Chef's Table - House Of Coco Magazine

Australia September 4, 2020

Top London restaurants that now deliver to your door

With the Eat Out to Help Out scheme now over (thank you Rishi) and the nights beginning to draw in, cosy evenings at home are the order of the day. Food fanatics no doubt rushed back to their favourite restaurants as soon as they could during the summer but as the weather now turns colder, House of Coco have rounded up a selection of top London restaurants that are now delivering to your door. Fire on, feet up and let the fine-dining feasting begin.

Aquavit London

The Michelin-starred Nordic-inspired restaurant located in St James’s Market, sister to the highly acclaimed two Michelin-starred restaurant of the same name in Manhattan has launched a new delivery and takeaway menu. Bringing the Michelin-star to you, Aquavit London has partnered with food delivery service platform Supper and Deliveroo. Head Chef Jorjon Colazo’s food is defined by clean flavours, simple presentation and healthy ingredients. Stand-out choices include the Nordic salad with hot smoked salmon, pickles, lettuce and rye; langoustine bao buns with torched infused seaweed oil, a Swedish twist on the classic steamed Chinese bread roll and traditional Swedish meatballs served with mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber, mushrooms and lingonberries. To create the perfect at home restaurant experience, a selection of fine wines, beers and inventive soft drinks are also be available to order. The perfect choice for a hygee night in.

Available to order from Wednesday to Sunday. Delivery is available within a 4km radius of the restaurant. aquavitrestaurants.com

Lina Stores

Everybody has heard of Lina Stores. The stalwart and equally sumptuous pasta provider for the capital. For those living outside London and unable to make it to the delis (Soho and Kings Cross), Lina Stores now offers nationwide delivery. Having successfully developed its online shop, the team at Lina can now provide their most popular Italian products to the whole of the United Kingdom. From antipasti and olives straight from the deli counters, Lina Stores also offers a wide selection of cured meats and cheeses including Prosciutto di Parma, Mortadella with truffle, Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, smoked Mozzarella Scamorza and creamy Gorgonzola amongst many others. For those looking for the essentials, the online shop is well stocked with everything needed for the store cupboard, from the deli’s own brand of dried pasta and olive oil, to tinned San Marzano tomatoes and a selection of specialist flours, risotto rice, Italian beans and pulses. It time to live la dolce vita, in your own kitchen.

National delivery is now available four days a week. linastores.co.uk

Lina Stores

Ormer Mayfair

The new delivery and collection service, Ormer at Home is led by Executive Chef Kerth Gumbs (BBC TWO’s Great British Menu 2020 finalist). The Mayfair menu is bursting with a wonderful bounty of Channel Island and British fare that is simply prepared and cooked to perfection. Dishes include Yellowtail Ceviche with avocado, tomato and Vietnamese dressing, Black Cod with pickled squash, orange, pack Choi and sake dressing, or Dorset Lamb Cutlets with spiced aubergine, pomegranate and pine nuts. Ormer Mayfair has consistently been rated as one of the top ten restaurant in London for fine dining, perfect for a high end date night in the comfort of your own home. On Sunday, a high-end sharing roast for two will be available and desserts including Ormer’s signature apple crumble and rhubarb and white chocolate panna cotta will also feature, alongside wine, beer, cocktails and champagne.

Available for delivery and collection from Tuesday to Saturday from 12pm to 9pm. Delivery is available within a 2-3 mile radius of the restaurant. flemings-mayfair.co.uk/fine-dining-london/ormer-mayfair-restaurant

FishWorks Fishmonger and Restaurant

FishWorks has launched a new delivery service including an at home Oyster Box for those looking for a more epicurean night in. The delivery menu is carefully prepared and packaged to order by FishWorks’ expert chefs and fishmongers. Ready-to-eat dishes will include oven roasted sea bass with lemon and thyme, seared yellow fin tuna and garlic butter lobster with chips. The gourmet Oyster Box includes a mixture of a dozen Jersey, Carlingford and Morecambe Bay oysters. Covering all preferences, an assortment of condiments including lemon, merlot vinegar, and Tabasco will be included – all to be perfectly paired with a bottle of FishWorks’ Fernão Pires white wine. For those new to the oyster game, FishWorks have you covered with a shucker and a link to a ‘How to Shuck an Oyster’ video tutorial. Delicious British and Irish oysters can be brought to your doorstep at £60 per box.

