Quick Bite with Chris Leach, Chef & Owner of Manteca

Nestled in the vibrant Soho district, Manteca has quickly garnered a reputation for its nose-to-tail italian-inspired dishes. Seasonality and local suppliers drive their ever changing menus. The team at Manteca pride themselves on their whole-animal butchery, hand-rolled pastas, wood-fired breads, and their very own in-house salumeria.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Chris, I am the chef and owner of my first restaurant, Manteca. We opened in November 2021, after two and a half years of doing pop-ups.

What inspired you to start cooking?

I started cooking nearly 20 years ago! I grew up in North Wales and had been studying graphic design and illustration, and figured that maybe I could be an illustrator. At the time I was looking for work and that’s where I came across a job advert at a local hotel and thought I’d give it a go! I really enjoyed it and from there, I moved to Manchester and then London, where I trained and worked in some of the best restaurants in London.

What drives you as a chef?

Passion, I always loved cooking and working with people. It’s that type of job that doesn’t feel like a job, there’s always something to learn and enjoy, and I love working with a big team!

What inspires your menus?

Seasonality is a big driver for us, we work closely with a lot of farmers, selecting the best produce and meat helps to shape the menu. We buy whole animals, so we choose dishes based on how we break the animal down. For example, what goes into a ragu, a slow cut or steak. and that will form the whole menu.

What ingredients do you currently use from Woods?

We use a lot of ingredients from Woods so it’s tricky to choose one! We’re always changing the menus, often twice in a day. One ingredient that we get from Woods is fennel pollen, it’s on our menu currently and goes into our whipped ricotta. We make ricotta with fresh milk every morning, set it in a basket and then whip olive oil, sea salt and chilli flakes, served with fresh focaccia bread.

Why do you work with Woods?

We started with Woods during our first pop up, they are always super reliable and always early deliveries which is so important for us, and they have such a wide variety of products!

In your spare time, where do you enjoy eating out?

I’ve got two very young children so eating out in nice places can be difficult but I would say Koyako in broadway market , they’ve got a really good kids menu so works well for the whole family.

Any new restaurants you want to try?

I’ve got a huge list of places I want to visit, but I’m checking out Dorian restaurant soon and I can’t wait. Also, one of my favourites I’ve visited this year so far is Mountain restaurant!