Issue 4 Autumn 2015
Q u a r t e r l y The eyes & ears of the hospitality industry Guillaume Siard and Michael Hazlewood | David Collins Studio | Networking | The art of the maitre d’ | Destination CODE: Copenhagen
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The tipping point Welcome to Issue 4 of the CODE Quarterly. The Quarterly has had a little redesign over the summer and I hope you enjoy the new look. The column inches on the industry have been dominated over the past couple of months by the recruitment issue we are in the midst of and the issue over tipping. The tipping scenario is not a straightforward one but I do feel there needs to be more transparency around the matter for customers as well as a law passed by government as to how tips are dealt with by operators. However, the recruitment issue is one that I think about far more often and until our industry is looked at properly by schools, colleges and universities as a viable career path then we’re going struggle to attract talent. While we were adding the final touches to this issue, the UK Michelin Guide was tweeting its 2016 results a day ahead of schedule. No doubt kitchens across the country paused for two minutes to see who had been awarded what. Although I’m not overly enamoured by the annual announcement it is refreshing to see restaurants such as Portland and Lyle’s being awarded a star. I think it’s safe to say that five years ago, these restaurants would probably not have even existed in London, no matter receive a Michelin star. This year, David Collins Studio celebrates its 30th anniversary. The studio has designed some of the most iconic restaurants in London over the years from La Tante Claire to The Wolseley. I take a look back at its history and how it all started (p.6). CODE’s Callum Edge went to visit Guillaume Siard
and Michael Hazlewood at Antidote in Soho for this issue’s CODE in conversation with… (p.5) and he also takes a look at how restaurants must keep up with the times in the ever-changing dining arena (p.13). At CODE, we’ve long tried to champion the hospitality community encouraging people to socialise, network and share their views and opinions. The issue of mentoring is something that I’m also very passionate about and believe more people need access to mentors. In her regular column for the Quarterly, Anna Sulan Masing looks at these issues and the need for a place to allow skills and knowledge to be exchanged (p.9). We also have features looking at the issue of physical and mental well-being in the hospitality industry (p.12) as well as the art of being a maitre d’ (p.15). Finally, this issue’s CODE Destination is Copenhagen (p.18). As ever, questions and comments can be sent to me at: adam@code-london.co.uk
Adam Hyman Founder, CODE @AdamMHyman
CONTENTS
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09 12 13 15 16 17 18
Design Original Design House
Contributors Michael Daw Callum Edge Anna Sulan Masing Andrew Pennycuick Daniel Reynolds
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Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
Editor Adam Hyman
CODE in conversation with: Guillaume Siard and Michael Hazlewood Designer dining: celebrating 30 years of David Collins Studio Casting a net: working for change Doctors hors d’oeuvres Loose change The art of the maitre d’ Are you being served? Guess the restaurant loo Destination CODE: Copenhagen
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CODE in conversation with... Guillaume Siard and Michael Hazlewood, Antidote
chefs interested, he acknowledges “it’s a tough thing to do during a difficult service, so we make sure that we change the menu as much as possible”, both for the benefit of the customer and the development of the staff.
CODE’s Callum Edge caught up with Guillaume Siard, General Manager, and Michael Hazlewood, Head Chef, to find out more about their approach that sets them apart from the Soho pack. There is something to be said about finding your niche by appearing to go exactly in the opposite direction to the status quo. Among a scene that is getting more casual, Antidote seemingly sets out to provide a tonic to the plethora of burgers, buns, brisket and balls now in vogue. Antidote, in an industry for which ‘destination’ has become a dirty word, manifests as what is now a dying-breed: one of the last true independent restaurants in Soho. It is the dedication of Guillaume Siard and Michael Hazlewood which prove that such destinations are worth protecting. It began with the bread. Swooned over as “the best that can be found”, “near perfect”, and “stellar”; it didn’t take long for the connection to be made. It is no longer a secret that Hedone’s Mikael Jonsson consults for Antidote; a partnership Hazlewood (“Hazle” to his colleagues) says allows for both experimentation and personal mentoring, but above all “access to some of the best produce in London”. Jonsonn’s fondness for minimalism and offal is evidently borrowed in the cooking here, although Hazlewood’s own food is quietly self-assured in its clarity and sense of direction, and the menu, he believes, provides “accessibility” for everyone. The softly-spoken and unassuming Hazlewood comes from toast.E.D in Dulwich, with a stint at Melbourne’s Attica under his belt, and a stage working for Jonsson at Hedone. He is also adamant that wine is a very equal partner to the food (“it can make or break a meal”) and his CV reflects it with experience at wineries in Australia and Italy for two seasons and by citing some of the regions’ top producers as friends. Siard beams recalling how many times he has descended the kitchen stairs to offer his head chef “a taste of this or that”, only to be astounded by his palate and viticultural knowledge. Hazlewood also has his finger close to the pulse when asked the solution to dealing with the current skills shortage in London’s kitchens: “we treat people well and provide a family-style working environment”, offering an ear for advice and a leg-up for support. Whilst shuffling the sections keeps
