Traversing the culinary world, from a Michelin-starred kitchen to some of the top UK and regional restaurants, James Martin, Executive Chef at Brasero Atlántico Bahrain, can certainly handle the heat. He talks early career, his dream guest and signature dish.

You’ve trained at some of the UK’s most respected kitchens, including time under Heston Blumenthal. What lessons from those early years still hold true for you today?
The biggest lesson I took from my time with Heston Blumenthal was the importance of staying calm under pressure, producing the best possible product for the guest and striving to be better every day. We were always taught to focus on attention to detail, use the best ingredients, stay organised and work as a team under pressure. The worst thing that we could have had was a loud kitchen because that just shows disorganisation, when everyone’s loud and no can be heard from the front when the chef is calling the checks. So, from day one, everything was drummed into us: remain quiet and calm, stay focussed and pay attention to the smallest details. These are the skills I’ve carried with me throughout my career and still apply in the kitchen today.

Having experienced both the UK and Middle East dining scenes, how have the different food cultures influenced the way you develop menus?
Creating the menu for Brasero Atlántico to suit the Bahraini market was remarkably easy. Bahrain’s food scene has grown and become very multicultural over the past eight years. Most locals and expats have travelled widely across Europe and the western part of the United States, so they’ve already experienced and are familiar with European and Western culture and cuisine, which we’ve been able to bring back to Bahrain. It allows us to play with the menu and introduce dishes and influences from the West and give guests something they already relate to and enjoy.

Who would be your dream dinner guest (living or dead) and what would you cook for them?
I would love to cook for Marco Pierre White, but the Marco Pierre White from the ‘80s, when he was known as the ‘rockstar chef’. The dish I’d make for him would be pan-seared black cod with fennel and blood orange. It’s a well-balanced dish where every component works together, and it’s the kind of cuisine he would have served on his menu back when he was at Harveys chasing Michelin stars.

What’s your signature dish at Brasero Atlántico and what makes it stand out?
My signature dish at Brasero Atlántico has to be the Jumbo Lump Crab Salad with caviar, cucumber and lemon purée. It’s packed with fresh flavours, which has had a big part to play in the menu revamp. What makes it stand out is the clean, crisp taste and how all the components come together for a vibrant and delightful dish. We use jumbo lump crab here, while back home in the UK I would use Cornish crab – the same flavour profile but using local ingredients. The crab, apple and cucumber work well together and really make the crab flavour stand out, while the citrus cuts through any fat within the dish. It’s then finished with caviar sourced from France. ✤