Well Crafted
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Stephen Cummings, head chef of City Screen Picturehouse in York writes about his love of craft-driven cooking…
THE FOOD IN CINEMAS
underappreciated
important; after all, you eat
enough to be in the great
HAS CHANGED AS MUCH
ingredient from, say, the
with your eyes first.
county of Yorkshire, and are
AS THE SIZE OF THE
Middle East, and pairing it
SCREENS OVER THE PAST
with a well-known Chinese
particularly interesting at
independent suppliers. That
FEW YEARS. We’re a long
sauce – it’s all about
the moment. They’re some
goes for our vegetables,
way from those rubbery
reinvention and
of my favourite dishes to
which are sourced from
hot dogs and yellow nacho
experimentation with
create because there are
local farmers; our fish, which
cheese on stale tortilla
different herbs, spices, fruits,
no preconceived rules.
is caught sustainably on the
chips of old.
vegetables, pickling liquors
One of our most popular
east coast; our grass-fed beef,
and sauce combinations.
dishes from our veganuary
which is reared in the Vale of
Here at City Screen, the style of food I’ve introduced
Food has come a long
Vegan food is
proud to support local
menu was a crispy onion
York; and our Yorkshire
over the past year is based
way from meat and two veg,
bhaji burger with a
outdoor-reared pork.
on no-rules, craft-driven
but that can always be used
gochugaru mango sauce,
cooking. It’s the same ethos
as a good starting point.
lime pickle slaw, minted
we’re doing here in York.
that craft breweries have – I
Sometimes it’s as simple as
soya yoghurt, fresh mango
With a range of great talent
just translate it into my food,
serving a charred flatbread
and kachumber.
in the kitchens at
putting an emphasis on
to add a little bitterness, or
quality local ingredients, big
adding something crispy
of our ethos and the quality
across the country, there has
bold flavours and passion.
into a dish, to give it a whole
of the food we create is the
never been a better time to
new taste experience (I
provenance of the
grab a bite to eat at your
all about flavour, texture and
mean, who doesn’t put crisps
ingredients. Although we
local Picturehouse
presentation. It doesn’t
into their sandwiches?).
use ingredients from around
restaurant or café.
matter whether I’m using an
Presentation is also just as
the world, we’re also lucky
Bon appétit!
When I create a dish, it’s
PH57_Print_Ready_Frankie.indd 55
A very important part
And this is just what
Picturehouse Cinemas all
14/02/2020 11:34