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Looking after the front of house is Siard, whose extensive wine list reflects some of the very best biodynamic and organic producers, largely from France, but also with a smattering from the New World. Bottles sold at retail prices on Monday evenings “attract a strong industry crowd” in the upstairs dining-room, with sommeliers spotted from the likes of Fera and Hibiscus getting their chops round one of London’s most forward-thinking cellars. Yet it is Siard’s generous, but most of all genuine hospitality that has assured the success of this site over the past fourteen years. Those in the know will be aware that Antidote formerly operated under the name La Trouvaille (or “lucky find”), a small bistro taking a more modern approach to French classics. Whilst an extensive refurbishment and a change in partnership has seen the restaurant become something very different to what was imagined in 2001, Siard still champions quality and affordable dining. Recently blessed by both Fay Maschler and Marina O’Loughlin, Antidote embodies ‘destination’ in every positive sense of the word: it is worth its locality, but also a journey – and is a lot more than its former namesake. Both Hazlewood and Siard possess a passion and dedication to their field that anyone seriously considering a career in restaurants would be incredibly fortunate to benefit from. They have, what Danny Meyer calls, the “excellence reflex” – a natural reaction to improving something that isn’t quite right. As lunch comes to a close this gets me thinking that, whilst being the hub of culinary fireworks (and dare I say queueing) it is, Soho would be a sadder place without these people in such restaurants. What may incorrectly appear as an unwillingness to change is in fact a well-reasoned response to what is going on around them: the ability to nurture a loyal team; an understanding of what it is to be hospitable; and a firm belief in their unique product – things to me, at least, that seem wholly worthy of support.
Callum Edge @EdgeAndSpoon
David Collins (Image credit: Faubel & Christensen)
Designer dining: celebrating 30 years of David Collins Studio
CODE’s Adam Hyman looks back over the history of David Collins Studio and the late designer’s lasting legacy on the London restaurant industry. La Tante Claire, 68 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea SW3 4HP. This was the first restaurant that David Collins ever designed. The site - which is now home to the three Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay - was opened by Pierre Koffmann and his first wife Annie in 1977. The French chef had spotted a house in Harpers and Queens that had been designed by Collins and so contacted him to ask him to design La Tante Claire. The rest, as they say, is history.
La Tante Claire (Image credit: David Collins Studio)
Piccadilly to show their respect. Two years on following Collins’s death, the design studio is celebrating its 30th anniversary. “David very much wanted the business to continue”, says Iain Watson, managing director of David Collins Studio (DCS). “Due to the size and nature of the business, there was a succession plan in place. We were just not expecting to have to implement it when we did.” Watson was left in control of the business, along with the studio’s creative director, Simon Rawlings, communications director David Kendall and design director, Lewis Taylor. Watson explains that “people would often assume that David was off travelling around the world and ask if we ever saw him. If he was in London, he was in the office. He was very hands on with the business. He loved London. He was incredibly cultured. He had a passion for fashion, art, jewellery and he’d often attend two or three events a night when he was in town.” With the studio in safe hands, their pipeline of business looks just as strong as the ones they have worked on with projects for Harrods and hotels in Melbourne and Qatar to name but a few. “Our future at the studio is about working with the right client. It’s all about quality. We do a lot of work overseas now as well as the UK”, muses Watson. Looking through the list of all the hotels, restaurants and bars that DCS has designed since 1985 reads is nothing short of impressive. Familiar names such as The Connaught, Bob Bob Ricard and Brasserie Zédel dominate the latter part of the timeline but it’s only when you start to look further back at the beginning of his career in London in the late 80’s that you start to realise just how many iconic restaurants the Dublin-born architect and designer had worked on.
