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The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Celentano's chef: I turned up with no experience but a hunger to learn
Celentano's was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand within the first six months of opening and has been recognised by the Good Food Guide. (Read more: Celentano's celebrates three years of success in Glasgow) This week, Parker steps up to the plate for our chef Q&A. Pictured: Parker outside Celentano's in Glasgow (Image: NAOMI VANCE PHOTOGRAPHY) What was your first kitchen job? My first restaurant job was at Harlem in West London in 2004. It was a late-night American restaurant serving the best gumbo, blackened salmon and New York cheesecake with a lot of Latin American influence. The head chef, Fiona Ruane, was a real kitchen mother to me; she took me under her wing. I turned up with no experience but just a real hunger to learn. Where is your favourite place to eat out? Having spent so much time in London, there are always new places in London I want to try when I go back to visit. Perilla in London is a favourite, Ben Marks is a truly gifted chef, and I'm sure I would try Wildflower from Arron Potter. Another on my list is Anglo Thai's new restaurant. What is your guilty pleasure meal? Chocolate mousse with salty oats. Can you share a memory of your worst kitchen disaster? It's usually got some sort of electrical or plumbing or gas fault over a weekend when no one can come out having to use some sort of bushman mechanic technique to get a temporary repair. What is your signature dish? Probably the malted barley affogato because it's hugely popular and is a staple on our menu. We have seasonal veggie secondi which are gems, this year we did a BBQ cauliflower walnut ragu hedgehog mushrooms. Read more: Who would you say is your biggest inspiration? There have been a few over the years, but my mum was probably my biggest inspiration. She never said no to any new hobby or interest. Later in life, she took up macrobiotic cooking (after being diagnosed with cancer). She was given six months to live but managed to survive for another three and a half years without medical intervention. This cooking involves healing through consuming certain foods. The art of fermentation touches on a bit of this as well. What is one of your pet peeves as a chef? Lack of punctuality and wasting produce. If you weren't a chef, what do you think you would be doing with your life? I used to draw plans of houses and swimming pools as a side-line hustle while studying at school so probably an architect What's your favourite trick for making cooking at home easier? Pre-cooked short-grain brown rice, really good quality soy sauce and miso paste from that dinner can be rustled up with a few vegetables in a matter of minutes. Since having a little boy thrown into the mix my home cooking feels like a 'ready steady cook'. Possibly the most stressful service of the week.. What has been the one highlight that stands out in your career so far? Opening Celentano's with my wife, she has been a superstar to work with. Someone with a real eye for detail and a driving force like no other.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
14th-century 'picture-perfect' Cumbrian restaurant with a 'glorious garden'
A 14th-century 'picture-perfect hamlet' in the Lake District has been described as having 'a restaurant with a glorious garden'. Crowned by the Good Food Guide, the publication held nothing but praise for Askham Hall. Chef Richard Swale's restaurant has wowed critics for years, and it's clear to see why. Views from the 508 Bus from Penrith to Kendal that goes over Kirkstone Pass this evening — Angela Brady (@AngellinaBrady) June 2, 2025 They said: "Dining at chef Richard Swale's Allium at Askham Hall is like being a house guest in a small château. The 14th-century Pele tower in the picture-perfect hamlet of Askham was, until 2012, the family home of the Lowther family. "Sensitively converted for human-scaled hospitality, it remains family-owned and an integral part of the wider working estate. A hand-drawn sketch within the daily changing six-course menu illustrates the provenance of the vast majority of ingredients direct from their own perfectly tended market gardens, farms and upland game areas. "Produce this fresh demands cooking of absolute integrity and authenticity, and this Allium is certainly one lily that needs no gilding. The result? Uber-local