Santiago Lastra

Santiago Lastra in his restaurant KOL in Marylebone, in 2023.

Santiago Lastra (born 4 April 1990) is a Mexican chef and co-owner of KOL Restaurant in Marylebone, London.

Early life

Lastra was born and raised in Cuernavaca, Mexico.[1]

Career

Lastra completed training at the Instituto de Arte Culinario Coronado, followed by a Masters at the Basque Culinary Center, before beginning a high-profile career including Mugaritz and the Nordic Food Lab.[2]

Before opening his own restaurant KOL in 2020, he worked at Noma Mexico with René Redzepi as his Project Manager for the seven-week pop-up in 2017.[3] Prior to this, he had spent years travelling as a guest chef, through 27 countries, attending a series of one-off events in venues such as The Tate[4] in London and Hija de Sanchez in Copenhagen.[5]

KOL Restaurant

KOL is Santiago Lastra's first restaurant, a 54 seat ground floor Mexican restaurant in Marylebone, London, opening in October 2020.[6]

In 2021, KOL was voted the Best New Arrival in Europe in the La Liste Awards,[7] and Lastra himself was voted Best New Chef in the GQ Food & Drink Awards.[8]

In 2022, KOL received its first Michelin Star, retained in 2023 and 2024,[9] was named Number 15 in the OAD Top New Restaurants in Europe list and Number 1 in the UK,[10] and entered the World's 50 Best at Number 73.[11] In the same year, Santiago was listed in Top 100 Chefs in the World in 'The Best Chef' awards.[12]

In 2023 KOL entered the World's 50 Best Restaurants at Number 23.[13]

In 2024 KOL climbed to Number 17 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants.[14]

References

  1. ^ @ecra (17 February 2022). "Santiago Lastra, chef originario de Cuernavaca, gana una estrella Michelín". www.diariodemorelos.com (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  2. ^ "Santiago Lastra: 'I'll Make the Mexican Sun Shine on London'". www.finedininglovers.com. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  3. ^ bighospitality.co.uk (8 September 2020). "Ex-Noma Mexico chef Santiago Lastra finally set to make London debut". bighospitality.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  4. ^ Tate. "Santiago Lastra at Tate – Food and drink at Tate Modern". Tate. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  5. ^ "MEXICAN CUISINE DEMONSTRATION WITH SANTIAGO LASTRA". embamex.sre.gob.mx. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  6. ^ "KOL Restaurant • Mexican Soul, British Ingredients". KOL Restaurant. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  7. ^ "La Liste". La Liste. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  8. ^ "Introducing the GQ Food & Drink Awards 2021 winners". British GQ. 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  9. ^ "Kol – London - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  10. ^ "Europe Top New Restaurants 2022 English OAD Opinionated About Dining". www.oadguides.com. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  11. ^ "The World's 50 Best Restaurants | The List and Awards". 50B - Restaurants - GLOBAL. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  12. ^ Chef, The Best (2022-03-23). "Santiago Lastra". The Best Chef. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  13. ^ "Kol | The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023". 50B - Restaurants - GLOBAL. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  14. ^ "Kol | The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024". 50B - Restaurants - GLOBAL. Retrieved 2024-08-13.