Delicooks

> Bacoa

Brad Ainsworth is a young Australian-born chef. who has just launched a new venture in Barcelona: Bacoa i Wushu (www.wushu-restaurant.com). The chef has struck on the perfect balance between price and exceptional quality to justify the queue that forms  daily at the door of his establishment of Barcelona.

Brad, When and how did you realize you wanted to dedicate yourself to cooking?
My mother was not very good cook, she had little time and did what she could. So I loved going to my grandmother's house at weekends to help out in the kitchen.

If you had to define your cuisine, what words would you use?
Generous, tasty and unpretentious.

You combine Thai food  with hamburgers. Is this mixture really possible? How did you come up with the idea of these two models cuisine?
Thanks to its geographical location and immigration, Australia probably has more Asian-influenced dishes in its diet than any other country .... and the "national dish" is the barbecue.

What are the differences between your "burger" and typical fast food fare?
Everything is done by hand, using good quality ingredients. The meat is fresh and cooked on the grill just before serving.

Why are your Thai creations so special?
First, we use fresh ingredients imported directly from Thailand. we mix the spice blends on the premises, a very laborious task. Most restaurants use ready-made curry pastes.

What are the basic ingredients for a good Thai curry?
There are many, but the essentials are: palm sugar, fish sauce, fresh lime, Thai chili, lemograss, fresh galangal, tamarind, shrimp paste and fresh cilantro.

What is your favorite dish?, Who would you dedicate it to?
Our laksa lemak. It is a complete unknown, a curry and noodle soup that's popular on the streets of Singapore. I'd dedicate it to my wife: after four years working together in Wushu, she still eats it at least twice a week.

Could you tell us some funny anecdote from the kitchen?
This happened in one of the restaurants where I worked in Byron Bay (Australia). It's a very exclusive restaurant right on one of the most beautiful beaches, a wonderful, wild place like most of the country. Sometimes a Water Dragon, a large native lizard over a meter and a half long, would come by. He'd through the door of the restaurant just like a customer, head straight for the kitchen for his daily snack of a steak. We used to laugh a lot looking at the faces of the customers, especially the Europeans.

What recipe could you not do without this time of year?
A refreshing salad such som tam goong, or thinking of Mediterranean dishes, a good acorn-fed cured ham with melon.

Where do you find the inspiration to create new dishes?
I wait till I'm very hungry and I walk through the markets of Barcelona, Santa Caterina and La Boqueria. You can't imagine how many ideas come into my head!

What advice would you give to someone who wants to open a restaurant?
You have to really like eating, cooking and people. Less is more and you have to be patient. Oh and forget about sleeping eight hours every night!.