A German chef turned international restaurateur with a taste for the Far East, Rainer Becker talks to Square Meal about Zuma, falling in love with Japanese cuisine, managing a global brand, and Oblix – his new dream ticket in the Shard.
The years have gone by too quickly,’ Rainer Becker says wistfully, as he takes in the view from what will be the bar at his new restaurant Oblix, on the 32nd floor of the Shard. It’s a sight to invite reflection: a grand sweep of river from the Thames
Barrier to London Bridge, with the top of the Gherkin at eye level opposite, plus Tower Bridge and the Tower of London below looking like Legoland models.
He is referring to the 11 years since the opening of his Knightsbridge restaurant Zuma, but he could be talking about
the decade it’s taken to build this 21st-century London icon.
Becker wasn’t immediately interested in opening what is set to become not only one of the destination restaurants in the capital, but – thanks to that view – the planet. ‘Three or four years ago, I
was approached to open Zuma at the Shard, and I said there’s only ever going to be one Zuma in London. At the time, I didn’t know what the Shard would look like, because it was just a big hole in the ground. But
when they came back with a big presentation of the layout, I fell in love with the design. I thought, we have to do something with that building, because it just dominates the skyline. Wherever you
are in London, you can see it.’
Of course, Oblix isn’t alone in the Shard: above and below are two eateries owned by the Aqua group, and the
building will also house a London outpost of Asia Pacific’s Shangri-La Hotel chain, featuring three restaurants and a bar.
I tell Becker I was disappointed when I heard that his Shard project was to be an American-influenced eatery rather than another Zuma, but he is keen to explain that while the concept is inspired by New York, the approach will be international. ‘The Shard
reminds me of New York because the city has many beautiful skyscrapers. And New York reminds me of London, especially the multicultural aspect, which means we can open up the cooking here to
include touches from every country. The food will be very bold and colourful. There’ll be crab cakes and steak tartare, and we’re going to have a rotisserie in the kitchen for chicken and also
duck, which will probably become our signature item – marinated and put on the spit with mango chutney. I miss things like this, because for the past 11 years I’ve been eating Japanese five times a
week. And I miss the flavours I used to cook in the old days.’
Turning Japanese
Those ‘old days’ were the time before Becker discovered Japanese food. Born in the Mosel Valley in 1962, he trained in Michelin-starred German restaurants before becoming chef de cuisine at the
Hyatt Regency in Cologne. He stayed with Hyatt for 14 years, moving from executive chef at the Park Hyatt Sydney to the same role at the Park Hyatt Tokyo – made famous by Lost in Translation – in
1994. Becker was already tuned into Japanese food following a visit to Tokyo for a German food promotion in 1989, which turned out to be a life-changing experience. ‘I’d had sushi in Germany, but
the first Japanese dish that I remember impressing me was sashimi on that Tokyo trip. The quality blew me away.’
During the six years he spent
in Tokyo, Becker immersed himself in Japanese culture and cuisine. ‘Japanese food seems very simple, but it’s actually very complex. When you look into it and see, for instance, details such as how
the chef washes the rice, or the way you cut the rice with rice vinegar, it becomes fascinating. I wanted to learn more.’
Back in London, he was responsible for a relaunch of the Rib Room at the Carlton Tower hotel,
and consulted on Alan Yau’s groundbreaking Hakkasan before opening Zuma in 2002 with businessman Arjun Waney. Comparisons were inevitable: like Hakkasan, Zuma managed to transform an
unpromising location into a celeb magnet that delivered thrillingly modern food in a high-octane atmosphere reminiscent of a non-stop party. Zuma has also proved to be a successful export, opening in Hong Kong, Istanbul, Dubai, Miami and Bangkok, with an Abu Dhabi
outpost due to launch in November, as well as another on New York’s Madison Avenue, next year. Not forgetting, of course, Zuma’s Fitzrovia sibling Roka, which now has
branches in Canary Wharf and Hong Kong.
New horizons
Did Becker plan to found a global empire when he opened in Knightsbridge? ‘I started out thinking there would be just one Zuma. But we established a great team – they gave me the confidence to reproduce the concept. When you expand overseas, you
can’t really do it by yourself. And if you’re an assistant manager in a restaurant, you want to be manager one day, and if the company can’t give you that promotion, what do you do? You leave the
company and look for a new job. So that’s how the expansion started working. All the people who were number twos and number threes at home became number ones internationally.’
Oblix will build on the success of Zuma and Roka, incorporating some elements but
adapting them to suit the new formula. Dishes will be available to order either ‘family style’ for sharing, or in more conventional portion sizes. The bar will feature drinks chilled with ice
hand-chiselled from purified, filtered blocks, which melt much more slowly than conventional cubes – a technique pioneered at Roka’s Shochu Lounge. Sunday brunch, meanwhile, is another Roka import, following success at Canary Wharf.
But there’s also much that will be new at Oblix. Receptionists will guide diners to their seats through
an open kitchen. A granite counter – a sort of chef’s table for 12 – will be a communal table at lunchtime, surrounded by coffee-table books on food, cars and fashion. Booth seating at the back of
the restaurant will provide privacy for celebrities. Executive sommelier Alessandro Marchesan has introduced an interactive element where diners can sample wines ahead of their meal to create their
very own food-and-wine matching. There’ll be a lunchtime buffet (£25), live jazz in the evenings and the bar will look after customers’ own bottles of spirits, too. Becker thinks the average spend
for dinner could be around the £60 mark – ‘although if you want to spend, you can spend a lot more’.
And then, of course, there is the view. Becker changed the original plans so the skyline would not be the first thing diners see when the lift doors open. ‘I don’t want to give them the view
straightaway, because then the magic is gone.’ Instead, sight lines to St Paul’s, Centrepoint, the BT Tower and Big Ben will reveal themselves as diners are taken to their table; the best views are
from the bar, with the Shard’s position on the south bank of the Thames opening up a new view of the City.
Spreading the word
If Oblix succeeds, will Becker take it abroad? ‘I don’t know. I’ll focus on making Oblix a success in London and if the team wants to support more openings and opportunities, then maybe. But it
would have to be another amazing building in another big city.’
As a German chef who became fascinated by Japan in Tokyo and launched a global chain of Japanese restaurants from London, will he ever open a Zuma in the Land of the Rising Sun? ‘I’d like to open in Tokyo, and if I did, I would stick to my guns. The older generation
would say it’s not traditional, but today’s young diners love Zuma and appreciate that it’s Japanese with a twist – although our nigiri sushi is very respectful of the culture. It would also have
to be in a neighbourhood populated by expats – but that’s for the future.’
Meanwhile, Becker would welcome a return to the stove. ‘I miss being in the kitchen. I’m not an office person; I’m more on the creative side. This is the next chapter for me, trying to restructure
the company so I can spend more time working with the chefs. When I walk into Zuma, I still get the kick that I got in
the early days.’ But nothing will beat the kick diners will get when they see the view from Oblix.
Oblix opens on 6 May. The Shard, Level 32, 31 St Thomas Street, SE1
9RY; 020 7268 6700; oblixrestaurant.com. Booking lines are open.