Aleixandre Sarrión Blesa (Dénia, 35 years old) receives EL PAÍS in Mission Kitchenand coworking London restaurant for gastronomy professionals. It is a bright space located in New Covent Garden Market, the wholesale market for fruit, vegetables and flowers in the British capital. The Alicante chef has rented a kitchen there for three years, from where he runs his own catering company. catering for events, classes and private dinners By Sarrion. In this place, with a relaxed atmosphere despite the constant activity, Aleix and his two full-time employees work. On either side there is a tea shop and a pastry chef who invites them to biscuits and croissants. Other neighbours are chefs from well-known restaurants who try out new recipes, authors of cookbooks, or start-ups of edible products. “Finding this place gave me the final push to open my own business,” explains the chef while offering freshly made canapés.
Sarrión landed in London at the age of 17, barely speaking any English, to work in a hotel: “My father, who spent much of his life in England, insisted that I move because I wasn’t behaving very well,” he says, laughing. The owner of the hotel noticed how quickly he learned to be a dishwasher and offered him a cooking course. When the hotel closed, his boss wrote him a letter of recommendation to work at a Michelin-starred restaurant, where he learned the trade. Except for the time when he returned to Dénia to work with Quique Dacosta, his professional career developed mainly in well-known London establishments such as Nobu and Le Gavroche.
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But one day, through one of his bosses, he received an offer for a position as a private cook for a family in a historic mansion on the banks of the River Thames. Overnight, twenty-something Aleix found himself flying high in the air. jet private, with holidays in Scotland and Saint-Tropez, managing large budgets and cooking for politicians, royalty and celebrities.
At that time he also began to mix the seafood from his homeland with the influences of Asian cuisine that had always attracted his attention. “I spent my salary travelling to learn about the gastronomy of other countries. I spent my holidays trying the food that had been recommended to me and dining alone,” he explains. And, in addition, he took a kind of immersion course on the particular tastes of multimillionaires. “The truly rich don’t go to restaurants,” he points out. “Luxury for them has to do with privacy and they prefer to entertain at home. They are very stressed and don’t look for an artistic chef who locks himself away to experiment in the kitchen. They prefer someone who is sociable and who doesn’t transmit tension. I came from kitchens where people shouted, but as a private chef it is clear that this is unthinkable,” he concludes.
After the pandemic, the chef set up his catering company, with which he wanted to apply his experience in haute cuisine.Courtesy of Aleixandre Sarrión
During the 10 years he was with the family, he had the opportunity to cook for all kinds of famous people, including Queen Elizabeth II of England, to whom he served a gazpacho that earned him a note of thanks from Buckingham Palace. “The queen preferred simple, traditional cooking, and a series of requirements had to be followed. She never ate seafood outside the palace and asked for a gin and tonic at seven in the evening,” he reveals. Tony Blair was also impressed with one of his dinners. The former British prime minister wanted to thank him for his work by giving Sarrión the exclusive bottle of Chateau Lafite 1961 that he and his wife Cherie had not drunk. “He told me that, of all the private residences he had eaten in, my food was the best,” he recalls.
The pandemic brought a desire for change for Sarrión, who left her job to rent a large house with some friends. She found an “incredible” kitchen, she recalls, where she decided to host dinners as soon as restrictions were lifted. Word soon spread, and thanks to word of mouth, she began receiving calls from luxury brands.
It was then that he decided to set up his company. cateringwith which he wanted to apply his experience in haute cuisine. “When I was invited to brand parties I always thought that the canapés were quite mediocre. My idea was to use high-quality products such as lobster, tuna tartare or caviar.” His proposal has convinced firms such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Rolls-Royce, Cartier and Chopard and art institutions such as Serpentine, Gagosian or Sotheby’s, as well as private clients who prefer not to be named.
“When I was invited to brand parties, I always thought that the canapés were pretty mediocre. My idea was to use high-quality products such as lobster, tuna tartar or caviar,” explains the chef.Courtesy of Aleixandre Sarrión
It should also not be forgotten that in the midst of a post-Brexit shortage of hospitality professionals, Aleix manages to hire charming professionals. However, it is the undeniable people skills of the ever-smiling Sarrión and his instant understanding of what the customer wants that makes him stand out. “The main thing is to adapt the menu to the type of customers that each brand has. Ham croquettes do not work for all cultures: I love them, but on certain occasions I will not serve them. For example, for the fashion industry you always have to prepare light food and provide vegan options.”
People call him Paris, Milan and Monaco, but for this chef London is his favourite city to enjoy gastronomy: “It has a great diversity of food on offer, with food from all over the world. It is not true that the food is expensive and bad. For example, there are Japanese restaurants that are prohibitively expensive, but also fantastic sushi for 20 euros. Sometimes I am amazed at how much the Spanish spend in restaurants.”
His next project is to run a restaurant in a Madagascar resort, where he will set up a cooking school to train and employ local youngsters. “This is what those who have stayed in the best hotels now want,” he says, showing pictures of deserted beaches. And given the calibre of his contacts, we have to believe him.
