Mexican inspired fire cooking in the South West: introducing Basement 17
Written by
Bella Jolly
Brand Lead
With 10 years' experience working in brand and content for some of the UK's biggest hospitality brands under her belt, Bella takes ownership of the Togather brand. Bella's passion for the events industry shines through in her work, ensuring the stories of amazing suppliers and unforgettable events are effectively communicated through various mediums such as video, photo and the written word.
Outside of work, she can be found scrolling TikTok or enjoying a spicy margarita.
Published on Mon 29 July 2024
Today, we're diving into the delicious world of Basement 17, where fire, flavour, and passion come together in mouthwatering ways. New to our platform, we sat down with owner Carlos to learn more about them and their passion for fire-cooking.
Tell us a little bit about how - and why - you came to start Basement 17?
It all started with a conversation one new year in lock down, we decided to start serving tacos from our tiny basement flat every Wednesday to our neighbours. This quickly evolved and we were selling out within minutes. Since then we have grown into a catering company with fire at its core.
What is your personal favourite dish on your menu?
It has to be our beef barbacoa tacos. We start by seasoning our beef in our mixture of spices and dried chillies from Mexico and leave to marinate overnight. We smoke the meat for 3-4 hours before adding it to our fire roasted marinade. We then put it in our homemade woodfire Barbacoa oven. This involves building a fire and letting the heat build in the oven for a few hours, before the sealed trays of barbacoa are inserted and the lid closed. This is then left to cook slowly overnight and in the morning we have the most incredibly tender and mouth-watering beef and consomme.
Is there a dish you'd love to bring to the menu but haven't yet?
Luckily we cater for many different occasions and different set ups which allow us to serve our favorite food cooked in different ways, from fresh ceviches and elevated Mexican food, to a more humble ingredient led seasonal barbeque.
Who on the street food or restaurant scene do you particularly admire?
One of my best mates, Bruce from Feast Alba, his positive energy, dedication to his craft and organization skills always inspire me.
What is your go-to cocktail (or any drink) order?
A Paloma for sure
What has been the highlight(s) of life with Basement 17 so far?
Taking our tacos to Meatopia was an amazing experience and being able to cater for such a big crowd.
Also evolving from street food trading into full catering has been an incredible experience as it was not our original plan but has evolved organically.
Have you got a dream event or a dream client you'd love to cater for?
We would love to cater for an event on the beach - there is nothing more appealing than cooking over fire with an impressive backdrop, it adds magic to the dining experience