Available to order seven days a week for London zones 1 – 4. fishworks.co.uk

FishWorks Fishmonger and Restaurant

OPSO

Greece is well and truly having a moment. The white-washed towns of Mykonos and Santorini have featured in every enviable holiday snap this summer. For those who have missed out this year, the team at high-end restaurant OPSO, serving up modern Greek dishes, have introduced OPSO at Home for you to have a taste of Greece in your own kitchen. Centred around a special menu of home-cooked authentic dishes, this new collection and delivery initiative reflects the favourite childhood memories of the executive chefs/co-owners Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nikos Roussos. The menu features seasonal dishes such as Chicken Lemonato – roasted chicken thigh with lemon-oregano gravy and creamy potato mash; Beef Stifado – braised beef shin with onions and sweet onion gravy; and Spanakorizo – spinach rice pilaf with fresh herbs and barrel matured feta cheese. OPSO is an ancient Greek word for a delectable morsel of food, and with sumptuous Greek tapas dishes using the finest ingredients and an exclusively Greek wine list to pair with the delicacies, you will quite literally, savour every last bite.

Opso at Home is suited for two or more, the delivery menu is also available throughout the week delivered to doorsteps in Marylebone and nearby neighbourhoods. opso.co.uk

OPSO

Bocca di Lupo

Bocca di Lupo at Home will see Head Chef Jacob Kenedy introduce a menu featuring some of Bocca di Lupo’s most popular dishes. Echoing the restaurant’s focus on stripped-down, regional Italian cuisine, diners will be able to choose from antipasti dishes such as creamy burrata with grilled aubergines and caramelised datterini tomatoes, spinach and ricotta Malfatti pasta, Orecchiette with ‘nduja and the umami-packed Spaghetti with Bottarga. For the risotti there is an earthy Girolle, an indulgent Chard & Scamorza and a classic Venetian Risotto Nero made with cuttlefish ink. The menu aims to bring the gourmet buzz of Soho into your own home. Each dish comes with a step-by-step recipe guide and video tutorial, making them accessible to even the most unaccomplished home cook. A few bottles of ever elusive orange wine also feature on the menu making it the perfect option to sip something unusual on your own sofa!

Bocca di Lupo at Home is available for delivery Wednesday to Saturday with free delivery on orders over £80. Delivery to a wide variety of London postcodes. athome.boccadilupo.com

Bocca di Lupo

Wun’s Tea Room & Bar

The restaurant and bar located in the heart of Soho, where Old Compton Street meets Greek Street is offering the delivery of one of its most beloved dishes, the mouthwatering Iberico Char Siu pork. The launch of the Iberico Char Siu home delivery kit means that Londoners can taste authentic Cantonese flavours at home. The kits can be cooked to perfection and easily assembled within 25 minutes. The kit includes Iberico Fatty Char Siu, pillowy Blini Buns, House Spiced Sugar Pack as well as cooking instructions and is designed to serve between two and three people.

Delivery is available from Wednesday to Sunday or can be picked up from the restaurant. Delivery within a 4 mile radius of the restaurant. tearoom.bar

Benares

Vibrant and inventive Indian cooking with modern British flair with Executive Chef Sameer Taneja at the helm. Using his classical training and experience working alongside some of the best chefs in the world, Sameer embraces and elevates traditional Indian cuisine which can now be enjoyed at home. Fan favourites include a lamb seekh kebab, prawn kasundi, chicken makhani, dal makhani and saag aloo.

Delivery is available from Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 9pm and Sundays 12pm to 8pm. Collection is available from Tuesday to Saturday only. Delivery is available across Greater London and for delivery further than a 6 mile radius, three hours’ notice is needed. benaresrestaurant.com

Behind the bar August 23, 2020

A culinary night out at Adam Handling Chelsea

With lockdown essentially curbing our gastronomic experiences to the confines of our own kitchens, we have found a new-found love and respect for the flavours, service, and sheer spectacle of the restaurant experience.

It is only fitting that one of our first forays back into London’s food scene was a meal at Adam Handling Chelsea, which certainly gave us several months of culinary spectacle in three delicious courses.

