When guests walk into Chef Haissam Souki Tamayo’s restaurant, Ibéricos, on Saint-Denis Street, the first thing they hear is: “Welcome to Spain.”
Having worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and alongside legendary chefs, Chef Haissam Souki Tamayo’s journey has taken him from Lac St. Jean to Caracas to Montreal via Barcelona. And now, finally, to Time Out Market Montréal.
His passion for food started at a young age in a home where cooking and eating was really important. Born in Venezuela to a Lebanese father and a Basque grandfather on his mother’s side, the food Chef Haissam grew up on wasn’t traditionally Venezuelan—more of a mix of everything.
“Since I was a kid, I always wanted to eat well. Most kids like fast food, burgers and hot dogs, but my family had to fight with me because I didn’t want to eat that kind of food,” he laughs. “I would always say, I want a dish! I want food on a plate!”
Chef Haissam first discovered that he wanted to be a chef thanks to his parent’s famous parties. Part of the Rotary Club, every time his family had a gathering, everyone wanted to eat at their home—there was something about the food. He grew up making falafel and Lebanese dishes, and eventually made the decision—unprompted—to go to school. Putting money aside for an internship, he eventually made his way to Spain where he was mentored by top chefs and worked in Michelin star restaurants.
But the first professional kitchen he spent time in was here in Quebec. “I was an exchange student learning French, and the Rotary Club sent me to Saguenay Lac St. Jean,” he explains. “It was a little brasserie named after a hockey player called Mario Tremblay. I was 16 or 17, and a week later I was applying for school in Caracas.”
Fast forward to a few years later on a trip to Merida—a student town home to many famous universities—where he met his future wife, Adriana Laporta. Adriana was in Merida studying to be a dentist, and Chef Haissam was working under the tutelage of Chef Takeshi Nagahama (El Bulli and Can Fabes).
Adriana and Chef Haissam had a friend in common who had just sold their bar, where they met that night. “We had to finish everything they had. It was free!” he says, chuckling. But between Adriana’s studies and Chef Haissam’s schedule, how to spend time together wasn’t obvious.
“I was working 18 hours a day, so Adriana started with us at the restaurant on the weekends,” he explains. “She was very appreciated in the front of house by the owners. And when we went to Spain, she worked in an emblematic restaurant that was a 5 minute walk from where I worked.” The rest is culinary history.
Travelling back to Venezuela, the duo opened a restaurant called Primos with Chef Haissam’s mother—still open 13 years later—where Adriana practiced dentistry in the morning and at the restaurant at night. When the pair eventually moved to Basque country, Chef Haissam applied for Quebec residency and they eventually found themselves in Montreal and in business with two Catalan chefs at a spot called Resto Boutique Ibéricos.
In 2019, Adriana and Chef Haissam became the restaurant’s owners, changing the name to Ibéricos Spanish Tapas Tavern. “Adriana has always been very involved,” he says. “At Ibéricos, she’s created everything you see in the front of house. She’s a big part of the team.”
What sets Ibéricos apart as one of the best restaurants in the city is that it brings the experience of Spain to Montreal. “We want people who come to the restaurant to feel like they are in Spain—the whole experience, not just the food,” he explains. “How the place looks, the music… 98 percent of people who work with us speak Spanish.”
Inspired by the cuisine, Ibéricos is where Spanish classics are interpreted by Chef Haissam’s creativity and experience, honing his authentic mix of Spanish tradition and local Quebec produce. “I make sure I have the best tomatoes I can get in town from Birri,” he explains. “My bread comes from Jeffrey at Hof Kelsten. He started making that kind of bread because I begged him!” Choosing to work with distributors from local or Canadian farms, chef also imports special products from Spain (organic bomba rice, saffron, spanish paprika, the olives, marinated peppers, anchovies and charcuterie.)
This month, you can get a taste of Spain at Time Out Market Montréal when Ibéricos joins the best chefs and restaurants in the city under one roof. Expect golden, Valencian-style paellas brimming with flavour; crisp cod fritters doused in maple syrup and an ultra-rich Basque cheesecake you’ll be thinking about for days.
For more information about Time Out Market Montréal, click here.
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