Exclusive Interview with the owner of Rikito, Mr. Xiao & Café Poupette
We were delighted to meet with the very talented chef and owner of Rikito, Mr Xiao & Café Poupette, Henri. Also a personal friend of our Founder Michael, Henri is currently running three popular restaurants here in Mallorca, in the busy Santa Catalina.
Greeted by his kind demeanour, warm charm and obvious French accent, we sat with Henri for a coffee in the sunshine at Cafe Poupette.
Henri told us all about his move to Mallorca in 2017. After spending several holidays here with his family in their second residence, he decided to make the move and at the young age of 22 opened his first restaurant in Santa Catalina. Henri opened a Mexican restaurant with his ex business partner before going solo in 2019 with Rikito, a few meters away from the popular Mexican.
Henri grew up with a VERY “foodie” family in France, “I started cooking from a very young age and I always knew I wanted to open a restaurant.” It is clear to us that this was always his passion as he continues to tell us about his years in cooking school which he then continued on to university to study restaurant management.
Whilst being able to immediately notice a link between the 3 restaurants through their attention to detail and style they all offer a completely different concept and cuisine. “I don’t like to mix things up too much, instead of opening a big restaurant with a mixed menu, my vision was always to open smaller places with specific concepts. I focused on each restaurant having its own uniqueness.”
Rikito is an Italian inspired restaurant, whilst Mr Xiao a Chinese and Cafe Poupette a modern French Vibe. Henri also spills the news that at the end of this year he will be opening another new restaurant in Palma offering a traditional French menu. You heard it here first!
“We always put a lot of effort into the small details, from the food source, marketing and the locations. We try our very best to make everything as perfect as it can be. We recently sourced a wine cave where we now import wine from France directly to our restaurants, offering wines you can’t find anywhere else in Mallorca!”
We asked Henri which one of the 3 restaurants is his favourite but he answered humbly; “to be honest I think that the three of them are my favourite but in a different way. Rikito because it was the first one, its kind of a home, Poupette because of the location and Mr Xiao because of the food, I love the food there. But I’m even more exited for the new one….”
Henri’s success is evident, now running a team of 45 staff member (which includes his mum!) it brings us great pleasure to see him doing so well. We cannot wait to see this success grow and flourish and continue enjoying his delicious food in Palma.
HENRI RECOMMENDS
- Pesto Pasta at Rikito
- Angry Birds at Mr Xiao
- Onion Soup at Cafe Poupette