Harveys (Image credit: David Collins Studio)
Many working in the world of hospitality and luxury fashion will be familiar with Collins and his work. Whether it’s Claridge’s bar, LimeWood hotel or Alexander McQueen’s stores worldwide. I bumped into Pierre Koffmann at the time of writing this piece at Russell Norman’s launch of his Spuntino book. He recalls working with Collins, who also designed La Tante Claire when it moved to the Berkeley hotel in 1998. “He could be difficult to work with as he always had very set ideas on things but I guess that’s why he was so good at what he did. However, he was not a foodie.” In July 2013, Collins suddenly passed away after a short illness. The news shocked the restaurant world, those who had worked with him and those of us who just enjoyed sitting in the dining rooms he had created. On Thursday 23 January 2014, The Wolseley hosted a tribute for Collins, a decade after he had designed the restaurant with Jeremy King and Chris Corbin. Tom Ford, Vogue’s Hamish Bowles and Mario Testino were just some of the names that came to 169
-6The Wolseley (Image credit: David Loftus)
DCS Management Team (Image credit: Marius Hansen) L to R: Lewis Taylor, Simon Rawlings, Iain Watson, David Kendall
A couple of years after Collins had designed La Tante Claire he received a phone call from a young chef opening a restaurant on Wandsworth Common. That chef was Marco Pierre White who had admired the interiors at Koffmann’s restaurant and so instructed Collins to do the refurbishment of Harveys in 1998, a year after he and Nigel Platts-Martin had opened it. There’s a story that when Pierre White was asked who designed the restaurant he said, ‘some chap called David Collins who has probably gone bust now.’ Collins went on to design The Oak Room, The Canteen, The Criterion, Mirabelle and Quo Vadis for Pierre White. “La Tante Claire and Harveys were very influential to David’s career”, notes Watson. “Harveys was very different in aesthetic with more period features.” A relationship that is probably one of the most recognised in the London hospitality industry was that of Collins and Corbin & King. Their first project they worked together on was J Sheekey - the famous theatre land restaurant that Corbin & King put back on the culinary map. Today the room remains timeless. It’s a tribute to the three of them how the room has stood the stand of time. I ask Watson about his first restaurant project and what it was like designing such a place. “J Sheekey was 100 years old and Jeremy and Chris had just bought it. At that time in the industry there were lots of big restaurants opening in London like Quaglino’s. The restaurant is made up of five small rooms and rather than make them into one big space, David suggested keeping the space as it was.” “It was the first time Edelman leather from America had been used for leather banquettes in a restaurant and the hand blown glass lamp shades were inspired by shells. Collins went on to design The Wolseley, The Delaunay, Brasserie Zédel and Colbert with Corbin & King.
But for Collins his vision stretched beyond the leather booths and antique gilded mirrors of the top-end London restaurants. Although not widely written about, Collins worked on a number of high street restaurants, both on the design and concept. He was very influential in the expansion of Café Rouge and worked with the group until 1999. Karen Jones, who co-founded the group of restaurants with Roger Myers in 1989, approached Collins about the project. They’d developed a prototype site on Kensington Park Road in Notting Hill. At the time, there was nothing like Café Rouge London had never seen an all-day offering. Dining at that time in the capital meant strict lunch and dinner hours at restaurants. If it worked, Jones had plans to open sites nationwide and she was keen to get Collins on board. “We were working out David’s flat in Earl’s Court when Jones approached us about Café Rouge. If we were to work on the project we need to move to proper studio so we took some space in Chelsea Wharf. We ended up working on around 150 Café Rouge sites”, explains Watson. Collins’s work has also been experienced by most Londoners going about their day to day lives, even if they don’t realise it. Pret A Manger founder, Julian Metcalfe, was good friends with Collins and contacted him about the evolution of the business’s interiors and branding in order to update it before a global roll out. David Collins Studio were influential in the lower level grab and go elements of the famous sandwich chain and designed their first pilot site on Mayfair’s Conduit Street. Before Pret a Manger, the Studio also worked with EAT founders Neil and Faith McArthur on their pilot store on Villiers Street by Embankment. DCS ended up designing around fifty of their stores. I never had the privilege to meet David Collins. I remember visiting the Delaunay during its guinea pig trials and seeing an exquisitely dressed (in navy, naturally), strawberry blonde man with chunky eyewear gracefully hanging from a ladder adjusting one of the spotlights. It was only later that I learnt that this was David Collins. I’ll never forgot that moment I witnessed - seeing an artist add the final touches to his masterpiece. Every time I walk into the Delaunay I always look at that spotlight. Adam Hyman @AdamMHyman
To celebrate David Collins Studio’s 30th anniversary and forthcoming projects, there is an exhibition at Phillips in London from 22 -23 October.
J Sheekey (Image credit: David Collins Studio)
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Casting a net: working for change Anna Sulan Masing gives thought to the lack of networking in the hospitality industry, suggesting that there is a need for a place to allow skills and knowledge to be exchanged between peers and mentors.
have to inform the restaurant before arriving, the serving staff know you are in the industry. Therefore waiters, when dining at other restaurants, speak to other FOH and share stories, such as how they as individuals are coping with the current bank holiday/summer/Christmas season. Those conversations made these waiters feel like they were part of something; a bigger picture; an industry that is exciting to be part of. Making connections gives a sense of belonging – feeling like you belong is feeling valued.
We are living in a ‘networked world’, a virtual hive of activity. But ‘networking’ is a dirty word. It fills people’s minds with images of bad suits, hotel function rooms, name badges and fake smiles. It’s a whiff of the car salesman and the entrepreneurial, motivational speaker’s attitude to sell yourself - a foreign idea to the self-deprecating Brit, a remote concept to the hospitality world.
