Tate Modern's Frida Menu: The Chef Spent 10 Days Retracing Paris and Mexico Before Daring to Write It
Tate Modern is staging a major Frida Kahlo exhibition, and KOL's chef Santiago Lastra didn't just whip up some exhibition-tie-in dishes—he treated the menu as part of the exhibit itself, rewriting her entire life through a full course of food.
When Tate Modern approached him, the brief was just one line: create a menu to accompany the Frida exhibition. Santiago Lastra didn't just take it at face value. "I wanted this menu to be part of the exhibition itself." The Mexican chef behind Michelin-starred KOL, a perennial fixture on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, decided he needed to truly understand Frida the person before deciding what to cook.
He first flew to Paris, a city Frida once lived in, and worked through her diaries and related books. Then he headed to Mexico, spending 10 days in total retracing the paths she once walked in life. The menu's early shape slowly took form over this journey.
Opening in late June 2026, "Frida: The Making of an Icon" brings together over 30 of Frida Kahlo's iconic works, alongside her personal belongings, photographs, jewelry, and more than 200 pieces from artists she influenced. The exhibition isn't just a retrospective—it explores how her identities as wife, intellectual, revolutionary, and fashion icon came together to form a global cultural phenomenon. The menu is served at the museum's 6th floor restaurant, running alongside the exhibition.
The starter is a ceviche made with thick, juicy heirloom tomatoes, served with house-baked tostada. A small brush with green sauce—made from cabbage—is brought to the table for guests to apply themselves. The motion resembles painting, which is exactly Lastra's intention. The main course, "Frida's Mole" (Frida's Mole – Short Rib Tamal), wraps traditional mole poblano sauce into a corn husk-steamed tamal. This dish draws from the favorite meal of Frida's husband, muralist Diego Rivera, one she often made for him. Dessert is a tri-color sorbet in red, green, and white, echoing the watermelon in Frida's late-life painting "Viva la Vida."
"She lived with constant physical pain, yet she never lost her love of life or her sense of humor—I wanted this dessert to capture that vitality from 'Viva la Vida,'" says Lastra.
Mexico has a tradition for Día de los Muertos where people prepare the favorite dishes of the deceased, welcoming them back for a reunion. Lastra's menu shares a similar starting point: if Frida really did return, would this be what she'd want to eat? "This is a tribute to this great Mexican artist, made from everything she loved."
The special menu runs from June 25 through August 31, available daily for lunch, and Friday and Saturday evenings only, with online reservations required. Price is £66, including exhibition admission; £41 for Tate members.
