Cook House Issue 13

the food magazine of Soho House

FLAME ACADEMYBrilliant BBQ recipesWhy sta� food mattersChefs’ cooking competitionsSummer 2013

COOKHOUSE

a taste...

you know who you are...

4 NEWS

Foodie happenings across Soho House, plus the new Rising Stars of the kitchens

8WHAT I KNOW

Chef Pete McAllister from Hoxton Grill

11COOKHOUSE COOKING

COMPETITIONS Sous chefs and junior chefs slug it out at

the stoves

12 GREAT GATSBY

Grey Goose's exclusive screening

14WHERE TO EAT IN CHICAGO

Our insiders guide

15CALIFORNIA TRIP

A tour of Central Cali's best farms

16WHAT'S IN SEASON

Produce to look out for and what to do with it, in Europe and the USA

18RECIPE PULL OUT

Paul A Young’s spiced chocolate chilli and Ori Bestia’s slow-cooked lamb

20SLING IT ON THE BARBIE

�e best barbecue recipes for summer from our top chefs

26STAFF FOOD

�e family meal and why it counts

34IN PRAISE OF...

Sergio Sigala, of Soho Beach House Miami, explains why he loves jackfruit

summer 2013Welcome to the summer 2013 issue of Cookhouse, Soho House’s food magazine. �is issue we’re taking a look at sta� food – aka the family meal – a part of the hospitality industry that is o�en overlooked. Soho House is on a mission to

make sta� food better around the world; �nd out more on page 26. We’ve also got some brilliant barbecue recipes, so if you fancy some sticky chicken wings, co�ee-rubbed pork chops, spicy slaw or tasty ribs, head to page 20. As always, we’re keeping up with Soho House’s cooking competitions, and this quarter there’s a new one just for sous chefs, as well as the

junior chefs taking each other on at Westminster Kingsway College. We’re also catching up with all the other food news - from retro food for a Great Gatsby screening, to a chefs’ trip to Central California’s most innovative farms. Tuck in!

Editor: Rebecca Seal Art Etc: Dominic Salmon Publisher: Dan Flower�anks to: Martin Kuczmarski , Dylan Murray, Gareth Jones, Julia Taylor-Brown, Phoebe Strawson, Oli Juste, Caroline Boucher, �omas Lennard,

Ronnie Bonetti, Shelley Armistead, Matthew Armistead, Antonella Bonetti, Andrea Cavaliere, Keith Edwards, Jake Rigby-Wilson, Lilaj Battista, Jacki Spillane, Pete McAllister, Chris Tomsett, Ashley Lent, German Lucarelli, Dai Williams, Steven Joyce, Camilla Karlsson,

Sophie Roche-Garland, Nano Crespo, Sergio Sigala, Pierre Dourneau.Hoxton Grill’s barbecue recipes on cover photographed by Steven Joyce.

www.cook-house.info

FAMILY TIME �e sta� tuck in, see page 26

Photo by Steven Joyce

COOKHOUSE

a taste...

you know who you are...

4 NEWS

Foodie happenings across Soho House, plus the new Rising Stars of the kitchens

8WHAT I KNOW

Chef Pete McAllister from Hoxton Grill

11COOKHOUSE COOKING

COMPETITIONS Sous chefs and junior chefs slug it out at

the stoves

12 GREAT GATSBY

Grey Goose's exclusive screening

14WHERE TO EAT IN CHICAGO

Our insiders guide

15CALIFORNIA TRIP

A tour of Central Cali's best farms

16WHAT'S IN SEASON

Produce to look out for and what to do with it, in Europe and the USA

18RECIPE PULL OUT

Paul A Young’s spiced chocolate chilli and Ori Bestia’s slow-cooked lamb

20SLING IT ON THE BARBIE

�e best barbecue recipes for summer from our top chefs

26STAFF FOOD

�e family meal and why it counts

34IN PRAISE OF...

Sergio Sigala, of Soho Beach House Miami, explains why he loves jackfruit

summer 2013Welcome to the summer 2013 issue of Cookhouse, Soho House’s food magazine. �is issue we’re taking a look at sta� food – aka the family meal – a part of the hospitality industry that is o�en overlooked. Soho House is on a mission to

make sta� food better around the world; �nd out more on page 26. We’ve also got some brilliant barbecue recipes, so if you fancy some sticky chicken wings, co�ee-rubbed pork chops, spicy slaw or tasty ribs, head to page 20. As always, we’re keeping up with Soho House’s cooking competitions, and this quarter there’s a new one just for sous chefs, as well as the

junior chefs taking each other on at Westminster Kingsway College. We’re also catching up with all the other food news - from retro food for a Great Gatsby screening, to a chefs’ trip to Central California’s most innovative farms. Tuck in!