I spoke to Rachel Rojas (Gaucho) about ways to develop networks for front of house, and why those networks haven't developed in comparison to the back of house, which are beginning to grow. She suggested that one reason, a real and valid concern due to staff shortage, is that some senior managers in the industry may not be encouraging staff to build networks as they fear it could lead to departures. Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, suggests we look at the employer and employees relationship as an alliance - good staff are likely to recommend other good people, people leaving on good terms may return in the future and to be up front that you will leave one day, but have much to offer and in learn in the mean time. So these are relationships that are based on mutual trust, investment and therefore benefit. In relation to that, Alice’s points illustrate the idea that people are motivated by wanting to be good at their jobs, and aren’t on the look out just for greener pastures.
The Oxford Dictionary defines a network as ‘a group of people who exchange information’. But is it more than that? Can a network be more personal, offer depth and even a sense of belonging? How do you develop them within an industry, such as hospitality, which involves long, unsociable hours? Can we be inspired by how other industries use networks? We develop relationships and networks naturally, but do we need to formalise our efforts to build on our networks to grow an industry, and should we be encouraging each other to be actively ‘networking’? The familiar relationship of a mentor is part of a successful network, and one-to-one mentorships have always be prevalent within the hospitality industry - with talented young chefs being referred to as ‘protégée’. This relationship is an important part of anyone’s professional life, finding someone who you can trust to push and to offer advice. Finding someone like this is hard and for a young person within any industry a significant part of the effort is having the confidence to seek out a mentor.
Elizabeth Allen (Pidgin) spoke to me about how she understands that her team want to develop and learn, which will eventually lead to them leaving. She wants to be part of, and to help facilitate, them getting what they need. This creates a dynamic and collaborative working environment. Elizabeth actively encourages her team to be on social media. Social media not only offers her ways to connect with people in the industry, it is also a space to listen and see how others are navigating certain aspects of their career. It doesn’t necessitate engagement to learn and benefit from. Elizabeth emphasised how much her own mentors, who encouraged her to meet new challenges, have influenced her.
Chefs of Tomorrow (Image credit: Ming Tang-Evans)
Mentor relationships work well when developed alongside broader networks, because a network can include peers. Natalie Kane, project manager for e-commerce start-ups, said her professional network is a place that gives her context of where she is in her career, a place where she and her peers can be reflective and supportive to each other. In August, Dan Doherty (Duck & Waffle) spoke on Twitter about a young chef being scarred by a previous workplace, with Neil Rankin (Smokehouse) suggesting that “half the battle is teaching head chefs proper management skills”. Being in leadership roles can be lonely places; and so, can a robust and meaningful network with your peers provide a space to develop such skills and exchange knowledge? Within the restaurant industry it is easier to see how mentorship and networks can be developed with chefs, structures like stages ingrain an idea of moving, learning, connecting - and indeed a lot of good things are happening. Bloodshot at The Diary is a place for chefs to cook for each other, plus charity dinners like Too Many Chefs offer places for connections and relationships to develop. Competitions or projects like Chefs of Tomorrow provide spaces for younger chefs to meet, and the new Chef Database is a place where restaurants and chefs can engage with each other.
Other waiters echoed these sentiments and most wanted to have more opportunities and ways to connect across the industry. One of the outcomes of the CODE app is that it has sparked conversations; because you often -9-
It has been interesting to see how people view networks and understand them in a broad sense. It is clear that a number of people have really benefitted from having comprehensive networks and mentors that have then worked as robust support systems. It feels like networks and spaces to engage with each other are growing, and that we are getting more and more comfortable with the idea of networks. But within any industry it is important to encourage those early in their careers to keep developing so that the industry grows. It seems that those younger members of the hospitality industry are crying out to be pushed and want to be encouraged, and also be taught more about how to develop networks. Maybe we need to stop sneering at the car salesman and take a leaf out of the flashy entrepreneurs handbook, and bravely put ourselves out there to gather like-minded people around us, ask for help, and encourage each other to build on what we’ve got.
Anna Sulan Masing @AnnaSulan
Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
But how do networks work in front of house? Head waiter Alice Donghi (Duck & Waffle) spoke to me about how important mentors have been in giving her confidence and how making the effort to nurture relationships with past colleagues offers opportunity to “talk freely and seek advice”, as speaking to managers can feel pressured. She also emphasised that if there was a more formal network for front of house she would definitely utilise it: “being a waitress is tough and having someone on your side would be stimulating, and definitely worth it.” Alice also said that weekly meetings are vital in establishing the networks and relationships between current staff.
I asked Lee Westcott (Typing Room) what made him love cooking and what made him stay in the kitchen in those early, tough years. He said that it “gave me a team”. A kitchen offers a very structured and specific team dynamic, and I think a good network is exactly that too - it’s an extended team and a support system.
