Founder and owner of high-flying Peruvian restaurant, Senor Ceviche, answers our interview questions.
What inspired you to Open your own restaurant - when was your 'Eureka' moment?
I’ve always wanted to set up a food & drink concept. There was no one doing a Peruvian pop-up at the time, so I launched Señor Ceviche and kept it pretty simple, serving up super fresh ceviches, a couple of Peruvian barbecue dishes and of course, banging pisco sours. Apart from serving great food, we also wanted to create an experience, making the pop-ups, fun, accessible and different. We did by focusing on unique design, South American playlists, live bands and DJ’s. Based on the success of the pop-ups, we started hunting for a permanent home, and after 6 months of searching (and a lot of market research and business planning!), we opened the doors to our Soho casa in October.
What was your very first job?
Pulling pints!
If you could only cook with 3 ingredients for the rest of your life which would they be?
Ribeye, salt, butter
What's your favourite cuisine and what drink would you have with it?
After Peruvian…Japanese
Senor Ceviche's first pop-up at Chelsea's Imperial Arms. Tonnes of friendly faces, copious Pisco and a sign of good things to come.
Which ingredients do you have a love/hate relationship with and why?
Beetroot. Hate them raw, love them roasted.
Horseradish – no love, just hate
Which Chef inspires you the most?
I love what Gazton Acurio and Rafael Osterling have done for Peruvian food. A lot of Señor Ceviche was inspired from when I was in Peru last year, and even managed to squeeze in a week at El Mercado, one of Rafael’s restaurants, to hone my ceviche skills.
What would be your last supper and who would cook it?
Robata scallops at Zuma – a few plates of them
If you had not opened a restaurant, what would you have done?
Probably would’ve been selling something
Senor Ceviche at Doodle Bar, Battersea. A superb atmosphere, great music and a chance for them to sample a restaurant-like vibe
Tell us a secret?
Señor Ceviche is a Chelsea fan. Ssshhh.
Favourite junk food/ guilty pleasure?
Mixed sharwama from Maroush
What irritates you most about the industry?
Unreliable people. It took a while to get the right people for Señor Ceviche.
Senor Ceviche at Dukebox (now Beaver Lodge), Fulham. Great music, superb cocktails and a party into the early hours.
Tell us about the most difficult customer you have ever dealt with?
Haven’t had them in….yet!
Who would be in your fantasy kitchen team?
Head Chef – Rick Stein
Sous chef – Keith Floyd
Maitre’D - James Corden
What dish would win over your heart?
A Sunday roast
Read our review of Senor Ceviche
Founder of TryThisFor.com - An 8 year stint as a food writer not only waged a constant war between Lateef and his waistline but resulted in daily requests for restaurant recommendations. Something had to be done about one of these, and considering a life without food was unthinkable, creating a food-guide was the next logical way to go. Having worked for numerous food-magazines, night-life guides and websites; it was time to create his own.