Mohacho, along with Barrafina group general manager Josè Etura, will open a Spanish restaurant in the capital later in the year.
Mohacho began working for Sam and Eddie Hart as a sous chef at Fino when it opened in 2003 and was promoted to head chef four years later. She took on the executive head chef role at Barrafina when it launched on Soho’s Frith Street in 2008.
Barrafina Frith Street won a Michelin star in 2014. The restaurant was recently moved to nearby Dean Street to sit inside the group’s Quo Vadis site.
In 2015, Barrafina Adelaide Street was named National Restaurant of the Year in the National Restaurant Awards, and also the UK's Best Spanish Restaurant.
Etura began working for the Hart brothers in 2007 and became group general manager of Barrafina in 2009.
“We’ve achieved a crazy amount together and I’ll miss the teams and all the customers so much,” says Mohacho. “I can’t express enough my gratitude to Sam and Eddie Hart for the opportunity they gave me and continue to be inspired by their vision and guidance.”
“I am going to miss the theatre of service at Barrafina a lot,” says Etura. “It’s so unique having the kitchen and front of house team interacting directly with the customer over the bar and it has made every day a joy.”
The three head chefs from the Barrafinas in Covent Garden and Soho will take the lead in their place: Carlos Manuel Miranda Gomes, Gisela Fernandez Moles and Javier Duarte Campos, along with Aurelija Sovaite, the current general manager at Barrafina Adelaide Street. Mohacho will mentor the head chefs for one day a week for the next five months.
“Nieves and Josè have been an integral part of what has made Barrafina the success it is today, says The Hart Group co-founder Sam Hart. “We will miss them here enormously but I’m looking forward to following their next steps with excitement and pride.”
“It’s a hugely exciting new era for Barrafina, as three incredibly talented chefs step into the limelight with a greater degree of creative rein and responsibility at their respective restaurants.”