Editor: Rebecca Seal Art Etc: Dominic Salmon Publisher: Dan Flower�anks to: Martin Kuczmarski , Dylan Murray, Gareth Jones, Julia Taylor-Brown, Phoebe Strawson, Oli Juste, Caroline Boucher, �omas Lennard,

Ronnie Bonetti, Shelley Armistead, Matthew Armistead, Antonella Bonetti, Andrea Cavaliere, Keith Edwards, Jake Rigby-Wilson, Lilaj Battista, Jacki Spillane, Pete McAllister, Chris Tomsett, Ashley Lent, German Lucarelli, Dai Williams, Steven Joyce, Camilla Karlsson,

Sophie Roche-Garland, Nano Crespo, Sergio Sigala, Pierre Dourneau.Hoxton Grill’s barbecue recipes on cover photographed by Steven Joyce.

www.cook-house.info

FAMILY TIME �e sta� tuck in, see page 26


SIR KENSINGTONAt Soho House, we love condiments (writes Julia Taylor-Brown). A lot. How can you not love a good ketchup, mayonnaise, aioli… chilli…relish…chutney… mustard… So we were very excited to welcome Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton, the creators of Sir Kensington’s condiments, to the Soho House New York pantry bar to teach us a little bit more about the history of ketchup and mayonnaise. Members from both the Cookhouse and House Tonic teams tasted the classic and spicy ketchups, the all-natural non-GMO mayonnaises and a new, yet to be released, mayonnaise �avour (we can’t share the details with you yet!). �at made us feel very cool. Favourites included the Bloody Kensington, an alcoholic use for ketchup. We ended the session by plastering ourselves with Sir Kensington’s temporary tattoos. Awesome.www.sirkensington.com

FORAGING IN DORSET A team of eleven chefs and two bartenders met at High Road House to fuel up with coffee and bacon, ready for the journey to Hive Beach Café in Dorset (for even more bacon sandwiches and coffee, it was an early start after all). There the team was met by restaurateur and guide for the day, Steve Attril. Led by two local foragers, it was time to hit the fields on a mission to see what the land had to offer. The local micro-climate means a stunning array of edible flowers were available, with sticky willy our first find closely followed by childhood favourite burdock – whoever knew it was a wild root! The local woods offered prize funghi which looked a little like ears (their Latin name is auricularia), which we later discovered was delicious fried with garlic and butter. Off we trekked down the longest beach in the UK where we quickly found a species which could only be described as a mix between garlic, leek and asparagus – utterly delicious!

The real find of the day was discovering lemon sorrel in the hedge row worth £60/kg. With our foraging baskets bulging it was off to the Watch House to take over the kitchen and wood burning ovens, where we cooked up our bounty with the local catch of the day.

With daylight fading and stomachs full, fed and watered, it was back to the bus for the long trip back home to London.

www.watchhousecafe.co.uk, www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk

MAPLE SYRUP The team from Soho House Toronto took a day trip to the Kortright Center for the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival to see (and taste) the original maple syrup, as it was produced in pioneer days. It was fascinating to see the sap dripping from the maple trees into buckets that were attached at their base, and sample sap before it was boiled down into syrup. Samples of fresh sap and warm sap that had been brought to the brink of turning into syrup were shared, and we watched the sap bubbling over a large fire as it was boiled down into maple syrup. Before we left, everything was all tastily wrapped up in a maple syrupy bow as we enjoyed pancakes and (of course) maple syrup.

04 COOKHOUSE summer 2013 www.sohohouse.com www.cook-house.info summer 2013 COOKHOUSE 05

Slices nibbles and food news PIZZA PERFECTIONWe go through a lot of pizza in Los

Angeles: Cecconi's has a perfect

buffalo mozzarella, tomato and wild oregano pizza and a lovely seasonal

burrata, black truffle and zucchini blossom pizza while Soho House has

a kick in the pants spicy salami

pizza with Fresno chilli and its own

melt-in-your-mouth truffle creation.

