Welcome to Mexico City
Chef Jonathan Colin — the Mexican-born chef formerly of Zuma, La Petite Maison and the cult-favourite K’IIN Supperclub – exudes a kind of earnestness seen in few.
He refuses to critique industry peers, to display too much self-indulgence, to sugarcoat his journey from the kitchens of LPM in Hong Kong to the brick and mortar walls of El Primo – his baby, his bow of respect to his culture – into anything more or less than what it really was.
His focus is his food, which he crafts with only one final destination in mind – the streets of Mexico City. The real stuff, minus the gimmicky motifs and the frankly patronising dressing down.
We sat down with him to decode his ethos, to discuss his role as a culture chef in Dubai and to see just how deep his love for a good taco goes.
It’s an interesting proposition to think I’m going to open my house up to like strangers. So how did the idea of starting a supper club come to you?
To be very honest with you, I remember I was very skeptical at the beginning because back then I was working for La Petite Maison. I was a senior sous chef in Hong Kong. So, I helped with the opening in Hong Kong and I stayed there for two years and then COVID came, and I got trapped in Hong Kong.
Sara, my wife, said to me, why don’t you come back to Dubai? And I said, okay, I don’t mind. I love Dubai. It’s my favourite city and this is something I call home now. So I said, okay, I will definitely move back to Dubai. I spoke to the company, and they offered me head chef in Dubai. Obviously that was a proposal that I was waiting for for a long time, but somehow I wasn’t that excited about it.
I spent seven years in LPM and the people were lovely but it was probably just for me – the need to do something different. That’s when my wife said to me, why don’t you open your supper club? This is a big thing here in Dubai, you will have fun, you will do something different and at the same time, you will get to know interesting people.
I felt like I was kind of stepping down, you know, because living in a professional kitchen and going back to cook at home, it felt like stepping down. However, I did it and now I’m super grateful I did. It takes a little bit of courage to do your own thing.
The supper club was Mexican-food-focused – was that an obvious choice?
Hundred per cent. I don’t like to copy things. I always like to do my own thing, so I can give a personal touch to whatever I do. I was happily working in this French Mediterranean restaurant, and a Japanese restaurant like Zuma but there was something inside me that said, you come from Mexico, you come from one of the most loved cuisines in the world. So I said I will get inspiration from my country.
Any chef in Dubai who’s done a supper club before, they always speak very highly of that experience. How did the idea of El Primo then come to you? Did you feel now it’s time to turn it into brick and mortar, or did it just happen spontaneously?
The idea of El Primo wasn’t the main idea at the beginning. But opening a restaurant required more investments, you know. Something, to be honest, we didn’t have. Finding investors in Dubai is probably easy in comparison with other countries. But the difficult part is just to find the right investor, you know. So we thought, we can’t convert the supper club to a restaurant, why don’t we open a small taco spot. Something very casual, something easygoing, that you can come as you are. No need to dress up, no need for bookings, no need for reservations. You come from the beach or you come after a party, it doesn’t matter.
We’ve been discussing this term called culture chefs – chefs that bring a whole slice of a different culture with them through their food and through the ambiance that they create. How do you feel about representing your culture? Do you feel sort of pressure or a responsibility for it to be authentic?
Of course, it comes naturally. Obviously, with a sense of responsibility or how to say, I feel like as a Mexican cook, I feel the obligation to cook our food. With El Primo, we need to make people feel like they stepped into a Mexico City taqueria. No hats, no sombreros, no piñatas, nothing stereotypical. These Mexican elements are cliché and this is not how we personally experience a taco place in Mexico. So the idea was to basically recreate all these elements that you have in a casual, easy-going taco place in Mexico.
Tell us more about the red and white design choice.
Usually, the red and white tiles come from the need to get sponsorship. In Mexico, taco spots, taco places, basically are born out of the necessity of making a living for families because opportunities are less. They open a small business in their garage and the most affordable thing is tiles. And then they call Coca-Cola, and then Coca-Cola steps in, and then they bring the furniture, which is red and white. So the tables are disposable. The chairs and tables are disposable, but also labelled. You go to a Mexican taqueria, most likely you will see huge logos of Coca-Cola, you know? So taking those elements but still with the same inspiration as if we were sponsored by Coca-Cola. The counter bar, the open kitchen, you can sit down at the counter bar, have tacos in front of us, like if you were in Mexico.
From a kitchen like LPM to working the grill, does that make you feel more connected to Mexico?
100 per cent. People know I’m Mexican, so if they come, I want them to taste a taco in Mexico and it makes me connected to what I do, so I can deliver what I feel. I like to serve a taco that I’d like to eat. I think, nowadays, in Dubai, you can find amazing taco spots. I think Lila is doing a great job. Jorge from Freedah Taqueria is also doing amazing. I’m actually very happy that more establishments bring the Mexican flag in Dubai, so we could elevate and market Mexican cuisine.
The Coca-Cola Taquerias of Mexico
The Coca-Cola Taquerias of Mexico
More soft drinks, specifically Coca-Cola, are consumed in Mexico than in any other country, with an average of 163 litres per person per year, according to a 2019 Yale University Study. What are tacos, without a cold Coke to douse them with? The result of years of persuading small taco shops with cash, equipment, furniture, and any kind of sponsorship.
Lastly, what are you hoping the diners take away from the El Primo experience?
I really want them to taste Mexico. That’s my goal. I don’t see myself being the best taco restaurant in Dubai. My goal is just to focus on the product, focus on the way I experience eating a taco. This is what I want to deliver, that people feel the flavours of Mexico. For instance, people who have been and they love the food and they come here and they also feel that it reminds them of what they ate there. Or those who have never been to Mexico, they also feel like this is something different.
Image credit: Supplied
Deeply passionate about food, culture and community, Manaal loves telling extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Besides sniffing out a tale to tell, her favourite things to do include binging true crime documentaries, chasing cats on the streets and curating a good outfit.