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Doctors hors d’oeuvres Andrew Pennycuick looks at the ways in which hospitality professionals are increasingly maintaining their mental and physical wellbeing. It has been said that working in the hospitality industry is terrible for your health. There is a degree of truth to the concept of a chef ’s breakfast - an espresso and a Marlboro red - once having been the norm, but it is less so today. Although it is a challenge to look after your health in the hospitality industry, it is not an insurmountable one. Increasingly, restaurants are looking out for the health of their staff, and hospitality professionals are doing more to look after themselves. There is no doubt that it is harder to stay fit and healthy while working in hospitality than it is in other industries. For a start, the work is physically demanding on the body. Any restaurant worker will testify that a long shift can be torture on the feet and crippling for your back. For the brave among you, a Google search of “chef ’s arse” will reveal another example of the collateral damage that can come from working in a restaurant. Not only is the work physical, but the average working day is longer in hospitality, and the working hours do not fit the standard 9 to 5. Try finding a gym open at 1am. Fitting-in exercise around demanding working hours is no picnic. Furthermore, maintaining a balanced diet can be equally troublesome. As any chef will tell you, the concept of three meals a day does not translate into the kitchen, as they taste throughout the day. Just as it can be difficult to exercise after work, it can be just as hard to find a healthy meal at the end of a shift. When finishing late in the evening, the only places left open to grab a bite to eat tend to be catering for those finishing a drinking session and wanting a kebab. Staff meals are an interesting area when it comes to healthy eating. They are a central part of a restaurant’s daily rhythm and lots of kitchens make a real effort to provide a balanced meal for their team, although this is not always the case. As any nutritionist will tell you protein is key to a balanced diet, yet as any chef will tell you protein doesn’t come cheap – therefore staff food often lacks the necessary nutritional balance. Staff food tends to be a ‘like it or lump it’ meal – and if you work in a restaurant that does not provide balanced staff food it is extremely hard and costly to find an alternative. Staff meals are critical to morale in any restaurant – the obvious problem with this is that most food that raises morale also raises blood pressure. The challenge of staying healthy while working in hospitality is complicated by the need to be physically fit to meet the demands of the work. Working on the floor and in the kitchen requires remarkable stamina, often with little sleep. If anything, the physical toll of the occupation makes it even more important to eat well and keep fit. So how do hospitality professionals deal with this challenge? Whereas in years gone by hospitality professionals might not have been the healthiest individuals, this is no longer the case. There are countless examples of industry workers performing remarkable fitness feats and it is clear that many are meeting the challenge head on.
Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
Within the industry there exists an elite group of the ultra fit, spearheaded by Alan Murchison, owner of La Bécasse in Ludlow. Murchison has translated his success in the kitchen into triathlon competitions and is a multiple European and World AG Duathlon champion. In the same ilk, Gordon Ramsay is now competing in Ironman triathlons. Those inclined can even join Gordon’s GR100 team to help raise money for charity.
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The notion of an ultra-fit chef at first appears a curious one – at odds with the colloquial conception of ‘never trust a skinny chef ’. However, on pausing for thought the link makes perfect sense. It is the nature of these individuals as high achieving perfectionists to seek elite results – whether that be Michelin stars or Iron Man medals. In the same way, one might imagine that if an elite athlete turned their mind to being a good cook they too could achieve professional results. There also exists a particular affinity between Michelin stars and marathon running. Michel Roux of Le Gavroche is a veteran of more than 20 races and even penned ‘The Marathon Chef ’ cookbook for runners with a penchant for good food. Every Easter a brigade of top chefs line up to run the London Marathon with Phil Howard and Gordon Ramsay running it every year. The organisers of the Jersey Marathon have taken note – every year the ‘Hospitality Cup’ goes to the first hospitality professional over the line. Away from exercise, there is also a clear movement towards healthier eating within the hospitality community. CODE’s ‘Staff Only’ series has chronicled the staff food served across the capital, and a recurrent theme throughout is that restaurants are making a real effort to provide a balanced meal. For instance Martin Morales, founder of Ceviche and Andina, strives to provide a healthy diet for his staff focussing on Andean superfoods and Peruvian ingredients. It is clear that the industry as a whole is certainly getting healthier and that the particular challenges that face hospitality professionals in this regard can be overcome. In all walks of life there are those that give a damn about their health and those that don’t – but as society as a whole has started to pay more attention to healthy lifestyle choices this trend has permeated the industry. It is important that restaurants continue to take note and make it easier for their staff to lead healthy lifestyles. This can only further the industry wide effort to market hospitality as a worthy career choice – even helping to ease the current recruitment crisis as a result by changing the industry’s image. It is also easy to lose sight of another, often neglected element in this area - mental health. A lot of good work has been done recently, for example Hospitality Action’s ‘It Could Happen To You’ campaign, which depicted Jason Atherton as struggling with addiction and Ashley Palmer-Watts suffering from depression. However, a lot more needs to be done to tackle what is a real problem within the industry and this vital element to health cannot be ignored. Just as hospitality professionals begin to pay more attention to exercise and diet, so too must attention be paid to mental health.