Yum. David Vatran, Cecconi's master pizza chef (his favourite website

is Slice from Serious Eats), shared his techniques for making a thin

and crisp yet sturdy crust, able to hold a bounty of fresh ingredients.

What a delight.

Fame!A little glitz, glamour and media recognition for two of our top

chefs. Andrea Cavaliere, US exec

chef is profiled over on the

brilliant New Potato site, a glossy and gorgeous foodie web mag, while on Sharp For Men, Nano Crespo, head chef at Soho House Toronto, spills all on cooking with booze.

sharpformen.com

www.thenewpotato.com

BUTCHER SESSIONChefs visited our largest meat

suppliers, Fairfax Meadow, for an afternoon of meat education.

Following a pre-trip Dirty Burger, we headed to the Kentish Town

depot, for a site tour, traceability

lesson and impromptu pop quiz

(eeek!). We also met the man who

started it all, Fairfax Meadow founder Gerry Wensley and learnt

the art of cutting down meat in a

butchery masterclass (below).

In other news...

JOIN US!Soho House is recruiting chefs. Email [email protected] or visit www.cook-house.info.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

jfdsjfdslkjfldkfjeosiruejsdlkjkljfs

SERGIO IN PARADISEChef Sergio Sigala from Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House Miami, helped throw a wonderful dinner at his favourite local farm, Paradise Farms Organic. For Dinner in Paradise, Sergio was joined by chefs Alex Feher from InterContinental Miami and David Bracha from Oak Tavern & River Oyster. Dishes created by Sergio for the night included bruschetta with cherry tomatoes and basil; quinoa, beet and kale salad with edible flowers and tamarind dressing; and risotto with oyster mushrooms and calabaza flowers. Scrumptious.

Pictures by Jacek Wojdylo

Condiments tasting

with Sir Kensington.High on sugar?

The Canadian

Cookhouse crew.

The Cookhouse team hit the

fields and woods of Dorset.

“We cooked up our bounty

with the local catch of the day”

Sunlit supper in Paradise

SIR KENSINGTONAt Soho House, we love condiments (writes Julia Taylor-Brown). A lot. How can you not love a good ketchup, mayonnaise, aioli… chilli…relish…chutney… mustard… So we were very excited to welcome Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton, the creators of Sir Kensington’s condiments, to the Soho House New York pantry bar to teach us a little bit more about the history of ketchup and mayonnaise. Members from both the Cookhouse and House Tonic teams tasted the classic and spicy ketchups, the all-natural non-GMO mayonnaises and a new, yet to be released, mayonnaise �avour (we can’t share the details with you yet!). �at made us feel very cool. Favourites included the Bloody Kensington, an alcoholic use for ketchup. We ended the session by plastering ourselves with Sir Kensington’s temporary tattoos. Awesome.www.sirkensington.com

FORAGING IN DORSET A team of eleven chefs and two bartenders met at High Road House to fuel up with coffee and bacon, ready for the journey to Hive Beach Café in Dorset (for even more bacon sandwiches and coffee, it was an early start after all). There the team was met by restaurateur and guide for the day, Steve Attril. Led by two local foragers, it was time to hit the fields on a mission to see what the land had to offer. The local micro-climate means a stunning array of edible flowers were available, with sticky willy our first find closely followed by childhood favourite burdock – whoever knew it was a wild root! The local woods offered prize funghi which looked a little like ears (their Latin name is auricularia), which we later discovered was delicious fried with garlic and butter. Off we trekked down the longest beach in the UK where we quickly found a species which could only be described as a mix between garlic, leek and asparagus – utterly delicious!

The real find of the day was discovering lemon sorrel in the hedge row worth £60/kg. With our foraging baskets bulging it was off to the Watch House to take over the kitchen and wood burning ovens, where we cooked up our bounty with the local catch of the day.

With daylight fading and stomachs full, fed and watered, it was back to the bus for the long trip back home to London.

www.watchhousecafe.co.uk, www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk

MAPLE SYRUP The team from Soho House Toronto took a day trip to the Kortright Center for the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival to see (and taste) the original maple syrup, as it was produced in pioneer days. It was fascinating to see the sap dripping from the maple trees into buckets that were attached at their base, and sample sap before it was boiled down into syrup. Samples of fresh sap and warm sap that had been brought to the brink of turning into syrup were shared, and we watched the sap bubbling over a large fire as it was boiled down into maple syrup. Before we left, everything was all tastily wrapped up in a maple syrupy bow as we enjoyed pancakes and (of course) maple syrup.


