It feels as though London is in the midst of an ingredient-led revolution. Complex classical technique once ruled the roost here, but there’s a new generation of chefs in town, and they’re busy casting out their rotary evaporators and eBaying their centrifuges in search of something more humble and delicious.
Truth be told, this revolution started decades ago. The likes of Fergus and Margot Henderson at St. John and Rochelle Canteen; Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray at The River Café and Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum, amongst others, all blazed a new trail for British food, pointing us in a more honest direction. A whole generation of new chefs has been educated in their kitchens – taught not just how to cook but why we cook in the first place, and the importance of great ingredients – before spreading across the country like seeds in the wind.
As a result, we’ve all reconnected with the beauty of unpretentious food – the joy of a hearty pie, a well-pressed terrine with cornichons on the side, or a steaming treacle pudding with ice cream. The bone marrow and parsley salad at St. John – a spartan-looking plate of toast, grilled bone marrow and parsley – helped to change the face of food in London over two decades ago, and remains one of the capital's most captivating dishes, as does Jeremy Lee’s iconic smoked eel sandwich. This is the sort of food that survives the test of time, thanks to rock solid foundations.