Did your high school guidance counselor ever tell you, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life?” If someone ever said that to Juan Campos, it seems he only heard half of it. He does what he loves, but man does he work! More than a decade ago, he arrived in Shanghai with no connections to speak of. We now know him as the force behind Sakaba Malabar, RAW Eatery and Terrakota. Even sitting with him to sample some of the newest dishes on RAW’s menu, we got the distinct vibe that he’d rather throw on his apron and tend to his Josper oven. But we kept him at the table long enough to learn a bit about what fuels his fire.[Chef’s Table] Juan Campos of RAW, Malabar Sakaba and TerrakotaBrandon McGhee
RAW eatery is Juan’s smallest, but perhaps most intimate venue.
Actually, I never thought of being a chef, but I was always cooking. And I think I grew up in a special place, Venezuela. We have a lot of immigrants from Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Japan and the Middle East, so there is so much good international cuisine there. My parents don’t cook, so I grew up eating mostly in restaurants, and I experienced a lot of food from a lot of different places.
[Chef’s Table] Juan Campos of RAW, Malabar Sakaba and TerrakotaBrandon McGhee
[Chef’s Table] Juan Campos of RAW, Malabar Sakaba and Terrakota