Andrew Pennycuick @andypennycuick
Loose change CODE’s Callum Edge discusses how restaurants are to stay alive in the ever-changing dining arena. Change is in the air. With the closure in January of the late, great, and oft-lamented Racine, onlookers were stunned to be told that Henry Harris reluctantly shut up shop simply because he “didn’t have the regulars come in like they used to”. Undoubtedly, the London eating scene is changing beyond recognition, but why is this? Here we take a look at how restaurateurs are honing their offerings for a more discerning, adaptable, and – perhaps surprisingly – altruistic consumer. Location, location, re-location is on everyone lips right now as restaurants old and new set their sites on alternative premises around town. The outrageously popular steamed bun specialist Bao emerged as street food vendor in far E8’s Netil Market, but has now found a more permanent central Soho home, suggesting that, whilst some are willing to travel, most of us are more than happy to queue. And the thought behind Chutney Mary’s much-trumpeted and very successful move from Chelsea to St James’s seems to have worked for the same reason as The Ivy Chelsea Garden has, each now pitching to a better-suited customer relative to the site. Equally, trend has also emerged in the sorts of property that appeals to those who provide quality dining. Although most eating has historically occurred in standalone restaurants, more spaces have begun to be dedicated to food in retail stores, shopping centres, and even airports, and any previous stigma from such environments has long gone. Indeed, the potential for brand collaboration is now a very real one, especially when the preference for casual dining is on the rise, with restaurants moving towards informed but informal service. You can’t get more casual than eating at home on the sofa, which has been the next logical step taken by restaurants to adapt to the consumer’s needs. Presumably following on from the success of the sorts of Deliveroo, apps such as Supper have enhanced the takeaway market by delivering food from some of the capital’s most exclusive restaurants. Whilst they charge a premium price to boot, the service promises Michelin-quality dishes to the door, with the likes of Benares, Bar Boulud, and Randall & Aubin already offering their wares through the smartphone app.
to encourage longevity and attract talent. Unsurprisingly, research shows that consumers feel much happier dining somewhere they know treats their staff well. And with wunder chefs David Chang and René Redzepi urging some of the world’s best restaurants to embrace their light (“empathetic and compassionate”) sides, we can surely expect this to be only the start of a wider revolution. Perhaps no other topic has grasped the public’s interest so much of late than the issue of tipping. Following reports that a large number of restaurant chains were holding back some or all of the tips meant for their staff, the public overwhelming responded in support of protests and heeded urges to boycott. But this isn’t the only area in which the consumer has shown its compassion: there has been formidable public backing for Chicken Town, a not-for-profit community project that aims to tackle child obesity, with monies raised going to fund daytime meals for local young people. Comparably, charitable causes backed by Pidgin, The Drapers Arms, and Hawksmoor have seen diners giving a little more than they normally might. The swift closing of a number of new high-profile restaurants recently raises questions about the amount of groundwork being undertaken by owners pre-opening. The examples listed above suggest that restaurants these days have to be far more than just places to eat, but have to adapt to the times. Location would appear to be as important as ever in engaging the appropriate clientele, but as is relating to the customers’ sense of social and environmental awareness and tuning-in with modern technology. When Racine shut, Harris reflected that “one of the greatest mistakes that people can make is to soldier on”, a sentiment recently echoed by Koya’s John Devitt: “There is something really lovely about closing at its peak, when it’s been a wonderful thing, people will cherish it.” This is pertinent advice amid the current boom of restaurant openings that London is witnessing today – both to the old and the new. Although it is always sad to see somewhere go, change should not be feared, but embraced. The best people in hospitality will always have a future, Harris noting that, by selling, it gives him money “to do it all over again”. The king is dead. Long live the king.
At the other end of such extravagance, SILO in Brighton has recognised the plight of the modern environmental footprint and has set out to make the inedible edible with its focus on producing dishes out of ingredients that would, more often than not, be thrown away. Not only does this make ecological, as well as financial sense, cooking with lesser-desired products seems to generate some creative drive among chefs and is something that demands a certain skill. Tapping into its locally greener customer-base, SILO even allows diners to exchange their own waste from home for meals through its loyalty card scheme. Responding to the call that the hours are long, the pay low, and a worklife balance impossible, restaurateurs have set their sights on improving working conditions. This can be seen (among many examples) in Corbin & King’s establishing of a scheme to encourage experienced mothers back to work, as well as Sat Bains’ team switching to a four-day week in order
Callum Edge @edgeandspoon
Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
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@GalvaninaUK
The art of the maitre d’ THE 10 COMMANDMENTS TO BEING A GOOD MAITRE D’
CODE’s Adam Hyman meets with Ruth Tulip of Maitre 3 to discuss the art of the maitre d’ and the ten tips to being the best master of the house.
