Angel Zapata Martin has been appointed chef director of Brindisa Tapas.
The Barcelona-born chef brings more than 20 years’ industry experience to the role, having most recently served as executive chef at Grupo Mambo in Ibiza.
Prior to that, he spent seven years as chef director of Barrafina and Parrillan at Harts Group, where he was involved in maintaining the Michelin star at the Dean Street Barrafina in London’s Soho.
In his early career, he also worked with the late chef Santi Santamaria at the three-Michelin-starred Ossiano in Dubai.
Zapata Martin’s connection to Brindisa dates back to 2017, when he met founder Monika Linton while working at Barrafina.
He will continue to work closely with Brindisa’s products, which include Perelló, while also developing more Spanish home cooking-type dishes to complement Brindisa’s existing tapas selection.
Linton said: “I am so thrilled to welcome Angel to Brindisa. With his roots firmly set in Catalunya and Mediterranean Spain we can share what I learnt and loved working there as a chef de partie in Begur and then as a teacher in this region, where I stayed for three years before I co-founded Brindisa in 1988.
“I have known Angel since 2017 and have watched his career develop. He understands where we have come from, but he also brings the experience and curiosity to help us think about where we go next. We want the next few years to be exciting, and Angel is an important part of that.”
Martin added: “Brindisa has always been a brand I have admired. I have a lot of respect for Monika and what she has built, and many very good memories of our time in the Spanish food community in London. I am excited to join the business, bring my experience to the team and, together with Monika, explore what the next chapter can look like.”
The news follows Kelly Richardson’s recent appointment as managing director of Brindisa, joining beverage director Adrian Castro, operations director Vish Vakani, operations manager Thibault Bouclier and kitchen operations manager Flori Porja.
Today, Brindisa operates six Spanish tapas restaurants across London.
Dining and Cooking