Slices nibbles and food news PIZZA PERFECTIONWe go through a lot of pizza in Los

Angeles: Cecconi's has a perfect

buffalo mozzarella, tomato and wild oregano pizza and a lovely seasonal

burrata, black truffle and zucchini blossom pizza while Soho House has

a kick in the pants spicy salami

pizza with Fresno chilli and its own

melt-in-your-mouth truffle creation.

Yum. David Vatran, Cecconi's master pizza chef (his favourite website

is Slice from Serious Eats), shared his techniques for making a thin

and crisp yet sturdy crust, able to hold a bounty of fresh ingredients.

What a delight.

Fame!A little glitz, glamour and media recognition for two of our top

chefs. Andrea Cavaliere, US exec

chef is profiled over on the

brilliant New Potato site, a glossy and gorgeous foodie web mag, while on Sharp For Men, Nano Crespo, head chef at Soho House Toronto, spills all on cooking with booze.

sharpformen.com

www.thenewpotato.com

BUTCHER SESSIONChefs visited our largest meat

suppliers, Fairfax Meadow, for an afternoon of meat education.

Following a pre-trip Dirty Burger, we headed to the Kentish Town

depot, for a site tour, traceability

lesson and impromptu pop quiz

(eeek!). We also met the man who

started it all, Fairfax Meadow founder Gerry Wensley and learnt

the art of cutting down meat in a

butchery masterclass (below).

In other news...

JOIN US!Soho House is recruiting chefs. Email [email protected] or visit www.cook-house.info.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

jfdsjfdslkjfldkfjeosiruejsdlkjkljfs

SERGIO IN PARADISEChef Sergio Sigala from Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House Miami, helped throw a wonderful dinner at his favourite local farm, Paradise Farms Organic. For Dinner in Paradise, Sergio was joined by chefs Alex Feher from InterContinental Miami and David Bracha from Oak Tavern & River Oyster. Dishes created by Sergio for the night included bruschetta with cherry tomatoes and basil; quinoa, beet and kale salad with edible flowers and tamarind dressing; and risotto with oyster mushrooms and calabaza flowers. Scrumptious.

Pictures by Jacek Wojdylo

Condiments tasting

with Sir Kensington.High on sugar?

The Canadian

Cookhouse crew.

The Cookhouse team hit the

fields and woods of Dorset.

“We cooked up our bounty

with the local catch of the day”

Sunlit supper in Paradise

Slices

GRILLSTOCK �e Cookhouse team celebrated BBQ culture and had some serious fun at Grillstock Bristol. �e day included tucking in to a meat feast, watching the low ‘n’ slow barbecue competition, checking out the wares of barbie traders and exhibitors and getting involved in the barbecue academy and cra� beer bars. MARIA CAPINEL, SOHO BEACH HOUSE NOMINATED BY SERGIO SIGALA

Maria Capinel works as a pastry assistant and loves to work! She has great attitude and desire to learn and is a real asset for the pastry team and for Soho Beach House.

DANIELE CAULI, PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO NOMINATED BY KYLE BOYCE Over the last year and a half of working with Daniele he has grown remarkably from a junior pizza chef, barely having any experience in anything other then pizzas, to a senior chef de partie smashing out perfect services in all sections of the kitchen. His ability to learn and adapt to whatever I throw at him is outstanding. Such an amazing asset and a pure pleasure to have on my team.

ARIFF JOHAN JEFFRI, DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE NOMINATED BY SHAEL CARRAri� has become an important part of the pastry team at Dean Street. He always gives 110% and never says no to a challenge or task that we ask of him. Ari� has grown in knowledge and as a person within the year that he has worked with us. A BIG thank you to him for all his hard work.

Knife SkillzThe Soho House NY team knows

Margery Cohen, the Samurai Sharpener, from her Chelsea Market stall, where she sharpens knives for chefs from all over the

city on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

That's why we loved it so much

when she came to Soho House New

York to sharpen our knives and

show us the proper way to keep

them in tip-top shape. Margery

took each of our knives and

showed us the best sharpening

techniques for the shape of its

blade. Our knives came out sharper

and shinier, and we can't wait to see Margery back at the market!

Sugar and CakeThe sweet-toothed Cookhouse team

headed to Cake International, the

biggest sugarcraft, cake decorating and baking show at Excel London.

