From Mexico to Soho
Since 2011, Breddos has evolved from a makeshift taco shack into a street-
food success story. Nud Dudhia talks us through the journey so far
words by Elliot RAMSEY
Beginning life as a pop-up venture, Breddos Tacos has come a long way in a short space of time. A very long way, in fact. Influenced by its founders’ travels around the world, from Mexico and the Americas to Thailand, the trendy street-food concept now occupies two sites in London and regularly partake in collaborations and residencies. Chef and Co-Founder Nud Dudhia talks us through his journey to date and the inspiration behind his menu. EJ
Tell us a little about how Breddos Tacos originally came about?
I used to live in Mexico and while I was there I completely fell in love with the country’s food culture. In 2011, my business partner Chris Whitney and I decided to leave our jobs, build a makeshift shack in a Hackney car park and start our own food business selling tacos – and it all went from there, really!
You’ve gone from selling tacos from a car park to now having spaces in Clerkenwell and Soho – what was the process like going from pop-ups to finding a permanent home?
It was a massive adjustment for us. When you do pop-ups, you’re obviously only responsible for doing the food because the venue are sorting out the booze. But now we’ve taken on much more with our restaurants. From the taco shack to the pop-ups and residencies, each new venture has been a huge learning curve for us. Before, we’d just earn our money and go to the pub to wind down afterwards. But now we’ve got VAT and taxes and staff holidays to think about. We’ve had to grow up quickly, but thankfully we’ve had great restaurateur mentors who’ve helped us along the way.
Your menus are authentic yet experimental at the same time – how important have your travels been in achieving that balance?
They’ve definitely had a massive impact. I’ve been travelling almost all of my life, from the age of two. I lived in Zambia as a kid, and I’ve lived in Thailand and Mexico. In terms of my food, the Mexican flavour profile is about layering, balancing the sweet with the salty, and so on. But I’m not Mexican. I’ve studied the cuisine and have an understanding, but everything I do is my own interpretation of it. Using Asian influences in my cooking is about creating something new and exciting. I really love Los Angeles and I think it’s the spiritual home for the kind of food we create. It’s such a culturally diverse place and its food really speaks to that.
Talk us through your creative process when you’re coming up with flavour combinations for your tacos?
A lot of what we create is based around seasonal ingredients, but also around what we want to eat. Everything is accompanied by salsas which are tailored to the dishes we’ve made and we often strive for balance in our food, aiming to create fresh, light dishes which layer the sweet, salty and spicy in our signature way.
Speaking of ingredients, how important is it for you to source your produce from within the UK?
It’s very important to us, but there are some things that we can’t source locally – things like chillies which we have to get from Mexico to maintain the authenticity of the dishes we create. But the meat, fish and seafood we use are all sourced from within the UK, and all of the chicken we use is sustainably-sourced, too. I don’t know if it’s because it’s summer or people are geared towards healthier options, but we’re also becoming far less meat-focused at the moment.
What is your personal favourite dish on your menu?
Our sea urchin tostada quickly became our signature dish when we first started out. At the time, a lot of taco restaurants were doing the same sort of thing and I think a dish like that separated us from the competition. It really made me feel confident in our style, and it was a catalyst for us developing a distinctive style.
How important have social media and word-of-mouth been in the success of Breddos?
Because we’ve had quite an organic journey, we haven’t used PR companies. We’ve gained a great following on social media through people coming to our taco shack in Hackney, meeting us, realising that we’re friendly people and then relating to our journey. I think that now more than ever, social media is so impactful and influential for businesses to harness. Some of the opportunities that I’ve had, such as being able to travel around the world and cook for people, have come out of social media, so it’s a great tool to use.
I also think that the growing interest in street-food is intertwined with the popularity of social media today. It’s easier to share information with people, everything is so instant. It’s a way to meet other people and the communal spirit of the street-food scene really works with that.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to open their own restaurant?
It’s important to do something unique. Something true to your culture, nationality or history. I’m always reminded of the old Levi’s slogan, ‘When the world zigs, zag’. You need to be thinking, ‘What can I do that is entirely new?’ That’s become the Breddos mantra, really. It’s about doing something different – and trying to be better than everyone else while you’re doing it.
Find out more about Breddos Tacos and the story of their success at breddostacos.com
