Introducing AnOther Dish, a new series of recipes and interviews with chefs in London.
Without Guinness bread, there would be no Café Cecilia. Desperate to recover from depression, having left behind an ill-fated career in music management, Max Rocha first fell in love with cooking after attending a breadmaking course with his mother, Odette, who would bake the traditional Irish bread for him as a child growing up in Dublin. “Held in the middle of a busy bakery humming with bakers and people buying bread, we sat at a large wooden table with six others, listening to the teacher,” Rocha recalls of that eureka moment. “That day I knew I wanted to work with my hands in this kind of environment.”
After stints cooking at The River Café, Spring and St. John, Rocha opened his own restaurant Café Cecilia – named after his paternal grandmother – in 2021 to much fanfare (the first two months were booked up almost immediately). A modest, light-filled space overlooking Regent’s Canal on a strip of premium restaurant real estate in east London, with dark wooden furniture and white walls sparsely hung with photographs gifted to Rocha by Perry Ogden and Jack Davison, immaculate taste runs in the Rocha family; Max’s sister and father, Simone Rocha and John Rocha, are fashion designers with highly distinctive aesthetics (a framed New York Times article, featuring a portrait of the family at the restaurant, hangs in the bathroom as evidence).
The restaurant’s quiet air of refinement reflects the food it serves: “the best home cooking possible, made with seasonal ingredients,” in Rocha’s own words. That aforementioned Guinness bread runs through the entire menu, served on the table as a moreish side with notes of treacle, whisked into ice cream, or baked into golden brown treacle tart. Other treasures on the menu include the punchy sage and anchovy fritti starter, delicately simmered globe artichokes, glistening beds of seabass carpaccio, whole poached trouts shrouded in makeshift blankets of pickled cucumber, and dangerously indulgent deep-fried bread and butter served with cold custard for pudding. These recipes, and many more, have now been gathered for the first time in the Café Cecilia Cookbook, a comprehensive new cookbook published by Phaidon – a worthy addition for amateur cooks looking to replicate Café Cecilia’s hearty dishes at home.
To celebrate the launch of his debut cookbook, Max Rocha talks about his guilty pleasures, his love of running, and his favourite dish on Café Cecilia’s menu.
What’s the first meal you remember making? White soda bread with my Irish granny.
What’s a misconception about Irish food? That it’s plain and boring.
What’s one thing everyone should know how to cook? Pasta and a nice simple sauce.
What are your top three favourite restaurants in London? The Quality Chop House, The Eight and The Guinea Grill.
Best and worst things about the London food scene? There’s so much choice. But it’s so hard to get a booking on a Friday night.
What’s one ingredient you can’t live without? Sage.
Are there any emerging chefs you’ve got your eye on? George Brown who has a supper club called Gorka. I went to their latest pop up and it was amazing!
What’s a common misconception people have about chefs? That we’re all really loud and arrogant.
What’s the best thing about being a chef? Working in a busy team who love cooking.
What’s one ingredient you can’t live without? “Sage” – Max Rocha
What’s one thing you can’t live without? Running. It gives me so much clarity.
Best book you’ve read recently? What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami.
What’s your greatest extravagance? Margaret Howell, eek!
What are your favourite shops? Leila’s Shop, Daunt Books, Casey Casey in Paris and Soar Running.
Best advice you’ve ever received? To never apologise for the way I feel.
What’s your favourite dish on Café Cecilia’s menu? Ice cream sundaes because they are so fun and give the chefs a chance to bring their ideas to the table.
What qualities make for a good chef? Being open to criticism, being on time and being kind to others on the team.
What’s the greatest compliment you’ve ever received? That’s a tricky one. Maybe that Diana Henry really liked my cookbook.
What would be your death row meal? A large ex-dairy beef sirloin (with lots of fat), chips and béarnaise sauce.
Where is your favourite place to travel? New York City.
Best advice you’ve ever received? “To never apologise for the way I feel” – Max Rocha
What’s the one dish you eat most at home? Couscous, pesto and smoked salmon.
What are your fridge staples? Smoked salmon, whole milk, fizzy water and overnight oats.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing? I’d like to be a framer or maybe an addiction support worker.
What is your guilty pleasure? Custard, and lots of it!
What cookbook has inspired you most? A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell.
What does a perfect day look like for you? A long run, nice coffee, then a long lunch at The Quality Chop House followed by watching Arsenal on the TV at home. Perfect!
Café Cecilia Cookbook by Max Rocha is published by Phaidon, and is out now.