Having big hands doesn’t make you big-handed. That was clear to Brendan Ferrero Cassidy (Vigo, 1992) when he insisted on learning the secrets of a good nigiri at the Puro Sushi restaurant in his hometown. Those bosses saw the size of their palms as incompatible with the delicacy required to model each piece before handing it over to the diner, without the rice losing that temperature of 36ºC at which, he reminds us, it is important to take it to the mouth. But Brendan, the son of an Irish woman and a Leonese mother and proud to be “the first Galician in the family”, was not willing to give up.
He says that the first time his father took him to that restaurant where he later went to work, it was almost a revelation. “Every explanation, every gesture that I saw behind the bar, what a pity it made me to be at a table! He fascinated me.” After more than a year in the hot kitchen, they finally agreed to train him as a sushiman.
Ten years and thousands of hours have passed since then in search of excellence. “I am a perfectionist in everything I do, at home, at work…”. Among his obsessions, he confesses, working with the best rice, the koshijikari; get the perfect vinegar, which he prepares from his own mixture of black vinegar and some white and the necessary proportions of salt and sugar ”. Also, of course, the quality of the product, be it the most delicate meats or the freshest fish and shellfish. And the care of his non-transferable yanajiba knife.
Is it necessary to have the delicate hands of a sushiman? Observing the movement of his, with small geometric figures tattooed on each of the phalanxes, which evoke the order that brings him closer to that Japanese world that attracts him so much, we think not. “I have that motivation from Westerners who admire what they do in Japan and who dream of playing at their same level. Being in the same league.”
It is not surprising that Joaquim Clos, general manager of Derby Hotels Collection and a fan of Japanese cuisine, has trusted the sensitivity and determination of this young chef who, after his beginnings in Vigo and before arriving in Barcelona, ??worked, among other places, in Omakase (A Coruña) or was in charge of K’Ori, which was opened by chef Luis Arévalo in Saint-Tropez.
Clos, very directly involved in the opening of the new Os-Kuro at the Hotel Claris (Pau Claris, 150), shares his concerns with the chef in preparing a menu that will gradually expand. With this novelty, Barcelona wins another establishment serving good Japanese cuisine and says goodbye to that commitment to quality Chinese gastronomy represented by Josep Maria Kao’s Mr Kao (a great friend of the Clos family), who did not renew his contract after closing root of the pandemic.
In the same two-story premises that housed Mr Kao, customers can choose between sitting at the small bar run by Brendan Ferrero, a good choice, at the neighboring tables or going up to the first floor, which also has a kitchen, and where the hot elaborations that work mainly in the robata come out, although also in wok and other utensils and where the Japanese Hazumi Hagio contributes knowledge of Japanese culture. Both the cold and the hot offer can be tasted in both spaces. The nigiris and sashimi from the bar below are worth a visit (the fish and seafood ones are very good and the wagyu one is spectacular); Above, among the dishes, black cod with miso sauce or the impeccable vegetable tempura stand out. The red shrimp yakisoba is correct and the Iberian pork tonkatsu is in the process of shooting. Ángela Gómez, room manager and expert sake sommelier, proposes interesting pairings to accompany everything from starters to sweet cuisine.