As well as roaming the stands, we tuned in to a masterclass on

chocolate decorations, and a live demo from TV's Mary Berry and

Paul Hollywood.

Whet your appetite? Soho House is recruiting in its kitchens. If you'd like the chance to work with brilliant guest chefs and to get bespoke training and support for your career, then get in touch. Call Gareth Jones for jobs in Europe: +44 (0)20 7851 2569; or email Julia Taylor-Brown for jobs in North America: [email protected]. See www.cook-house.info for more details of how to apply.

In other news...


RISING STARSCookhouse celebrates the unsung heroes of the kitchens

COACHELLA Over the second weekend of the Coachella Music Festival, Soho House partnered with Bacardi for an unforgettable weekend in the desert. �e weekend’s festivities were also supported by Samsung Galaxy and took place at a private estate in La Quinta. UK band Foals kicked o� the weekend with a poolside DJ set, followed by Wynne Bennett from popular synth-pop group Twin Shadow and British indie-rock quartet Alt J. DJ sets continued with Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, Welsh house and techno DJ Jamie Jones and Jordan Lawlor from M83. Chefs Matt Armistead and Nano Crespo ruled the kitchen, plating up salads like watermelon, feta and basil; roast carrot and ginger hummus, marinated beets and cumin yoghurt; corn croquetas and aioli or yoghurt marinated chicken skewers and zucchini tzatziki, plus pavlova and ice-cream sandwiches for pud!

LA FISH MARKET �e trip to downtown LA’s �sh market was one worth the early alarm (writes Dave Martinez). We met at the market at 6am, right when it opened. Members of all parts of the kitchen came out to take a look at the di�erent types of �sh and sea dwellers. We were met by Sylvia who walked us through and explained the process, from the ocean to what was in front of us. We also got to get a sneak peek at the processing of a ginormous �sh!

We were all captivated by the �sh and the �nesse with which our friend with �ns was broken down. �e market is open both to the public and wholesale, and sells some of the highest sushi grade �sh to places such as Nobu. �ey have boats in Japan as well as local ships to bring us a very diverse selection and plenty of ideas to our culinary heads. Razor clams, monk�sh liver, squid ink, and so many other things were very exciting to encounter. We ended with breakfast at fave Angelino spot the Pantry, and talked shop and tacos and future trips as the sun rose over the morning. What a success the trip was in sparking interest, ideas, camaraderie and passion in our team! We rule, ok?

Over in Miami, the chefs took a similarly great trip, this time to P.T. Fish, who shared lots of �shy knowledge with the crew, as well as their �lleting skills.

Left: Fishy goings on in LA and Miami

It's a hard life at the Soho House Coachella pop up...

Chickens grilling and Tim Fuller enjoying a little pork

Slices

GRILLSTOCK �e Cookhouse team celebrated BBQ culture and had some serious fun at Grillstock Bristol. �e day included tucking in to a meat feast, watching the low ‘n’ slow barbecue competition, checking out the wares of barbie traders and exhibitors and getting involved in the barbecue academy and cra� beer bars. MARIA CAPINEL, SOHO BEACH HOUSE NOMINATED BY SERGIO SIGALA

Maria Capinel works as a pastry assistant and loves to work! She has great attitude and desire to learn and is a real asset for the pastry team and for Soho Beach House.

DANIELE CAULI, PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO NOMINATED BY KYLE BOYCE Over the last year and a half of working with Daniele he has grown remarkably from a junior pizza chef, barely having any experience in anything other then pizzas, to a senior chef de partie smashing out perfect services in all sections of the kitchen. His ability to learn and adapt to whatever I throw at him is outstanding. Such an amazing asset and a pure pleasure to have on my team.

ARIFF JOHAN JEFFRI, DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE NOMINATED BY SHAEL CARRAri� has become an important part of the pastry team at Dean Street. He always gives 110% and never says no to a challenge or task that we ask of him. Ari� has grown in knowledge and as a person within the year that he has worked with us. A BIG thank you to him for all his hard work.

Knife SkillzThe Soho House NY team knows

Margery Cohen, the Samurai Sharpener, from her Chelsea Market stall, where she sharpens knives for chefs from all over the

city on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

That's why we loved it so much

when she came to Soho House New

York to sharpen our knives and

show us the proper way to keep

them in tip-top shape. Margery

took each of our knives and

showed us the best sharpening

techniques for the shape of its

blade. Our knives came out sharper

and shinier, and we can't wait to see Margery back at the market!

