After working at the Coyote Café, Jean-Georges and a short stage at El Bulli, Mendes was named head chef of the short-lived London cult favourite Bacchus. Next, he opened a supper club in his Loft and emerged from the experience with singular ideas about what a restaurant can be.
The open-plan restaurant earned its Michelin star with innovative food that Mendes describes as 'Iberian, though somewhat Asian with some South American and Latin American influence' - a globetrotting blend of styles and techniques, as the name (meaning 'Traveller') suggests. As you might expect from someone who studied under the godfathers of modern eclectic and experimental cuisine, his preparations often rely on unusual, cosmopolitan ingredients like charred leek hearts, milk skin, and sautéed watermelon prepared in preconception-busting fashion.
While ingredients are led by seasonal availability, it’s the way in which they’re combined, presented and prepared that differentiates Mendes.
Mendes contribued recipes to the first Great British Chefs app - one of the few places you can find his secrets and discover how to create things like milk skin and use salmon skin to great effect.