Isaac Carew on Balancing Careers, Finding Inspiration and His Love of Italian Food
Isaac Carew on Balancing Careers, Finding Inspiration and His Love of Italian Food
Isaac Carew is a British chef, model, and culinary storyteller whose journey bridges high fashion and maximum flavour. Growing up in London and immersed in the kitchen from a young age, Isaac followed his passion with studies in catering and culinary arts by training under Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in Mayfair. In his early 20s, Isaac was scouted outside the iconic Selfridges department store and began a parallel career in modelling working with major fashion brands and photographers. However, cooking remained his true passion and in 2019, he launched a cookbook called ‘The Dirty Dishes’. Thanks to his combined culinary credibility and social media presence, Isaac is known for championing comfort food, pasta, and bold flavours.
Isaac, you’ve worked in restaurants since you were young. Who inspired you to become a chef?
I would say mostly my dad and my godfather – they’re both chefs, so I was always working in their kitchens when I was young. They want to retire but they’re still going. They just love being in the kitchen and telling people what to do. My dad would give me such a hard time in the kitchen and would say ‘just because you’re my son, you’re not having it easy, right?’ My mum has always been a good cook too. I only realised recently that I was basically vegetarian for most of my childhood; unless it was a Sunday, and then we’d have a massive roast dinner.
Are there any dishes that remind you of your childhood or in the kitchen or at your family gatherings?
My dad used to make me these steak baguettes with sliced ribeye, rocket, loads of Dijon mustard and jus, and my mum used to make this red pepper lentil stew. As a child I wasn’t the biggest fan of it but as I grew up and my palate changed, I really enjoy it, and I think about it a lot.
You have also trained under some incredible well-known chefs. What was the most valuable lesson you learnt?
I would say with most chefs, it’s always about mise en place – you have to be prepared; Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail. If you don’t have your mise en place ready in the kitchen, you’re ready to go down, basically.
How would you define your cooking style?
Well, I was trained classically French, but I would say my own personal style is modern European with a very heavy Italian influence – lots of fresh pasta! I’m also quite big into fermentation, and through that, quite a Korean influence too.
Is there an Italian city or dish that particularly impacted or influenced your cooking style?
Puglia for sure! I was in Puglia and I had a raw red prawn (Gamberi Rossi) it was absolutely delicious. I know I’m a chef, but I didn’t realise I could eat prawns raw unless it was ceviche and I was having a debate with another chef as I thought they were trying to play some kind of trick on me. They don’t taste like prawns. They’re a lot more sweet, delicate and delicious.
Rome is another – I stayed there for a few months and that definitely had a big influence on me. I also adore Florence, but the biggest influence on my Italian cooking would actually be London! I used to work for Angela Hartnett, and she’s kind of the one who instilled most of my Italian roots of cooking. I worked on the pasta section under her at the Connaught hotel in London.
Let’s talk about Florence, and W Florence where you shot your Hotel Tales episode.
Being in Florence felt like I was coming back home. W Florence is boujee, very boujee. Also, the view from the rooftop, and being able to see the Duomo Cathedral – that view is just incredible.
I also felt like I’d met a lot of the staff before. The conversations I had with some of the waiters and the chefs, I felt like I’d known them for years. I stupidly left my gua sha at home in London and when I came back to my room after dinner, there was one left as a gift left on my bed. The team really went above and beyond to make me feel at home.
If you could describe W Florence as a dish, what would it be?
I’m gonna have to say tiramisu; rich, indulgent, yet light at the same time. Yeah, it’s got to be tiramisu!
In your Hotel Tale, you recall an encounter where you had plans to eat your way through Florence, but TRATTO, the hotel’s restaurant called to you. What was it about TRATTO that spoke to you?
Do you know what I really loved? I felt like I was in an old Italian town while being inside the restaurant. The menu is amazing too. One of the beef dishes I had (Manzo speziato con salsa al pepe) with really thin slices of beef and jus, and I believe it was pickled red onions, I really enjoyed that!
Speaking of Italian food, what is your favourite traditional Italian dish and why?
I’m stuck between a cacio e pepe or a carbonara, but cacio e pepe is probably one of my top tier dishes – it’s like just a nice warm hug, I think.
If you had to introduce someone to Italy with just one bite of food, what would it be?
