British chef Tom Kerridge believes that the UK food scene at the moment is a phenomenal place to be in. That is not just due to the rich heritage that exists but also thanks to diversity that has emerged after 50 to 60 years of immigration from over the world which has created a wonderfully rich and eclectic mix of backgrounds and diversity in the food scene. "You can get a Michelin star for Chinese, Indian, curry houses, Japanese. All of these ingredients can become amalgamated or mixed together and could grow into our own food scene. We don’t do just roast beef and fish and chips although that is kind of what I do here at the Tom Kerridge Bar and Grill in the Corinthia London, but from a young chef’s point of view, British food is eclectic and rich and diverse so it gives room to all sorts of possibilities. We have no shackles. We are free to go wherever we want and that is exciting,” he said. In the UK, Tom is more than a household name. He rose to fame for his pub and comfort … [Read more...]
Diogenes the Dog: A wine bar in London that goes against the grain
With a laser focused vision Sunny Hodge is determined to shake up the London wine scene. He has set the bar high, wanting to turn a former pub in Elephant and Castle into one of London's top destination wine bars and after just a few weeks open he believes he is on the right track. The son of an Olympian and commonwealth games silver medalist and a graduate of Mechanical Engineering he has a contrarian vision just like Diognes, a Greek cynic who inspired the name of the wine bar. “I want Diogenes The Dog to be a place where people come to try something new and different and that they cannot try anywhere else, a place that will attract wine drinkers, wine suppliers, winemakers and that gives you a unique wine experience and a truly unique evening,” Sunny told Food and Wine Gazette when we met him at the newly opened wine bar and shop. His objective is to turn the spot he shaped with his own bare hands from a dodgy boozer in Elephant and Castle into one of the top 5 wine bars in … [Read more...]
‘London opening at the Corinthia is a big deal for me’ – Tom Kerridge
Tom Kerridge, the first ever chef to clinch two Michelin stars for pub food at his restaurant The Hand and Flowers in Marlow has opened his first restaurant in London at the Corinthia Hotel. In London, it has been considered as one of the hottest openings of the year. "It is a big deal for me personally. I know it is massive but it is not daunting because I worked in London for 10 years before I opened the Hand and Flowers in Marlow," the British chef told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview at Tom Kerridge Bar and Grill. Tom is a household name in the UK and beyond. He became popular not just for his two restaurants in Marlow but also because of his programmes on the BBC apart from having authored many cookbooks. Over the past years, he has inspired many for taking matters in hand when he turned 40, cutting alcohol competely and eliminating carbs from his diet losing 12 stones or 76 kilogrammes in weight in the process. "It is a city I know well, a city I am comfortable … [Read more...]
Conversations around food: Voices at the Table in London
On Monday 25 June, Voices At The Table founders Miranda York and Anna Sulan Masing will continue their exploration into the conversations around food with the 7th event of the series. Drawing together voices from the realms of literature, theatre, history and food, speakers will read or perform pieces of writing that evoke a visual, sensory and emotive connection to food, sitting among the audience and joining them for a special three-course meal prepared by legendary chef Henry Harris at his Clerkenwell Pub & Dining Rooms, The Coach in London. If you happen to be in London that evening, consider getting the tickets fast because these tend to sell within minutes for the previous events. Following the ethos of At The Table’s online editorial, print magazine, films and previous events, the Voices At The Table series celebrates British food culture in all its glorious variety. Finding a setting that shares the same philosophy is integral to the events. Having been a drinking … [Read more...]
COLLECTIVfood aims to revolutionise food supply to restaurants
Delivery of restaurant meals has been revolutionised through platforms like Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Now COLLECTIVfood aims to revolutionise the supply to restaurants connecting food producers directly with food producers cutting out the middleman and thus passing savings to both the customer and supplier. COLLECTIVfood Founder, Jeremy Hibbert-Garibaldi (great great grandson of Italian revolutionary General Garibaldi who helped to unify Italy), says “ the way that food is supplied into restaurants is old-fashioned, inefficient and ready for a revolution. We have built an easy-to-use procurement platform that directly connects restaurants and food producers and we are already seeing massive traction. It’s a win-win scenario.” One of their first restaurant customers, Notting Hill based rotisserie restaurant Cocotte , has seen huge benefits. “Through COLLECTIVfood we have a better quality chicken for a lower price, and since this is our primary ingredient it is significantly … [Read more...]
