S18 Ep3: José Pizarro

My guest today is José Pizarro. José has been been cooking in the UK for over 25 years. He grew up in the outermost Western province of Spain and never thought of working in food, in fact he was all set to become a dental technician before fate intervened. He arrived in the UK in 1999 seeking to expand his horizons as a chef and has since become one of the industry’s best-loved characters. He worked at several Spanish restaurants, including Brindisa, where he was executive chef. Then, in 2011, he opened two restaurants of his own on Bermondsey Street, south-east London: a tiny tapas bar named José and the larger Pizarro, both instant hits. Many more restaurants and cookbooks have followed all championing Spanish cuisine. In recognition of his “extraordinary services to Spain”, Pizarro was awarded the officer’s cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Spanish ambassador in London. He says when it comes to cooking, he has a mantra, “Buy the best and don’t mess it up” - often described as The Godfather of Spanish cuisine in the UK. If you enjoy Desert Island Dishes make sure to

You can listen to S18 Ep3: José Pizarro online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

S18 Ep3: José Pizarro is an episode from Desert Island Dishes by Audioboom.

This episode is 35:54 long.

This episode was published on Feb 11, 2025.

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