Miles Collins

In praise of good, honest food…

I am in the process of changing the style and concept of our lunch and bar food. We have had the same formula for years and it is time for a revamp. Much of my decision is based on a desire to incorporate some simpler food into our repertoire including some forgotten English classics.

Dinner service will remain the same, that, for me is the time to push a kitchen’s abilities to its limits and I still enjoy cooking complicated dishes. But as the years creep up on me I feel more and more drawn to the food that just makes sense; simple, well executed dishes without the bells and whistles that chefs feel pressured to create.

Getting the balance right will be the key, I want to serve lighter, simpler lunches which will still encourage diners to try the more sophisticated dinner dishes. It’s one thing to jump on the ‘keep it real’ bandwagon and serve an organic pork steak with organic cabbage a la Jamie but you still have to get the public to pay for it. My customers are expecting a meal conducive with our good food guide status and will a pork steak with a pile of cabbage leave them wanting?

The key, I believe is to offer dishes which arouse both the appetite and the imagination and, most importantly taste great. I admire chefs such as Fergus Henderson of St John restaurant in London who has cooked the food he would love to eat in any other restaurant, people talk about his ‘blood and guts’ cookery but he is the one with the real guts because he is so consistent in his approach to the food he believes in.

The lunch menu will be more rustic, be it English, provincial French, Spanish or Italian the dishes will be as close to their true origin as I can get and I shall post a few recipes as and when I write them.

In my head I can see the dishes and the style of service; crab on toast, braised faggots and split peas, rabbit brawn and homemade piccalilli, fritto misto of offal or fish, grilled skate, salt beef and dumplings and a ginger parkin with custard and golden syrup….. Just got to get them on paper!