Junior Sanchez

The New York Brobot boss rolls up his sleeves for the summer

 

When LoveFoodIbiza thinks of Junior Sanchez we play…

 

You hold Ibiza very close to your heart…

It’s my favorite place in the world! It’s magical, it’s therapy – there’s no place quite like it on earth and there never will be. I feel at home in Ibiza…that’s why I love it so much.

Your favourite restaurant on the island…

I have two. The first is Sa Capella in San Antonio, originally destined to be a place of worship and now one of the most breathtaking restaurants you’ll ever see. It was the first place I was taken to eat on my premier visit to the island in 1997 so it’s very special to me and they are like family to me now. Secondly I have to say Cami De Balafia in Sant Juan, it has the best and most potent aioli on the island – trust me,  no vampire will ever attack you after you’ve eaten there! And for me, their lamb chops are the best in the world. Ask Arthur Baker, he’ll agree.

A song that always reminds you of Ibiza…

Anything by Enigma, E2E4 or Kings Of Tomorrow – ‘Finally’ is a staple!

When you think of a dish in Ibiza you think of…

Paella at Ses Boques. This little paradise in Es Cubells that’s hard to find, I always prefer drifting in on a boat.

The perfect day in Ibiza would be…

Gently sailing to Formentera, eating some good food on the beach, a nice swim and then back on the boat for a lazy journey home…

Where can we catch you spinning in Ibiza this summer…?

I will definitely be spending most of my summer there. I have a few gigs lined up already, one with Armand van Helden at Pacha, a few for Hard Times and I hope to be back again at Ibiza Rocks House – hopefully with Idris there too…and possibly some of Doorly’s nights. We shall see – oh and of course, I’ll be making some Cafe Mambo appearances. Hey, it’s tradition!

One of the biggest Ibiza tunes of all time is Crystal Waters ‘Gypsy Woman’. I hear something kind of special happened at Miami Music Week a few weeks back at your Brobot party…?

Dan it was a real moment. She just turned up at the party to come and say hello, I spot her weaving through the crowd so on the spur of the moment I play ‘Gypsy Woman’. Well, up on stage she comes and started singing – you could feel the energy and emotion everywhere, people were crying with pure joy. Check the video, it was beautiful…

You have travelled the world a hundred times over. What is the most unusual food you have ever eaten…

I would say Jing Leed (grasshoppers) in Thailand or Fugu in Japan which are pufferfish that can be super deadly if not prepared or cut correctly, its tasty sashimi.

A dish that reminds you of your childhood…

I would absolutely say feijoada. My mother is Brazilian and she made this often it’s the best black bean stew and rice dish you could ever have with all different kinds of meat.

Who taught you to cook and what is your signature dish…

I guess my mother taught me to cook by simply watching her and then trial and error. I would also give the Food Network a lot of credit lol. My signature dish would be making alioli from scratch and grilling a mean churrasco on a charcoal grill.

If you could have a masterclass from any superstar chef, who would it be and why?

That’s a good question but I would 100% say Ferran Adrià, what he did at El Bulli was amazing. He’s known for taking a dish that’s well known, deconstructing it and transforming it to modify it’s texture. His food is beyond dynamic…it makes you cry! His brother opened Tickets in Barcelona and the tapas there are out of this world.

The best breakfast in the world can be found at…

Egg Slut in downtown LA. Their egg sandwiches are to die for!! But if you’re going, go early as the queue there can go on for blocks, and if they run out of eggs they close the doors. No bullshit.

Tell us about some of your DJ buddies who can cut it in the kitchen. Who is hot and what are their specialities…

I’m always impressed when I’m at Steve Angello’s house in Los Angeles because he cooks with so much ease and confidence, he always ends up making something super good and he’s pretty mean on the BBQ as well.

Your favourite Italian restaurant in New York City…

Definitely Carbones on Thompson Street, it’s an institution and is so good. I was introduced to it by Lyor Cohen and I’ve been hooked every since. It’s a must for any Italian food enthusiast.

A guilty pleasure dish…

Bread and aioli in Ibiza, it’s sooooo bad but sooooo good!

You have produced music for so many amazing artists. Who has surprised you with their studio take out choices whilst working with them?

Again I would say Steve Angello, he simply knows how to eat. When he was working on his album at Jungle City in NYC last year it was bags and bags of Nobu take out! And in LA it’s Sugarfish, a place we recently discovered and hands down has become our favorite sushi spot.

The best slice of pizza in the Big Apple…

Lombardi’s on Spring Street in Soho always does it for me! It’s pure love, you have to experience it to understand.

A dish that you cannot stomach?

I tried to eat Durian fruit before and almost puked. It’s a south east Asian fruit and is literally the smelliest fruit in the world. I didn’t believe it this story and had to try it to become a believer!

Tell us about these Grandma Chicken Biscuits in Miami you keep raving on about…

OMG they are to die for! Fresh buttery biscuits, juicy fried chicken with pickles, a jelly pepper glaze and pickled veggies like okra and onions, It’s a dish that you will never forget.

A bar with a sunset…

Without a doubt Cafe Mambo in Ibiza. The best sunset on the island and possibly anywhere! It’s always magic every time.

And finally, it looks like you have one of the early contenders for the summer anthem with your Chocolate Puma collab ‘Lost Your Groove’. What’s the story behind it…?

Well thank you for that! The Chocolate Puma guys and I started that track last year in LA at the Boom Boom Room in Burbank. We had an amazing writer in Arama whose worked with so many dope artist like Switch, Jesse Rose etc. She was in another room working with another artist and we did the track or the initial groove and I played it for her, and we just kinda wrote it there on the spot. Then I took the track back to the east coast, the boys and I were both busy doing other projects and we knew we weren’t in a rush to complete it, so we decided to finish it when we could all be in NYC. The guys came over to my studio and had no idea Todd Terry was coming over, Todd is one of my best friends and is always over my house when he’s in town and we just hang talk shop, go to the movies, grab food or make tracks. So he walks into the studio and the Puma guys were so stoked! Michael Moog  was also there so it was a good hang!. So while we were working Todd laid down the bass on the bridge part of the track where it sounds like an old Gene Perez Sound Factory Bar style bassline, it brought such a great vibe to the track and we kept it! The Puma guys were so happy!