Sugar and CakeThe sweet-toothed Cookhouse team

headed to Cake International, the

biggest sugarcraft, cake decorating and baking show at Excel London.

As well as roaming the stands, we tuned in to a masterclass on

chocolate decorations, and a live demo from TV's Mary Berry and

Paul Hollywood.

Whet your appetite? Soho House is recruiting in its kitchens. If you'd like the chance to work with brilliant guest chefs and to get bespoke training and support for your career, then get in touch. Call Gareth Jones for jobs in Europe: +44 (0)20 7851 2569; or email Julia Taylor-Brown for jobs in North America: [email protected]. See www.cook-house.info for more details of how to apply.

In other news...


RISING STARSCookhouse celebrates the unsung heroes of the kitchens

COACHELLA Over the second weekend of the Coachella Music Festival, Soho House partnered with Bacardi for an unforgettable weekend in the desert. �e weekend’s festivities were also supported by Samsung Galaxy and took place at a private estate in La Quinta. UK band Foals kicked o� the weekend with a poolside DJ set, followed by Wynne Bennett from popular synth-pop group Twin Shadow and British indie-rock quartet Alt J. DJ sets continued with Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, Welsh house and techno DJ Jamie Jones and Jordan Lawlor from M83. Chefs Matt Armistead and Nano Crespo ruled the kitchen, plating up salads like watermelon, feta and basil; roast carrot and ginger hummus, marinated beets and cumin yoghurt; corn croquetas and aioli or yoghurt marinated chicken skewers and zucchini tzatziki, plus pavlova and ice-cream sandwiches for pud!

LA FISH MARKET �e trip to downtown LA’s �sh market was one worth the early alarm (writes Dave Martinez). We met at the market at 6am, right when it opened. Members of all parts of the kitchen came out to take a look at the di�erent types of �sh and sea dwellers. We were met by Sylvia who walked us through and explained the process, from the ocean to what was in front of us. We also got to get a sneak peek at the processing of a ginormous �sh!

We were all captivated by the �sh and the �nesse with which our friend with �ns was broken down. �e market is open both to the public and wholesale, and sells some of the highest sushi grade �sh to places such as Nobu. �ey have boats in Japan as well as local ships to bring us a very diverse selection and plenty of ideas to our culinary heads. Razor clams, monk�sh liver, squid ink, and so many other things were very exciting to encounter. We ended with breakfast at fave Angelino spot the Pantry, and talked shop and tacos and future trips as the sun rose over the morning. What a success the trip was in sparking interest, ideas, camaraderie and passion in our team! We rule, ok?

Over in Miami, the chefs took a similarly great trip, this time to P.T. Fish, who shared lots of �shy knowledge with the crew, as well as their �lleting skills.

Left: Fishy goings on in LA and Miami

It's a hard life at the Soho House Coachella pop up...

Chickens grilling and Tim Fuller enjoying a little pork

PETE MCALLISTER

When you’re deciding on a career, maybe you think about being a mechanic or an electrician or something. But the thing is, everyone,

everywhere, needs to eat. So if you learn how to cook professionally you can do it anywhere in the world. You don’t even need to be able to be able to speak the language because you can speak the language of food.

I started cookingwhen I was small, with my mum and my grandma. �en, when I got to high school, we were lucky enough to have a $500,000 professional kitchen �tted within the school grounds, which was amazing. It was a boys’ school and all my friends cooked together. It meant that when I moved on to college, I already had credits in cookery courses.

When I was 15 I started as a kitchen porter at Annie’s Wine Bar, a top ten restaurant in New Zealand. I did my time at the sink! �e whole time I hassled the chefs to let me cook. Finally they took me on as a kind of commis and I spent a couple of years working in desserts and pastry. It was a great place to work and the team was like a family. �e restaurant manager

was a top sommelier too, so the menu was very connected to the wine list and we did a lot of vineyard trips. A�er a year o� in Australia I came back and took the sous chef job there for two years. I came to the UK seven years ago. I helped open up a 70-seater restaurant in Lincolnshire and then came to London. A�er a short time at York & Albany as a junior sous, I le� and took the sous chef job here.