dishes of joyous celebration, technical excellence and maximum flavour. "The Askham garden salad with sheep's curd, truffle and a duck-gizzard vinaigrette is a dish with nowhere to hide, offering simple perfection, leaf by carefully placed leaf. The bold approach to sweet Mull langoustines with red curry and cauliflower pays dividends, while tender red deer with summer savory, beetroot and elderberries captures the essence of this distinctive place on a single plate. "A geranium set cream with rhubarb evidences a lightness of touch and preparedness to elevate humble plants to elegant status. "Dining in the airy garden room, sensitively appended to the original castle walls, emphasises its proximity to the produce which is the bedrock of brilliance underpinning this 'charming experience'. Recommended reading: Men arrested in Carlisle as part of robbery investigation Kendal Calling pay tribute after Brian Wilson death Free heart screening weekend set up to honour Liam Dodd "To match the quality of cooking, an awe-inspiring leather-bound wine list navigates an A-Z of the world's great wines from the private cellars of passionate collectors. Despite some unique rarities costing an average UK annual salary, there are many well-chosen options at prices accessible to ordinary mortals. "All is lovingly stewarded by charming house manager/maître d'/sommelier Nico Chieze, who approaches customers of differing wine knowledge with equal grace and curates flights that cut through any complexity or concern. "Some restaurants may appear arbitrary in their location, but Allium and its close-knit family at Askham Hall has deep roots into the local land, history and community."
The Age
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘We've never seen a Malaysian restaurant like this before': Ho Jiak arrives in Melbourne
It's been more than a decade since Malaysian-born Junda Khoo swapped a career in finance for a career in food, the self-taught chef going on to take Sydney's dining scene by storm with the slow-burn success of Ho Jiak, which has four iterations across the Harbour City. In 2023, Khoo was a Chef of the Year finalist in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards, while his Town Hall restaurant earned its first hat, which it's since retained. Previous SlideNext Slide Naturally, anticipation has been high since Khoo announced that he was bringing his thrilling brand of Malaysian cooking to Melbourne, with a three-level, three-in-one venue on Rainbow Alley in the CBD that he says has ballooned into a $7-million project. The first two venues opened in late May: fast-casual Da Bao, serving home-style Malaysian dishes on street level, and beer hall Ho Liao, doing Malaysian classics with a twist on the top floor. But the jewel in the crown opens today on the level between them. Called Ho Jiak – Junda's Playground, Khoo says it's his most boundary-pushing restaurant yet. 'We've never seen a Malaysian restaurant like this before in Australia,' says the chef, who's relocated to Melbourne for six months to spearhead the launch of the venues.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘We've never seen a Malaysian restaurant like this before': Ho Jiak arrives in Melbourne
It's been more than a decade since Malaysian-born Junda Khoo swapped a career in finance for a career in food, the self-taught chef going on to take Sydney's dining scene by storm with the slow-burn success of Ho Jiak, which has four iterations across the Harbour City. In 2023, Khoo was a Chef of the Year finalist in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards, while his Town Hall restaurant earned its first hat, which it's since retained. Previous SlideNext Slide Naturally, anticipation has been high since Khoo announced that he was bringing his thrilling brand of Malaysian cooking to Melbourne, with a three-level, three-in-one venue on Rainbow Alley in the CBD that he says has ballooned into a $7-million project. The first two venues opened in late May: fast-casual Da Bao, serving home-style Malaysian dishes on street level, and beer hall Ho Liao, doing Malaysian classics with a twist on the top floor. But the jewel in the crown opens today on the level between them. Called Ho Jiak – Junda's Playground, Khoo says it's his most boundary-pushing restaurant yet. 'We've never seen a Malaysian restaurant like this before in Australia,' says the chef, who's relocated to Melbourne for six months to spearhead the launch of the venues.
Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Osip hotel review: a cool restaurant with rooms in bucolic Somerset
The field-to-plate restaurant Osip was one of the star attractions of super-trendy Bruton until last August when it decamped to the nearby low-key village of South Brewham so that the chef and owner Merlin Labron-Johnson could reinvent a traditional 17th-century coaching inn as a minimalist temple to ethical gastronomy. Labron-Johnson's imaginative and thoughtful cooking has won him numerous awards, including a Michelin star, a green Michelin star and The Good Food Guide's Restaurant of the Year for 2025, as well as legions of high-profile fans, so dinner might come with a side order of celebrity, with anyone from former chancellor George Osborne to the fashion designer Stella McCartney at the next table. Like us civilians, they're here for the culinary love letter to the local landscape, with 90 per cent of the produce grown organically on the restaurant's farm or sourced from within a five-mile radius. Now Labron-Johnson has added the ultimate petits fours to his inventive menu: a quartet of small but perfectly formed bedrooms for those who don't want their evening to end. Score 8/10In its former incarnation as the Bull, there were seven bedrooms above the pub, all low-ceilinged and poky. Labron-Johnson has knocked them through, creating four larger rooms that are airy and light-filled. Their style is minimalism at its most beguiling, all milky tones and full of natural goodness. There are exposed beams, beds with eye-catching live-edge English oak headboards (that follow the shape of the tree's natural contours) and chunky bedside tables, made from stumps of trees felled within a ten-mile radius. Handmade jute rugs, wicker baskets, vases with sprays of wildflowers and botanical artworks add texture. Avon and Brue have freestanding bathtubs, Somer and Pitt have only smart showers and all have sweet-smelling Maison Osip toiletries that use British plants and herbs with formulations that change with the seasons. There are no TVs or minibars and, as Labron-Johnson expects guests to stay only one night, storage space is as minimal as the decor. You do get freshly baked canelé pastries though, with a wondrous caramelised crust and gooey custard centre, rosy apples and homemade cider to whet your appetite for the gastronomic treat to come. • Somerset's most luxurious hotels Score 9/10Evenings start with snacks beside the inglenook fireplace in the stripped-back sitting room where the squishy sofas add cosiness to the white and wood moodboard. Ask for a table in the main dining room, which now has a spectacular glass-box kitchen bolted on to it. From here, Labron-Johnson calmly directs his team of young chefs, watched by diners on one side and on the other by curious cows in the field beyond Osip's wildflower garden. The ten-course tasting menu is obligatory, with enthusiastic waiters delivering a story with each course. Standout dishes included the lovage broth, a heavenly blast of summer sunshine, accompanied by a moreish fermented potato brioche and cultured butter topped with a dehydrated nettle. Meat tends to play second fiddle to vegetables but when it does put in an appearance it's wickedly good, such as the satisfyingly rich pork, deftly countered by the grassiness of yet more nettles (grilled this time) and asparagus. The rocket sorbet manages the same clever balancing act, being both bitter and sweet while the chocolate and apricot macaron is a full-on fudgy sugar high. • More great restaurants with rooms In contrast to the incredible dinners, breakfasts are more pared-back affairs. Forget any thoughts of a fry-up — there's homemade granola, fruit and yoghurt, ham, cheese, butter and sourdough bread (but no toast), with boiled eggs the only cooked option. It's a bit too minimalist. There are complimentary transfers for guests who travel by train to Bruton or Castle Cary and you can take a tour of Dreamers Farm, a short drive from the restaurant, to check out the produce that will be on your plate later. • UK's best pubs with rooms Score 9/10South Brewham is a roses-round-the-door rustic idyll, sitting at the foot of a pine forest and surrounded by rolling hills. The romantic Palladian mansion and parklands of the Stourhead estate is a few minutes up the road, while Bruton is ten minutes in a car. It is home to a Hauser & Wirth art gallery, independent shops including Smouk, which sells stylish homeware, and several pubs and places to eat, including the Old Pharmacy, Labron-Johnson's more affordable bistro where you can get octopus with Jersey royal potatoes and aïoli for £15. Price B&B doubles from £240Restaurant tasting menu £125Accessible NDog-friendly NFamily-friendly N Susan d'Arcy was a guest of Osip (