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Embrace the first five minutes – it’s all you have. Get it right and you make a regular.
The maître d’: The first to greet you, the last to say farewell; the ‘master of the house’ is at the helm of the dining room. There’s a real art to managing the dining experience. It requires an excellent memory, superior diplomacy, and an ability to manage both kitchen and restaurant: the ultimate connector between guests, staff, and food.
Read Campaign magazine.
Regrettably it’s also an art that is dying. Ruth Tulip has worked as a maitre d’ in some of the best restaurants in London. Tulip says, “I was taught everything I know by John Andrews of J Sheekey, and taught just who I needed to know by Mitchell Everard of The Wolseley.”
Know your room. Knowledge is power.
Not only does she maintain that she owes her career to these two, but she feels she has a duty to keep the art of what has been handed-down to her alive. By way of handing on the art she has acquired, Tulip now runs Maitre 3, a consultancy run by three maitre d’s with over twenty years experience among them.
Take risks.
Here Tulip offers the top ten attributes a maitre d’ should have.
See the dining room as a blank canvas. Be creative.
Adam Hyman @AdamMHyman
Use the waiting list.
Embrace diversity. Your room should reflect the society we live in.
Have humility.
Go live with your allocation – never put ‘suits’ in the centre of the room.
Kill the ‘back up, back down’ guest with kindness.
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Are you being served? In association with The Dumbwaiter
Jasmin Natterer Sommelier, Sager + Wilde
The Dumbwaiter thinks that the thousands of servers in London’s restaurants deserve recognition for their outstanding drive and passion. In each issue of the Quarterly we feature two people who have stood out over the past three months.
Who inspires you? Not a single person exactly, but I’m addicted to making people feel at ease in the hospitality setting – something that I grew up with at home. I suppose I’m both inspired and fascinated by the ritual of dining. When I worked at Quay in Sydney, the sommelier noticed I took an interest and really encouraged my wine development. Why did you go into hospitality? I started the same way most people do: paying my way through university. I was studying English literature and became to realise how much I enjoyed both learning about and sharing wine knowledge. Hospitality was the perfect outlet; the combination of people, dining, and language sat well. What makes a good sommelier? Knowledge, humility, talent, drive, and intuition. Every wine is a living, breathing entity and it takes a good sommelier to translate that. Restaurant pet-hate? Not listening (or not intuiting) the guest, as well as over-working a table. People that know their stuff have nothing to prove. Best place for a glass of wine? My background has been working with natural and biodynamic wines, so I am drawn to those places with a similar offering. Brawn down the road is excellent, as is P. Franco in Hackney.
Tate Merlo Waiter, Granger & Co. Who inspires you? My dad – he lives such a positive and healthy lifestyle, and embodies everything I want to be when I reach his age. He’s such an inspiration.
Sager + Wilde 193 Hackney Road E2 8JL sagerandwilde.com
Why did you go into hospitality? I previously worked in the retail sector and I love the face-to-face relationship that it demands, and so hospitality seemed a natural progression. I previously worked at Chocolate Shop in Australia and this is probably my seventh or eighth job in restaurants. If you weren’t in the industry what would you be? I have studied geography in the past and can see a future in. Equally, I’ve always dreamed of doing something in the music industry: it’s something I’d love to get into. What I do after this is something I’d need to sit down and really think about! What makes a good waiter? A smile and a good attitude. Without these two simple things you can bring down the customer and really spoil their experience. Being genuine is also very important.
Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
Any thoughts on recruitment? Sometimes we forget that London, the mecca that it is, is exceptionally lucky to be such an international city: people will always come here to work. It is always going to be fast-paced and exciting place and will encourage people around the world to be a part of the industry here.
Restaurant pet-hate? From customers, I really hate it when they click for attention. Things have moved on a lot since that used to happen. When I’m eating out, a bad attitude from the waiter is always such a disappointment. If you don’t give customers the time of day, how can you expect them to return? Best place for a post-service bite to eat? Kopapa in Covent Garden is always great for a weekend brunch and dinner, but if I need a pick-me-up, I go to Mouse Tail on Whitechapel Road, which serves amazing coffee.
