Joao Faraco and Carla de Campos, with higher degrees in gastronomy, are a couple and met while working in a hotel restaurant in Lanzarote. When Joao received the award for the best chef in the Canary Islands, they decided to start a business together and opened the restaurant Coentro, first in Playa Blanca and now in Puerto Calero.
In an interview with the gastronomic space of Radio Lanzarote Más de Uno Gourmet they explain their love for local products, the variety in the dishes they present and the creative freedom that comes with having your own restaurant.
- Who is Joao Faraco and how did he land on the island of Lanzarote?
I am Brazilian, I studied gastronomy in Brazil and I came to Europe in 2006 to see this boom of gastronomy in Spain with Ferrán Adriá. I came to learn Mediterranean cuisine above all, focused on haute cuisine. I came from doing internships in one of the best restaurants in Brazil, the D.O.M. of chef Alex Atala.
I spent a season in the peninsula in several restaurants and when I arrived in Lanzarote it was love at first sight.
- You were first working in several hotels on the island such as Princesa Yaiza or Isla de Lobos…
I worked twice at the Princesa Yaiza, first as general executive chef and then focused on the gastronomic restaurant. At Isla de Lobos we managed to turn around the entire gastronomy of the hotel. Before there was a very seventies and eighties gastronomy. We introduced the tasting menu and a cuisine more in line with the times we live in.
- You met working for Princesa Yaiza, didn't you?
Yes, there I met Carla, we fell in love and built our family. From there, we felt the need to express ourselves not only under the parameters of a company, but also by creating our business, the Coentro restaurant.
- Of course, you have much more creative freedom without anyone telling you where you have to go…
Joao: It's not so much that no one tells you where to go, but rather the limitations that a company like a hotel has in terms of creation, products, dynamism...
A hotel has directors, a marketing system, commercials... It has a lot of things that influence the moment you are creating the menus. For us this step was very important to be directly in contact with the client.
- Hello Carla, did you also study gastronomy, didn't you?
Yes, I also have a higher degree in catering. While doing my internship at Princesa Yaiza I met Joao. Although now my work doesn't touch anything about cooking, I take care of the administration, marketing, etc.
- What is it like to work as a couple?
Carla: It all came about because Joao won the award for Best Chef in the Canary Islands. Then we decided to take advantage and set up our own business. We met working and we got along well working. So we said now or never.
- You started in Playa Blanca and now you are in Puerto Calero. What can those who go to eat there find?
At Coentro we make local cuisine. It is a market and seasonal product cuisine. That is what I prioritize when creating new dishes or tasting menus. Coentro is an informal, fun place where people are made to feel comfortable and relaxed.
We prepare the dishes in a way that we ourselves are comfortable with what we are cooking. All the selection of products in the restaurant, from the dishes to the wines, to the cocktails... we have to like it first.
- The local product is at the base of your cuisine…
For me, the most important thing is that 80% of everything that enters the restaurant represents and speaks of Lanzarote, of our history. Lanzarote is present at all times inside Coentro with the vision of Joan Faraco, a Brazilian who has been on the island for 14 years and who interprets this product in a different way.
- What is your fetish dish, the one that will never leave the menu…
Joao: It's not because it's the one I like the most, but because it's the one people like the most.
Carla: He wouldn't leave any of them, what happens is that customers always ask us for example for the cod fritters, which we have taken off the menu many times, but it is impossible because they always end up asking for them. It also happens to us with the cheek.
Joao: I don't have a fetish dish, I would change the menu every week so I don't get bored, but what people ask for comes back.
- Carla, what is the dining experience like at Coentro?
For me it is easy because the clients come with a very open attitude and are very willing to be advised with the Canarian wines that we have on the menu.
- How do you get to Cuentro and what are the hours?
Carla: It is in Puerto Calero, in Plaza del Arte, local 11. For dinner, we open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. We also open at noon for lunch on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- You have a very varied menu, which also takes into consideration vegan clients, as well as people with allergies or intolerances...
Joao: Yes, that is very important. There are many restaurants that refuse to make adaptations for vegans, vegetarians or people who have an intolerance. We are always open and willing, always within our possibilities, so that everyone enjoys as much as possible
