Chef profile: Jack Godik, executive chef of Sucre

Tell us a bit about yourself

Open fire cooking and a busy restaurant dining room are two of my favourite things in life. It can be a hard and stressful life being a chef, but working in a beautiful restaurant like Sucre and being able to see guests enjoy themselves is a privilege. My other passion in life is music, which I get to combine with my job by compiling the music we play in the restaurant. It’s also fitting that Sucre is in the old Royal College of Music concert hall.

 

What’s your favourite thing about where you work?

My favourite thing about Sucre is the huge open fire parrilla. A close second would be the chandeliers.

 

What was your first job in catering?

My whole family are in the restaurant business so I’ve been working in them since before I can remember.

 

What do you do to relax?

To relax I listen to music, read, watch films and take my dog on nice long walks. Eating out at restaurants is also one of my favourite things to do.

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

My favourite restaurant at the moment is Dorian.

 

What is your favourite drink?

My favourite drink is a negroni.

 

What is your favourite food/cuisine?

Spanish is definitely my favourite cuisine. Tied for second would be French and Lebanese.

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

I really hate cheap iodised fine salt. It has a taste that I can’t ignore.

 

Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with? If so, why?

I’m generally open to anything but the only thing I can’t handle is tripe. I can’t cook it or eat it.

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

My old boss Jason Atherton used to always repeat “less is more”. I remind myself of that every time I work on new dishes.

 

If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?

Well I studied physics at university, so I guess I’d be a physicist!

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare?

My ultimate nightmare is feeding someone something they are allergic to. I’ve woken up in the night on more than one occasion.

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

The government consistently overlooks us as an industry, especially since covid and Brexit, when we’re having to raise prices when people are generally very price-sensitive. The post Brexit/Covid shortage of talent in London also makes it very difficult to find and retain decent staff.

 

Who would play “you” in a film about your life?

I’d be played by Pedro Pascal for sure.

 

What is your favourite prepared product?

You can make it yourself but… Dulce de Leche. I’d bathe in the stuff.