Nieves Barragán Mohacho grew up in Bilbao in the Basque region of Spain. She was introduced to the importance of well-sourced and seasonal cooking from a young age.
She learnt the basic cooking techniques and food prep to keep her busy while her mother looked after Nieves’ grandmother. Her skills developed from peeling potatoes and checking stocks and soups to cooking the family meal. Nieves uses her Basque background of strong culinary traditions to develop her own style as a professional chef.
Nieves and business partner José Etura
She worked in restaurants across Spain before joining the kitchen brigade as sous chef at Sam and Eddie Harts’ Fino in Charlotte Street in 2003.
Four years later, she took the reins as head chef. When Barrafina opened in 2008, Nieves was given both kitchens to oversee as executive head chef. Under Nieves, Barrafina was awarded a Michelin star in 2013.
Chipirones en su Tinta, Hake & alioli
Photography by Chris Terry
She had only planned to stay in the UK for 12 months during a break from studying nursery teaching. Speaking no English and working as a kitchen porter washing the dishes in a London restaurant, she had no plans to make a career out of cooking, so the fact she has just opened her own restaurant in London 20 years after she first arrived is all the more remarkable.
Sabor
After nine years, Nieves announced that she (along with business partner José Etura) would be leaving the Barrafina group to pursue opening her own restaurant. With financial backing from the Sethi family, she and José launched Sabor in Heddon Street in October 2017. Sabor received its first star in the Michelin Guide 2019.
Inspired by the tapas bars of Andalucia and the seafood restaurants of Galicia, Sabor is comprised of three areas.
Chicken Oyster Bocadillo
Photography by Chris Terry
The Counter and bar on the ground floor serves a selection of smaller dishes like Piquillo croquetas and Manchego cheese and Milk fed lamb sweetbreads.
El Asador is on the first floor, which serves larger, sharing dishes like Empanada Gallega and mains including suckling pig.
Sabor – meaning ‘flavour’ in Spanish – captures the regional flavours of Spain. Nieves told the Good Food Guide:
‘I think the open kitchen and cooking everything in front of the customers is key.
‘It brings to London what I enjoy about the way we eat in Spain, it’s a very Spanish way of doing things. It’s also so much more fun and friendly to cook in an open kitchen.
‘I love seeing customer reactions to dishes and I learn from those reactions and conversations. I also find that the younger chefs working for us enjoy listening to the customers and watching them enjoy the food.’
Accolades
Sabor, in Mayfair, was the highest new entry in this year’s list of the UK’s top 100 restaurants, ranking at number two and Nieves also won the coveted Chefs’ Chef Of The Year award at the National Restaurant Awards 2018.
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