Well Crafted

Stephen Cummings, head chef of City Screen Picturehouse in York writes about his love of craft-driven cooking…

THE FOOD IN CINEMAS HAS CHANGED AS MUCH AS THE SIZE OF THE SCREENS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. We’realong wayfromthoserubbery hotdogsandyellownacho cheeseonstaletortilla chipsofold.

HereatCityScreen,the styleoffoodI’veintroduced overthepastyearisbased onno-rules,craft-driven cooking. It’sthesameethos thatcraftbrewerieshave–I justtranslateitintomyfood, puttinganemphasison qualitylocalingredients,big boldflavoursandpassion.

WhenIcreateadish,it’s allaboutflavour,textureand presentation. Itdoesn’t matterwhetherI’musingan

underappreciated ingredientfrom,say,the MiddleEast,andpairingit withawell-knownChinese sauce–it’sallabout reinventionand experimentationwith differentherbs,spices,fruits, vegetables,picklingliquors andsaucecombinations.

Foodhascomealong wayfrommeatandtwoveg, butthatcanalwaysbeused asagoodstartingpoint. Sometimesit’sassimpleas servingacharredflatbread toaddalittlebitterness,or addingsomethingcrispy intoadish,togiveitawhole newtasteexperience(I mean,whodoesn’tputcrisps intotheirsandwiches?). Presentationisalsojustas important; afterall,youeat withyoureyesfirst.

Veganfoodis particularlyinterestingat themoment. They’resome ofmyfavouritedishesto createbecausethereare nopreconceivedrules. Oneofourmostpopular dishesfromourveganuary menuwasacrispyonion bhajiburgerwitha gochugarumangosauce, limepickleslaw,minted soyayoghurt,freshmango andkachumber.

Averyimportantpart ofourethosandthequality ofthefoodwecreateisthe provenanceofthe ingredients. Althoughwe useingredientsfromaround theworld,we’realsolucky

enoughtobeinthegreat countyofYorkshire,andare proudtosupportlocal independentsuppliers. That goesforourvegetables, whicharesourcedfrom localfarmers; ourfish,which iscaughtsustainablyonthe eastcoast;ourgrass-fedbeef, whichisrearedintheValeof York; andourYorkshire outdoor-rearedpork.

Andthisisjustwhat we’redoinghereinYork. Witharangeofgreattalent inthekitchensat PicturehouseCinemasall acrossthecountry,therehas neverbeenabettertimeto grababitetoeatatyour localPicturehouse restaurantorcafé. Bonappétit!