A veritable Threesome of Inspiration

As we celebrate Independence Day I think back over the last couple of weeks, when I enjoyed vivid experiences from a trio of bright lights, young and not so young, each doing it differently to the status quo.

We will start with a new upstart who is challenging perceptions of classic food, then a not so new upstart showing an ancient style how to appeal to the young masses and finally a free spirit upstart breaking boundaries.

Where to start!

Let’s go chronologically, beginning with a last minute supper at Duende. By chance, I met the father of the owner, whom I used to look after in a previous life, at The Ivy. Amid reminiscing about the old days and speculating about potential TV shows (his world not mine), he proudly told me how his sons’ restaurant was doing. As I walked down to catch my train home I instead made a left by Charing Cross and nipped through the back streets to arrive at Maiden Lane and found the last free table. This is old news now given Giles Coren’s review on Saturday and I certainly didn’t ‘cane’ it as he did, but I definitely ended up enjoying the skill and brazen desire to do things differently.

Galician beef has become a cult hit here, thanks to Kitty Fishers and Lurra introducing us to this aged and deep flavoured meat. To have it sliced wafer thin and dressed with a truffled honey was certainly an event. One I look forward to repeating. The croquetas looked and felt familiar but chef Vic Garvey has filled his with aubergine and topped with a teeth sticking honey crystal-brittle. Great flavour and texture comparisons. I ended with fried oysters which were unlike the usual deep fried version. Here Vic added spinach and toasted almonds which took the dish to a different level.

Really fun, innovative and challenging food. We think we know tapas, don’t we? While there are some brilliant places which I adore, (Barrafina tops that list) but Victor is trying it in a different way.

It was to England’s second and goal-less Euro game that I ended up in the basement of Pizza East on Shoreditch.

I was meeting up with a football fan who was desperate to torture himself (and ultimately me) with another vintage display of how not to deal with pressure from the national team. Anyway, come half time, I dragged him upstairs to sit at the bar. It was heaving and I think I was the oldest person in the room. How the 50+ year old entrepreneur, Nick Jones has managed to create a millennial success story is fascinating. I am still not 100% on the pizza style but I am lucky enough to have tried the original from the brilliant Nancy Silverton at Pizzeria Mozza in LA. The genial Nick Jones apparently did the same and thought there was space in the overcrowded London pizza market for Nancy’s food style to flourish. Let us for the moment gloss over how he did it as there’s a degree of controversy there and merely focus on the result.

The menu has some real gems apart from the obvious pizza. There are two things I must order when I see them on any menu, razor clams being one (sweetbreads the other by the way). This dish was cleverly done using samphire, herbed breadcrumbs and bacon. There might have been only 1 clam in the dish but they presented it as if there were more, clever plating and dish design and great for the profit margin. I have to underline that I didn’t feel cheated at all, I am merely tipping my professional hat to a master at work.

Fried cauliflower is this season’s must have dish. The challenge is to balance how long to blanch it before frying, this one was a touch underdone but still, pretty close - go to Zelman Meats for a perfect version.

By this time the music was pumping although not enough to stop us talking comfortably. Our bartender was of course, young, bearded, short-sleeved highlighting his impressive tattoo collection and wearer of those ear rings that fill a large hole the lobe. Wearing a tie, pocket square and suit didn’t bother me, I’m just saying!

After a cracking rabbit dish, they had cooked it as a meatball although my picture above doesn’t do it justice; the pizzas came, the standout was the girolles and guanciale option with a soft-baked egg in the middle. It was at this point we realised the second half had started. We paid quickly and then took our plates and wine down to finish off in front of the big screen in the empty room.

It is fascinating how certain restaurants merely make it when others nail it. There is a soul to Pizza East. Yes, the tables and chairs are mis-matched, there’s a rocking soundtrack and the acoustics lead us to talk loudly but not so much that our ears bleed.

Yes, the menu hits the notes you want from a pizza joint but also it challenges enough to make it different. The service team are all young and having fun, they won’t call you sir or madam, equally they won’t try and become your friend. You can add this all together but you also need a sprinkle of magic, which is absolute belief in what you are doing.

I think we can all smell a roll-out these days, and while I have nothing against restaurateurs making money, one can always tell which are driven purely by the money and not by belief in their concept.

To finish, I went to deepest, brightest….Peckham.

To the Peckham Manor to be precise. The working home of my former colleague, Ronnie Murray and his incredibly supportive wife, Lianne.

Ronnie has like me, recently left the secure world of employment to begin his solo journey. You will soon see him on a certain well known TV show and I am hoping that soon after he will grab the chance to have his own; he’s certainly got a unique style that sets him apart from the current field.

We were guests at the first Pea Off Supper Club. A celebration of all things green and round, there will be others with different themes but we were guinea pigs for the upcoming 2 nights Ronnie was about to host.

The pea and tonic (pea infused Holy Grass vodka) mixed by the talented Dustin (another former colleague) and a tour of the kitchen garden from Lianne, started a fascinating and fun evening. As I tried to ignore the camera crew, we were treated to pea canapes, pea and coconut soup and a variety of vivid coloured and flavoured dishes. Who’d have thought pea and chocolate would work? Well boy does it! I can still remember the taste as I sit writing this, days later.

So, what a threesome, upstarts all and challenging what we think about what we think we know. See you soon.