It might just be something really simple, like a slice of like Roman style margarita pizza. Something so simple but has all the flavour, but maybe with burrata instead of mozzarella, and a little bit of basil.
You mentioned you have a passion for the Italian flair. Where in Florence is an absolute go-to?
Michelangelo Square. You can literally see the whole city from there, so I’d recommend going there if you only have a short time to spend in the city. There are lot of gardens and a steep walk up to the top, but the Piazza is just so beautiful – the view is just incredible.
Is there a destination that you think has the richest cooking scene?
Vietnam! 100 percent, Vietnam. The amount of different flavours and combinations of sweet, salty, spicy, tangy – it’s rich but being light all at the same time. Vietnam is just one of the most incredible places for food.
If you had the opportunity to cook with one person, who would it be?
Anthony Bourdain. He passed aways some years ago, but he’s one of the reasons that I was obsessed with going to Vietnam – he says it’s also one of the flavour capitals of the world. But yeah, Anthony Bourdain, not just out on a chef level but also on a spiritual kind of level as well, I’d have liked to get to know him.
Elvis Presley is another, because I got one of his books when I was around 15. He’s got a cookbook. I would just like to have a one-on-one insight on how the hell he ate the food that he ate and why. The stuff that he used to eat was mental – just the most random things, but he loved them.
If you were to design A culinary road trip across Italy, which three stops would be non-negotiable? And what would you eat in each?
I would say Puglia just to try those red prawns again, and Sicily – I adore Sicily – and maybe Venice for Aperol Spritz? I’m not too sure if it gets on the top three though. My go-to dish in Sicily would be arancini. I had the best arancini in my life there, and also the cannoli; they are incredible. They also do this dessert that’s basically an Italian brioche and then they serve it with a limoncello ice cream. And Florence, if you’re ever in Florence, TRATTO is a must if you are looking for a dish that is bold and elevated but still timeless.
Do you think social media has changed the way people cook and think about food?
Yeah, 100% I feel it’s changed the way we cook these days. Everything is about time and trying to cook something in the quickest amount of time possible, and I think we just need to relax a bit more and spend a bit more time experimenting and enjoying the cooking process. Not everything has to be like a 15 minute or a 20-minute meal, do you know what I mean?
What’s the most interesting souvenir you’ve collected whilst travelling?
I actually forgot to do this in Florence, but I collect playing cards. Each place I go, I tried to grab a deck of playing cards. They’re purely collectible. I normally travel with a deck that I play with, and I’ll buy a deck for memorabilia. It’s not just places I go though. I also collect film and TV show ones.
As a creator who often travels, what draws you in when you’re on the search for a hotel?
I love a good spa. I love a good massage: steam room, sauna, anything that makes me feel relaxed and indulged is what I want from my hotel.
What is the first meal or drink that you order from a hotel?
It’s a club sandwich. Every hotel I go to, the first thing I do is order a club sandwich on room service and it speaks volumes on how the kitchen is! The W Florence one was 10/10!
You’ve travelled a lot around Italy, but where is next on your travel list?
Deià, in Mallorca. A friend of mine is potentially buying some land and setting up a retreat, and he’s invited me down so I really want to try and go there.
You’ve balanced careers both in food and fashion. How do those creative worlds influence each other, or do they influence each other at all?
Maybe artistically; I would say both sides are very artistic, that recipe developing and how you plate food is an art form and dressing or putting looks together is also an art form.
Let’s do a quick-fire round! What’s your favourite guilty pleasure food?
OK, go for it! Eclairs.
What’s the one ingredient you could never live without?
This could sound really boring but salt, because everything needs to be seasoned. A more interesting ingredient that I couldn’t live without is butter and again it sounds boring, but I couldn’t live without it.
If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Such a boring life to lead! But if I had only one dish for the rest of my life, it might just have to be a cheeseburger. A really nice cheeseburger – extra mustard, extra pickles, extra cheese. And you can keep the lettuce and tomato!
If you were a kitchen utensil, what would you be and why?
For some reason, the first thing that comes to mind is a colander, but I don’t actually want to be a colander. I think a knife is a good one because it’s the most versatile. You can’t be in the kitchen without a knife, you need it every day. It does most of the jobs for you… but I really want to say colander as well!
For more on Isaac Carew, follow him on Instagram @Isaaccarew.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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