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Chino Latino celebrating ten years of serving up pan-Asian dishes with a European twist Take five: Local produce

Restaurant that ripped up

TRY IT AT HOME:Steamed seabass with chilliand corianderdressing

Lynette Pinchess speaks to Paul Thacker, head chef at Chino Latino,the pan-Asian restaurant in Maid Marian Way that has become ahangout for celebrities when they are in town.

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Fusion flavours: Head chefPaul Thacker trained underthe guidance of sushi chefJimmy Nakamura of Nobu.

HEAD chef Paul Thacker iscelebrating ten years of ser-vice at Chino Latino.

He began as a sous chef,training under the guidance ofsushi chef Jimmy Nakamura,who used to work at Nobu.

Within four months Paulwas promoted to head chef.

His career began as an ap-prentice chef at a Thai res-taurant at the Gateway Hotel,which is where he fell in lovewith eastern flavours.

Later, at Sinatra’s and theFashion Cafe, he learnt theEuropean style of cookery andp re s e n t at i o n .

“Then I came here and waslucky enough to blendpan-Asian flavours with mod-ern European food,” he said.

His personal favourite isThai food.

“I love the chilli and deepfl avo u r s, ” said Paul.

“One thing I like about thisfood is you can twist it around.There are no rules.”

One of his claims to fame is

making it into the GuinnessBook of Records for creatingthe world’s largest custardcream at the restaurant in2011.

Paul attributes the restaur-ant’s success to his talentedteam of chefs.

“I have a good team of chefsfrom all over the Far East andthey are my inspiration,” hesaid.

“Without these guys therewo u l d n’t be a Chino Latino.”

The restaurantCool and stylish, Chino Latinohas become a bit of a celebrityhangout. TV chefs James Mar-tin and Gordon Ramsay haveboth been spotted there (nottogether), so has rapper 50Cent, heartthrob Donny Os-mond and the Australiancricket team.

This year the restaurant, inMaid Marian Way, is celebrat-ing ten years in business.

Favouring an informal, yetsophisticated style of eating,

food is designed for sharingand brought to the table in asteady stream of dishes.

Black cod with passion fruitmiso is one of the signaturesdishes produced by chefswhose culinary expertise hasled to a series of awards, mostrecently an AA rosette.

Opening times, Monday toSaturday, are 12pm-10.30pm.Reservations are recommen-ded, telephone 0115 9477444.

The foodPan-Asian food can be bothvirtuous and sinful.

Japanese sushi and sashimiare very healthy, said Paul,while Chinese and Thai ele-ments are less so, due to theamount of cooking oil re-q u i re d .

The two recipes on this pagecan be enjoyed guilt-free.

Paul said: “There is no com-promise on flavour. Thesedishes are not adapted to behealthy. They are healthyd i s h e s. ”

Paul said: “This is very easy. It takes tenminutes – three minutes to prepare andseven minutes to cook.”

Ingredients (serves 2)600g sea bass60g bok choy (the baby green version of pak choi)40g asparagusDressing:25ml lemon juice25ml lime juice10ml soy sauce10g chopped coriander (or basil)10g chopped chilli

Method1. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredientsin a small dipping pots.2. Take two fillets of sea bass and lightly scorewith a knife – fillet 1 on the skin side and fillet 2on the flesh side.3. Lay fillet 1 flesh side down on a bed of bokchoy and wrap fillet 2 round sliced asparagusspears.4. Lightly steam for seven minutes. If you don’thave a steamer use a small baking tray in a fryingpan with an inch of boiling water. Add food andput lid on to steam.

An extremely healthy dish whichdoesn’t contain any fat or oil.

Ingredients (serves 2)140g sliced fresh tuna40g momiji ponzu sauce (recipebelow)10g chives10g daikon (white radish – availablefrom Chinese supermarkets)

TRY IT AT HOME: Tuna with Momiji PonzuMomiji Ponzu:250ml lime juice250ml Kikkoman soy sauce500g momiji (red pepper paste)

Method1. Make the dressing by mixingthe lime juice, soy sauce andmomiji.

2. Thinly slice 14 pieces of tuna(about 10g each). Lay eightpieces around the plate and rollthe remainder into a flowershape.3. Spoon the dressing onto thetuna and garnish with freshshredded daikon and choppedchives.

the rule bookElizabeth King started her smallfamily bakery in 1853. Now 160years later, Mrs King’s MeltonMowbray Pork Pies are handmade

in the same tradition by the Hartlandfamily in Cotgrave. They’re available fromThe Cheese Shop in Nottingham.

Mr Pitchfork’s Picklesmanufactures over 80,000 jars ayear for more than 50 outlets in theEast Midlands including

Attenborough Nature Reserve andWheatcroft Garden Centre at Edwalton.Made in Lenton, varieties include hotlime pickle, wholegrain mustard andBucks Fizz marmalade.

Stilton cheese – take your pick fromCropwell Bishop, available from TheCheese Shop, Nottingham; No 8Deli, West Bridgford; Gonalston

Farm Shop and Bridgford Garden Centre,East Bridgford.

Somersby Chocolates. Formerteachers Hughie and Leah O’Haremake all their chocolates at theirshop in Mapperley.

The Barn Bacon Company is afamily pig rearing business. Baconand hams, dry cured slowly to

produce a tasty product, are available,along with sausages from Hardy’sFarmshop at Farndon,www.barnbacon.co.uk

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A new survey has revealed that eight out often consumers in the East Midlands arebuying more British food than ever – andare willing to pay extra for local produce.Lynette Pinchess checks out some of thebest on our doorstep

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