Monica Galetti to open her first restaurant: Mere
Monica Galetti, who rose to fame in the UK when she joined the BBC competitive cooking show, Masterchef - the Professionals as a judge, is to open a much awaited restaurant together with her husband David Galetti, a French sommelier. The couple's first restaurant is to be located at 74 Charlotte Street in London's Fitzrovia and will open in partnership with Westbury Street Holdings. The restaurant is a long-term personal dream of the Galettis and the emotion of that is captured in the name. Mere – pronounced Mary – pays homage, not only to the French for ‘mother’, but also to the Samoan for ‘Mary’, Monica’s mother’s name. “For many years, it’s been David’s and my dream to open a restaurant together. In Mere, we want to deliver a restaurant that’s relaxed and casual, but with no compromise on comfort, or the quality of the food and wines on offer. The kind of place we both like to visit and one that’s personal and welcoming.” Monica explains. A Samoan, Monica has a career as a … [Read more...]
The Gelinaz! band is back with another unique event
The Gelinaz! gang, a collective of chefs that was formed by Italian food journalist Andrea Petrini, is back with another unique event after the successful organisation of Gelinaz shuffle last year. 14 chefs will be teaming up in pairs in an event called Walk with Us London. The event, which has been a sell out, takes place on 28 February. The chefs will be randomly teamed-up. Each Gelinaz! chef-duo will create four dishes (two starters, a main-course and a dessert). They will interpret and remix two original four-course menus specially created for the event by Isaac Mchale of The Clove Club and James Lowe of Lyle's. The restaurant in which each chef-duo is placed will only be revealed on the evening of the event. The organisers have promised the service will be 'a little shaken-up'. "Expect the evening to be interrupted, to leave the premises and....Walk with Us!" Gelinaz have said. The organisers have said that because of the concept, they are unable to cater for dietary … [Read more...]
Hedone to close down and then reopen with no menu
This has been a week of big announcements in the restaurant world. René Redzepi, chef of Noma, announced he would be closing his award-winning restaurant Noma in December 2016 to reopen it as an urban farm. It might not have come as a surprise to those who follow this chef, but it still hit world headlines. A lot has been written but for those who want to know more you can read about it here. But there was also another surprise announcement about one of the most sought after restaurants in London, Hedone. Chef Mikael Jonsson announced he would be closing his restaurant for 10 days and will reopen it in a completely different format in October. The new Hedone will have no menu, will have just 22 covers instead of the current 40 and will be open for just six sittings every week. Jonsson, a lawyer by profession, is a self-trained chef who has risen to be one of the top stars of the international culinary scene over the past years. Some might consider this to be a PR gimmick … [Read more...]
Gordon Ramsay hated Noma but was nice about it – Redzepi on Reddit Q&A
Gordon Ramsay had visited Noma and hated it according to the award winning chef René Redzepi who was answering a question and answer session he organsied on Reddit called Ask Me Anything. "But he was nice about it," Redzepi said with a smiley. The AMA (as Ask Me Anything is called on Reddit) is full of incredible insights from one of the best chefs in the world. Here are some of the highlights, but if you are interested you might want to check out the whole session here. Redzepi is a chef from Denmark and the son of an Albanian Muslim immigrant and a Danish mother. He trained in many restaurants around the world before returning to Copenhagen and opening Noma in 2003. The restaurant celebrates the Nordic region's ingredients and aims to present a kind of cooking that expresses its location and the seasons, drawing on a local network of farmers, foragers and purveyors. Noma has held 2 Michelin stars since 2007 and was voted best Restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and … [Read more...]
Michel Roux Jr: Quality produce is core to my cooking
For many years, Michel Roux Jr was the face of one of the most popular culinary programmes on the BBC. Television, in particular Masterchef, was a significant part of his life but now he is focusing on other projects and on his restaurants. In Britain, the surname Roux is synonymous with the qualities of French haute cuisine. It all started with his father and uncle in 1967 who opened Le Gavroche. Since then, the restaurant has been a London institution marking a revolution of restaurants in London. An award-winning chef, Michel Roux is known for his deep respect for the classical foundations of French cooking. He loves simplicity and classic combinations. He now has three restaurants in London. Le Gavroche, which he took over in 1991 from his father, is classic French with a lighter modern twist and his two recent openings are Roux at Parliament Square and Roux at the Landau. A Frenchman in the UK. You have successfully followed in your father’s footsteps and not only, you … [Read more...]