Adam Handling Chelsea is located in the stunning Belmond Cadogan Hotel, and the creation of Chef Patron Adam Handling who uses sustainably-sourced seasonal product to showcase the best of contemporary British cuisine.

Our experience began at the Adam Handling Chelsea Bar, which offers an impressive collection of wines and spirits in a luxurious yet cosy atmosphere. We started with a welcome cocktail, served blithely in a makeshift book, and accompanied by a small mason jar of homemade popcorn.

After the essential clink of our cocktail glasses, we made our way through the open kitchen and into the dining room, which can only be described as understated elegance. The menu will certainly please those who are familiar with Adam Handling’s most popular signature dishes, including his famously indulgent chicken butter.

We began our meal with the tuna and beef tartare, which came with a slight kick of mustard and tabasco. We followed this with the perfectly cooked BBQ Octopus, with black garlic and smoked potatoes deep-friend in a lemon purée; and the wood pigeon with girolles mushrooms and gooseberry chutney.

We complemented the strong flavours of our main courses with the green beans with almonds and the salt-baked cauliflower, which was so delicious it almost stole the show. For dessert, we tried the chocolate, bourbon in miso and rye – a sweet final flourish to an already impeccable meal.

The sommelier recommended a sulphite-free organic Valencian red wine called Vermell which offered a beautiful array of dark-fruit flavours and herbal notes. A fittingly fantastic wine pairing to accompany a truly spectacular meal.

Chef's Table August 1, 2017

Chef’s Table: Interview with Conor Toomey

The Isle of Eriska is excited to introduce Conor Toomey as its new Head Chef, who will be joining the team on the 17th of July. We had an enlightening interview with Conor Toomey about his new role and culinary vision.

Toomey, originally from South Africa, will be joining the island from Amberley Castle where he was Head Chef. Conor has previously worked as Michael Wignalls’ Sous Chef at the Latymer Restaurant which held two Michelin Stars and as Head Chef at Storrs Hall and Amberley Castle where he achieved 3 AA Rosettes.

Conor said of his new role ‘I am thrilled to work in a hotel with such an outstanding reputation for its food and the opportunity to use fresh island produce. Foraging will continue to be a big part of what we do as well as using the kitchen gardens and greenhouses to create seasonal dishes. I look forward to continuing where Paul left off.’

He chats to us here at House of Coco and tells us more…

Tell us a bit about yourself and how/why you became a chef…

Having grown up around the industry, food has always been a passion in my family, I suppose cooking was almost inevitable. I love the constant learning curve and the people in the industry

What excites you about the new challenge at the Isle of Eriska?

Being a more remote location you have a fantastic opportunity to be creative with the local larder, allowing for great creativity

What is your aim for your time at Eriska?

I think to continue pushing the food and product further, there is such a great history in the place for both food and service, so to push that forward is a great opportunity.

Do you have any plans for moving the dining experience at Eriska forward?

I think the dining experience is quite well-established, I will definitely bring my personality to the restaurant.

With the extensive facilities providing produce for the larder what is your favourite part of the kitchen garden facilities?

That’s quite tough, I love the whole larder both wild and cultivated, the chance to grow what we want and pick it what we want is awesome.

Are you keen to implement foraging as part of your menu?

Definitely, only a fool wouldn’t. It is incredible

Do you bring a flavour of your South African heritage to your cooking?

No I don’t think so much as in typical flavour, I think maybe the openness to different styles and cuisines perhaps, as South Africa is a melting pot of cultures and flavours.

How do you plan to use the on-site smokehouse?

Definitely the salmon, wow, we picked it up 10 minutes from here and it tastes incredible, oils are good. Just a fantastic tool to have

What is it that makes a dish special?

A memory I think, smell and taste are as strong as anything to create memories or recall memories if you can make some think… that reminds me of..? Or if it inspires a memory, you always remember a good meal, so I suppose finding that.

What is your favourite dish and ingredient at the moment?

Tough one, always mushrooms on that list they are so versatile and then I suppose game.. fish, so hard I love good products. Everything of a good quality excites me.

What is your favourite part of the island?

I don’t know yet, so much to explore

Book a table with Conor and sample his delightful dishes www.eriska-hotel.co.uk