A That's weekly series where we ask a Shanghai-based somebody to tell us 5 Things specific to their life. Head Chef of Tomatito, Alvaro ‘El Palanca’ Ramos is the maniacal culinary scientist behind Shanghai’s hottest new Tapas restaurant. Wiry, wild-bearded and covered in ink, we went in search of the stories behind the tattoos...
1. “I use it as my first chat up line for girls…”
At 18 years of age I got the ‘FUCK YOU’ ‘I LOVE YOU’ tattoos. My sister dared me to do it, so as you can guess - I went ahead and did it. I now use it as my first chat up line for girls. When I met my current girlfriend I couldn't speak any English and this is the first thing I showed her. I was giving her the option of choosing to love me or telling me to leave her alone…
All photos by Betty Richardson
2. “At the age of 14 I was sent to religious school to deal with my rebellious nature…”
This tattoo is a representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe, or the Virgin Mary, and is a play on my dislike for religion. Mary is represented by Barbie and the angel is represented by Ken. As you can see in the tattoo Barbie (or Mary) is stamping on Ken (the angel’s) head.
At the age of 14 I was sent to a religious school for three years to try to deal with my rebellious teenage nature. I was having a difficult time, with a very close friend of mine dying, as well as my grandmother, which sent me off the rails a bit.
The religious school was an attempt to put me back on course, which you could argue is what it did, as this was where I found my love for cooking. However, it also led to a dislike of the Catholic Faith and what it stands for, as I hated the school and my experience there.
3. “I was hospitalized for a week due to my allergy to chilies…”
This was my first tattoo in China. I started with the spicy chili. I chose this as I have an allergy to chilies; I was once admitted to hospital in Spain for a week due to it. In China the spicy food is constantly a problem for my stomach, but I can never say no because I actually really love spicy food! I extended this tattoo with a line of my other favorite vegetables that use as ingredients every day.
4. “Everyone I know will tell you how much I love Jaeger…”
In 2011 I went to look for work in Berlin, somewhere I had always wanted to go. On the first day I met up with a friend and we spent too much time deciding where to go. Of all the amazing bars a clubs in Berlin, on that first night we bought a bottle of Jaeger and stood in the doorway of a 7/11 store for hours: putting the world to rights.
I spent a month in Berlin and I have so many memories, but this is the first. From the home of Jaeger to now my favorite shot - everyone I know will tell you how much I love this liquor - I thought it was appropriate to remember this time somehow. So this is why I have my forearm tattooed with the Jaeger logo of the deer head!
5. “All I could think of was that I love chicken wings. And I love beer!”
You can ask my girlfriend about this one. When she asked me this year what my next tattoo would be, I was actually a bit stuck for choices. I had a long hard think about it and all I could think of was that I love chicken wings, the kind that I make with lemon juice salt. And I love beer!
Therefore, this tattoo would consist of chicken wings and beer - and so the flying beer was created! My girlfriend will also tell you I am terrible with names, so this artist - 'The Hawaiian Man' I call him - he only comes to shanghai once a year. I try to get a tattoo with him each time he is here.
Go on, a bonus one just because we can't get enough of this guy…
The Pac-Man was done by a friend who is a tattoo artist for my birthday. This is what I call a ‘cheeky tattoo’ - a small comical tattoo just for the hell of it. I had this done while I was working as a pastry chef. To keep the tattoo clean while I was in the kitchen I wore plastic gloves. The head chef would not allow this, so I had to use chemical alcohol to keep my hands clean, which in turn infected the tattoo. It became very sore and swollen for weeks.
And if you weren't already convinced he is a class-A nutter...
But don't be scared, he's a nice boy really. We think...
// Alvaro Ramos is the Head Chef of Tomatito. To read more from our 5 Things series, click here.
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