Granger & Co. King’s Cross Unit 1, Stanley Bulding, 7 Pancras Square N1C 4AG grangerandco.com -16-
Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
-17Left to right: Sketch | Hawksmoor Spitalfields | Social Eating House | Nopi | St John Bread and Wine | Cosme (NYC) | Blixen | Modern Pantry (Finsbury Sqaure) | Aqua Shard
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Destination CODE: Copenhagen In association with CODE Travel Guides
Michael Daw visits the Danish capital and discovers there’s more to the city than Noma. It’s rare that summer holidays are taken in wetter and colder climates than London, but this year I headed to the food destination that beckons gourmands and jazz lovers alike. Copenhagen is not only the home of thrilling crime drama and bicycles, but to a whole host of exciting restaurants, brasseries, cafes and bars that are sure to get those thinking of a short break away excited. It’s the culinary prowess that takes us to Denmark. Copenhagen is an intimate place, one could cycle around it in just a few hours. However, tucked away in its side streets are a large collection of some of Europe’s best restaurants and a very chilled-out dining scene. We start our journey by taking the quaint Metro to Nørreport. Our first stop is a charming little tavern on the Nørre Voldgade. The place immediately captures my imagination. There are timber beams bulging and creaking on both ceiling and floor, elderly men drinking warm dark beer around small fires whilst charming, typically Scandinavian blonde-haired blue-eyed waitresses serve them. It’s as if we’ve surreptitiously sauntered into an old English pub. It does make me think of the pubs we have in London. I felt this place tried to just exist with nothing fancy or stylish. London can get so caught up in itself that even attempts at a simple, honest pub can go horribly wrong. They’d run out of the traditional little Smørrebrød or ‘open sandwiches’, so we decide to eat elsewhere.
Issue 4 | Autumn 2015 | code-london.co.uk
We walk down what can only be described as the Bond Street of Copenhagen, passing luxury watch stores, a Louis Vuitton and a Burberry before we find a spot for lunch. Café Norden is tranquil and its décor has an art nouveau twist. The menu is Viennoiserie’s, salads, sandwiches and a smattering of traditional Danish fare. We opt for salads and pastas with Nordic twists. The food, the service and the style here was reminiscent of somewhere attempting to be a European Grand Café and the bill we received reminded us we were in one of the world’s most expensive countries. The streets are filled with a summer festival of jazz. Everywhere you go there is a side street or back alley hosting an event of just a few dozen people with beer and free jazz to wind away an afternoon. We head to the main museum for an excellent exhibition displaying the diverse demographic that makes up Copenhagen. It gets me thinking about the diversity of the city’s restaurants. Although I’m sure you can find them, we never really saw a somewhere for Thai food or an Indian restaurant. Instead the dining scene seems to been less imported, more Scandinavian, more Danish. When compared to London its chalk and buttermilk. The restaurants here are proud of their Danish heritage and they celebrate it in their food. That night we dine out of the city centre and venture to what has got to be one of the finest restaurants in Copenhagen. We originally wanted to go to Denmark in the hope of dining in the venerable and aforementioned Noma but getting a reservation was next to impossible. It is for this reason we end up in Relæ. -18-
It is a restaurant set up with the inspiration and creativity that you find at Noma or El Bulli. In fact the chef, Christian Puglisi worked at El Bulli before they closed their doors in 2011. Relæ is located in Jægersborggade, a creative district of the city that is well known for cute coffee shops and bike theft. In Puglisi’s own words, the streets of this neighbourhood are ‘crime-ridden’. We step out of our taxi at around eight forty five on a wet night and rush inside. They serve some dishes in this 40-cover restaurant that are so unique and good they probably could never be replicated. The food at Relæ is beyond any superlatives – it reminds me of why I love hospitality so much and why I do what I do now. The service was inimitably discreet, the décor was divine and the food and wine were in perfect harmony throughout the whole evening. It was orchestral - many small and individually undetectable things coming together to create something inspiring. Raymond Blanc told me once his definition of luxury was a thousand tiny things that, on their own are meaningless, once layered on top of each other, create luxury. I saw that in Relæ. Everything I love about a meal happened in the 1.5m sq. space that we occupied for those three hours. Although Copenhagen is littered with restaurants of this quality, I don’t believe food can be better than at Relæ. I know people who’ve been to Noma and they don’t believe food could be any better. A friend of mine went to Amass, another Noma inspired, Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant and they don’t believe that food gets better than that. It’s all about perception. For me , there on an appallingly wet night in Copenhagen, it was the best meal I’ve ever had. The next day we head to a cinema that reminds me of the Curzon Chelsea. We end up watching a crime drama. Like this genre of film, you also can’t escape small exquisite restaurants in Copenhagen. Afterwards, we venture to 20-cover restaurant nearby. We start with the gazpacho and then chilli beef to follow. By no means Scandinavian food but, being near the university on Studiesstraede, its popular with the locals, and I can see why. Our dessert is typically Danish, Koldskål with Tvebakker. The feel of the dining scene in Copenhagen is more relaxed than London’s, but that doesn’t make it better. It’s smaller, less diverse and a little more expensive but on the plus, it lacks any pretention. It’s self-assured and self-confident and the results are astounding.
Michael Daw
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