Chef Jack Godik is one of London’s rising culinary talents, bringing bold Latin American flavours and open-fire cooking to the heart of Soho.
Born into a family with strong hospitality roots - his father, Zeev Godik, founded the Gaucho group, Jack was no stranger to restaurants growing up. He started out washing dishes at just 12 years old, eventually working his way up in kitchens across London.
In October 2024, Jack took on the role of executive chef at Sucre Soho. Set in the grand surrounds of a former concert hall, Sucre is anything but ordinary, and Jack has brought a fresh energy to the kitchen.
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THE JOURNEY TO EXECUTIVE CHEF
He said: “I’ve been around restaurants for as long as I can remember. I started washing dishes at about 12, so the kitchen environment was something I grew up in. But honestly, when I left school, working in restaurants wasn’t what I had in mind.
"I went to university and thought I was going down a different path entirely. I was working in a restaurant at the time just to help cover my costs, and one day there was some kind of crisis in the kitchen—they were short-staffed, so I just jumped in to help.
“It sounds cliché, but that moment completely changed everything for me. I loved the energy, the pace, the creativity. That’s when I knew I wanted to be in kitchens full-time. I left university not long after and committed to cooking. That shift came very naturally, almost like the industry pulled me back in before I even realised that’s where I belonged.”
“After a few years working my way up in London kitchens, from prep chef to sous, I decided I wanted to travel and broaden my experience. I ended up working in Uruguay and Argentina for Fernando Trocca, who’s just an amazing chef and person. I reached out to him over Instagram, literally sent a message asking if there were any openings at any of his restaurants in South America.
"To my surprise, he said yes. That one message changed the course of my career. I worked in this beautiful seasonal restaurant in Uruguay, right in a coastal holiday town, and then moved to Buenos Aires to work at his restaurant there. What I learned was transformative. The approach to cooking over there is so rooted in fire, flavour, and instinct, it’s not about tweezers or precision plating, but about food that speaks from the soul. It’s more relaxed, but there’s so much passion and pride in what’s served. I got really comfortable cooking over fire there, and that’s now central to my style. That time in South America helped me realise the kind of food I wanted to cook long-term, bold, elemental, flavour-driven food with feeling.”
“I came back to London just as COVID hit. During lockdown, my brother and I set up a fish and chip pop-up called Jack Spratt. It went really well—we were in the Evening Standard, super busy, and that was my first proper taste of running a kitchen myself. But once things started to open up again, I wanted to dive into fine dining and see what that world was really like. I took a step down to commis chef at Little Social under Jason Atherton and worked my way up to head chef there, then moved to Social Eating House.
"After almost four years in that environment, I started thinking hard about what I enjoyed most in my career so far, and it kept coming back to that time in South America. Around that time, Fernando Trocca reached out again and offered me the role at Sucre. It just felt full circle. I’ve been here since October last year, and I’ve been given the trust to take the food in the direction I believe in, which is an amazing opportunity. It’s a big restaurant in the heart of Soho, with an open kitchen, beautiful dining room, and a lot of ambition. I feel lucky to be part of it.”
CHANGES AT SUCRE
“Right now, we’re going through a big transition with the menu. We’re moving toward a completely new offering, one that’s more in line with the way I cook, with more focus on fire, seasonality, and big flavours. Sucre is a beautiful space—set in what used to be the Royal College of Music’s concert hall, but I think for a while it didn’t really have a clear culinary identity.
He added: "My goal isn’t to chase Michelin stars or accolades, though if they come, great. What matters to me is giving Sucre a strong voice, a sense of place, and making sure that every guest leaves feeling like they’ve had something different—something they couldn’t get anywhere else in London. We’re in a city full of great restaurants, but I think we have something really unique here: a grand setting, a South American soul, and a style of food that’s both creative and deeply satisfying.”
“I don’t take inspiration from fancy tasting menus. For me, it’s the things I cook at home, what I eat when I’m with friends or travelling—those are the moments that influence what ends up on the menu. I think food has to be rooted in something real. I’m less interested in trying to impress people with technique and more interested in whether it actually tastes amazing and makes people happy. That’s why chefs like Tomos Parry inspire me—he’s cooking over fire, using simple ingredients, but creating something powerful and honest. That’s what I aspire to. Cooking doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be good, grounded, and full of intent.”
Written by Abi Kinsella
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