How Tom Aikens shaped Alberto Landgraf

With more than 30 years of experience at the highest end of fine dining in the UK, Tom Aikens has worked with and helped to train some of the world’s best chefs - including Brazilian chef Alberto Landgraf, who credits Tom as one of the biggest influences on his cooking.

Starting out, Tom learned directly from the likes of culinary legends Pierre Koffmann and Joël Robuchon, before quickly establishing himself in his own right.

At just 26, Tom became the youngest British chef to win two Michelin stars, whilst at Pied à Terre.

Tom went on to open his own eponymous restaurant on Elystan Street, as well as work on multiple projects overseas. After a long search for a venue, which saw him look at “a couple of hundred” properties, Tom took on his new site Muse in Belgravia, which opened in 2020 and holds one Michelin star.

Someone who worked with Tom in the early days was Brazilian chef Alberto Landgraf, who himself has now built a huge following and runs a Michelin-starred restaurant, Oteque, in Rio de Janeiro.

The two teamed up again last week for a one-night only collaboration for guests at Muse, in what Alberto described as a “full circle” moment.

Tom Aikens and Alberto Landgraf reunite at Muse

“Alberto used to work with me back at Tom Aikens when I first opened in 2003, which is obviously a very long time ago,” Tom explained.

“He’s a great chef. You can always tell when you have chefs that come into your kitchen that are pushing that little bit more. They’re always inquiring, being inquisitive, using their initiative.

“He was destined, I thought, definitely for something. And he has.”

Recalling his time working with Tom, Alberto said: “It was a lot of hard work.

“Kitchens were different those days. You had your station and you had to do the ordering, you had to do the prep, the service and the cleaning.

“Nowadays, you have the stagiaires to do this for you. Someone’s doing the shopping, you arrive and everything is there.

“There are fewer work hours. But I’m really happy that I got those years at that time because I really learned how to cook.

“Nowadays I feel like the process takes much longer for a chef to be ready because they just do it bit by bit.

“I was really glad I was around in those days. Especially with Tom, I think he had a very unique way of thinking. Of course, the base is classic French, but he was detaching from it a little bit.”

Alberto Landgraf holding his Oteque book and the Michelin statue at Muse

How Alberto worked with Tom before is something he brings into his own restaurant now.

“I still try to organise my kitchen in, let’s say, the old-school way,” Alberto said.

“Whoever is on a station will be responsible for the stock, preparing their sauces, and they still do what we used to do in the old days, rotate the stations. Sometimes you do the fish, then to the meat, then desserts and learn everything.

“I think that’s the only way you can be a complete chef and have your own restaurant one day.”

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Why Tom Aikens enjoys collaborations

The collaboration at Muse saw Alberto showcase some of the flavours he has wowed diners with in Brazil, both at his previous restaurant Epice in Sao Paulo, and now at Oteque, which at one stage held two Michelin stars.

For the collaboration, Alberto served a langoustine dish, with kale and tucupi, the juice from the manioc root, a traditional Brazilian ingredient.

On Tom’s side, he honoured his travels to Brazil by creating ‘All The Way From Rio’, utilising ingredients such as bream, green mangoes, chilli, coriander, Brazil nut cream, green tomato, sweetcorn and avocado.

“I’ve been a professional chef for over 35 years now and doing the collabs are great fun,” said Tom.

“I love doing them. Also, for the team and for the restaurant, it’s a great, fun event.

“I think it makes even more of a meaningful reason to do a collaboration with someone that has worked with you.

“I did four or five over the course of four or five weeks. I did a collaboration in Iceland, then I went to see Alberto in Rio, and after that I went to Korea as well.

“Brazil was amazing because it’s a country that I’ve never been to and one everyone would like to go to. It’s definitely an amazing city. Lots happening, lots going on.

“I think it’s very different from what we do here.

“It’s a great way to mix two very different styles of cooking. I think that is really what makes a collaboration interesting, that you work with someone that has a completely different element of taste, creativity and their own interpretation of ingredients, food and cooking.

“It’s also great for the customers because, in a way, they’re getting two very different meals for the price of one.”

Alberto Landgraf outside Oteque and Tom Aikens' Brazil-inspired dish

Asked about Tom’s visit to his own restaurant in Brazil, Alberto said: “I’ve just released a book, Oteque. The first event was in New York, and as part of the release tour, Tom was very kind and came to Brazil and spent some days with us.

“In my cooking, what I put on the plate and the way I understand the flavour of food, he was the guy who taught me the most.

“Tom has a lot of knowledge because he worked for Robuchon, he worked for Koffmann. I couldn’t work for those guys, but in a way I learned something from Koffmann and other chefs through Tom.

“I think he’s the guy who has had the most influence in my cooking and in my career, especially on the cooking sense of the restaurant.

“Back in the day, you’d never imagine you’d have your chef, your idol, your mentor, the guy who you wish to be, coming to your restaurant while you’re releasing a book with a very important publisher.

“It’s like a kid’s dream coming true. It was very nice. Now it is like full circle coming back here to cook.”

He added: “Tom is a very important chef in the history of British cooking. I still think, and I will always think, that I have things to learn from him.

“It was Tom’s first time in Brazil, so I’m more interested in showing him the culture, the differences and how we try to make it work as a restaurant, as a company, and the people.

“For the young chefs, I think it’s really important to spend some time with someone like Tom Aikens.

“It’s not every day that you get, in Brazil, a guy of his level to be in the kitchen. He’s a very hands-on guy.

“I think it’s a very good learning experience for the team and that’s one of the main reasons why I like doing these exchanges.”

Alberto Landgraf and Tom Aikens outside Muse

At a glance: Tom Aikens and Alberto Landgraf

Chefs: Tom Aikens and Alberto Landgraf
Restaurant: Muse, Belgravia, London
Collaboration: One-night-only dinner at Muse
Connection: Alberto worked with Tom at Tom’s eponymous restaurant on Elystan Street in the early 2000s
Alberto’s restaurant: Oteque, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Key dishes: Tom’s All The Way From Rio; Alberto’s langoustine with kale and tucupi
Main theme: Chef mentorship, Brazilian flavours and a full-circle collaboration

Food, mentorship and memories

Reflecting on the collaboration, Alberto said: “It is a big celebration of a journey.

“I want people to feel two things.

“One, how much gratitude I have towards Tom and the time I spent with him in the kitchen.

“Number two is sharing a little bit of what Brazil is. Different flavours, so they also take something new home.”

As for Tom and Muse, he said: “Here, there is always, through the course of the meal, memorable things that happen where I hope by the time the guests leave, there is something that they will really think, wow, that’s very special, that’s unique, or that’s something different.

“People always remember a bad meal, but they’re not always too good about remembering sometimes an amazing meal.

“That’s really what we try to do, to create memorable experiences.”