Chef
Janek Flemyng
- Discipline
- Chef
Portrait of Janek Flemyng
i. Biography
Janek Flemyng’s standard at Sushi Bar Hannah in Madrid is Spain itself. Seafood there is treated not as decoration or luxury, but as the working benchmark for sushi: the ingredient must earn its place before the knife is even set down. Flemyng has made that position plain in his own words — a comparative, ingredient-led view of quality that puts freshness, texture, and marine character ahead of embellishment.
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The Climb
Formal training at Jamie Oliver Course 15 Foundation set the base layer for Janek Flemyng’s route through disciplined kitchens. From there, the progression ran through Rocker in London as chef, then Umu Restaurant in London as chef, two postings that put him inside a city where pace is constant and precision is non-negotiable. In those rooms, the work is less about statement than repetition: clean execution, service pressure, and the ability to justify every plate.
Madrid marked the next step, with Janek Flemyng taking the role of Head Chef at Sushi Bar Hannah in 2017–2025. The move brought his practice into an international setting while keeping the same discipline at its core. Sushi remained the form, and Spain’s seafood remained the reference point he uses to judge quality.
Today
The focus is narrow by design. Freshness, texture, and the integrity of the fish carry the work; novelty does not need to.
In Their Words “Spain has the best seafood and fish I have ever seen and tasted, including some varieties superior to those in Japan.”
Recognition
Spain’s seafood is the comparison point Janek Flemyng uses, including varieties he ranks above Japan’s. That tells you where his standards sit: not in general praise, but in a chef’s exacting read on product quality. The recognition here is embedded in the route itself — Jamie Oliver Course 15 Foundation, Rocker in London, Umu Restaurant in London, and Sushi Bar Hannah in Madrid — and in the language he uses to describe what good fish should be.
FAQ
Asked of Janek
Where did Janek Flemyng train or study?
Janek Flemyng trained at Jamie Oliver Course 15 Foundation.
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The Sunday email
Read about chefs like Janek Flemyng in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
Recent stories
Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.