. In Aspen, these guys had mohawks and blue hair – they just seemed so cool. I followed them around and I learned; skateboarding was very hard, while snowboarding was very easy – but I was very good.
But soon my passion [for snowboarding] was gone and I wanted to do something different. My father wanted me to take over his business but I was not ready; my father worked so hard for our family but I wasn’t ready for the responsibility. There was a Japanese restaurant where all of our local people used to hang out, so I went there and asked the chef to teach me. That’s how my journey started. Did I like it? Absolutely hated it. I didn’t have a good chopstick skill, so I was counting rice with chopsticks every night. He told me to respect the rice – and eventually I enjoyed it
All my memories of delicious food are connected to my mum. Somehow, she made everything taste so good.
I went to a culinary college later, as I promised my parents I would graduate. When I turned up at cooking school, I was already executive chef so a few teachers knew who I was. It was very interesting to go as I knew all about cooking, but I didn’t know the history which I found helpful.
I wanted to build an ecosystem for the guests because I didn’t want them to stay here and get bored in one day; I wanted to give them options. The rooftop and lounge are relaxed, and then I have a Michelin-starred restaurant for guests that are really, really serious about food. Akira Back is a melting pot of culture that everyone can relate to. When people ask me why they should go to Akira Back, I say it’s because we have options for everyone. I wanted to build one restaurant that everybody could go to to relax.
Dosa
It feels great. I won’t lie and say there was no pressure; there was a lot of pressure because I relocated the concept from Korea to London. We opened in September which is pretty late [in the year to start working towards a Michelin star] so I was quite worried actually. I thought we were going to have to wait another year, as it only gave us a few months. But luckily, people appreciate what we have done and we’re only getting better.
When you open a new place, it takes time. I tell critics you’ve got to give at least three months, and go back there if you have a bad experience, because these teams have never worked together before and you’ve got to train them little by little. But now it’s finally coming [together]; I used to come here and freak out.
I thought it would be very easy in London, but it’s the toughest market ever. I thought [that] because everybody spoke English here, but the culture is very different to what I expected, in a good way.
Michelin or not, stay in one place for four years and try to learn every station. I think everybody is moving around too much. They have to understand the whole thing. I’m really proud to say all of my executive chefs in all of my restaurants know how to make pastry. If they don’t know how to do something, how will they teach? I think it makes them more successful.
That’s the hardest question. I like them all, otherwise they wouldn’t be on the menu. All of my restaurants feature my mum’s art, and my mum loves my signature tuna pizza.
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