�at was four and a half years ago. Since then we’ve built Hoxton up into one of the most successful sites in the group, doing 200 covers on a weekday, 350 a day at the weekend and most tables have two or three courses. It was tricky at �rst to develop our skills at doing American grill-style dishes, which also involve in�uences from Italy or Mexico, and we spent a good few years developing the menu, but we’re very happy with it now. We sell bucketloads of ribs and our gumbo is really popular – we give it a French twist alongside of its Creole and Cajun roots, so it’s like a spiced prawn bisque with okra. Some of the sta� have been with me here for years and I like to think we’ve nurtured some talent among chefs who’ve moved elsewhere in the group.

�e Cookhouse programme is very important to me because it’s important for the chefs. �e trips and events inspire them and gets them out and meeting other chefs and the producers who create the ingredients they use. It makes it easier too when we’re working at pop-ups like the House Festival in summer, because we all know each other already and the same is true of the monthly chefs’ table dinners. It’s great to reward someone from each site with a meal out in a di�erent venue, so they can meet even more people and see how other kitchens are run.

I still love cooking at home. �ere’s nothing better than cooking up a meal and then enjoying it with friends, rather than feeding 200 people. I love picking up a cookbook, breezing through and adapting ideas, trying to make something better or turning it into something new. One of my favourites books is �omas Keller’s French Laundry cookbook – although it does say on the �rst page, “Do not attempt to make these recipes”. Try Pete’s recipes for barbecue ribs and chicken wings on p22.

Head chef, Hoxton Grill London

“Everyone, everywhere needs to eat”

what i know

08 COOKHOUSE summer 2013 www.sohohouse.com

SOUND GOOD?Want to join one of our kitchen teams in London, Somerset, Berlin, New York, LA, Miami or Toronto? Email [email protected] or check out our website, www.cook-house.info to find out about vacancies and how to apply.


PETE MCALLISTER

When you’re deciding on a career, maybe you think about being a mechanic or an electrician or something. But the thing is, everyone,

everywhere, needs to eat. So if you learn how to cook professionally you can do it anywhere in the world. You don’t even need to be able to be able to speak the language because you can speak the language of food.

I started cookingwhen I was small, with my mum and my grandma. �en, when I got to high school, we were lucky enough to have a $500,000 professional kitchen �tted within the school grounds, which was amazing. It was a boys’ school and all my friends cooked together. It meant that when I moved on to college, I already had credits in cookery courses.

When I was 15 I started as a kitchen porter at Annie’s Wine Bar, a top ten restaurant in New Zealand. I did my time at the sink! �e whole time I hassled the chefs to let me cook. Finally they took me on as a kind of commis and I spent a couple of years working in desserts and pastry. It was a great place to work and the team was like a family. �e restaurant manager

was a top sommelier too, so the menu was very connected to the wine list and we did a lot of vineyard trips. A�er a year o� in Australia I came back and took the sous chef job there for two years. I came to the UK seven years ago. I helped open up a 70-seater restaurant in Lincolnshire and then came to London. A�er a short time at York & Albany as a junior sous, I le� and took the sous chef job here.

�at was four and a half years ago. Since then we’ve built Hoxton up into one of the most successful sites in the group, doing 200 covers on a weekday, 350 a day at the weekend and most tables have two or three courses. It was tricky at �rst to develop our skills at doing American grill-style dishes, which also involve in�uences from Italy or Mexico, and we spent a good few years developing the menu, but we’re very happy with it now. We sell bucketloads of ribs and our gumbo is really popular – we give it a French twist alongside of its Creole and Cajun roots, so it’s like a spiced prawn bisque with okra. Some of the sta� have been with me here for years and I like to think we’ve nurtured some talent among chefs who’ve moved elsewhere in the group.

�e Cookhouse programme is very important to me because it’s important for the chefs. �e trips and events inspire them and gets them out and meeting other chefs and the producers who create the ingredients they use. It makes it easier too when we’re working at pop-ups like the House Festival in summer, because we all know each other already and the same is true of the monthly chefs’ table dinners. It’s great to reward someone from each site with a meal out in a di�erent venue, so they can meet even more people and see how other kitchens are run.

I still love cooking at home. �ere’s nothing better than cooking up a meal and then enjoying it with friends, rather than feeding 200 people. I love picking up a cookbook, breezing through and adapting ideas, trying to make something better or turning it into something new. One of my favourites books is �omas Keller’s French Laundry cookbook – although it does say on the �rst page, “Do not attempt to make these recipes”. Try Pete’s recipes for barbecue ribs and chicken wings on p22.

Head chef, Hoxton Grill London

“Everyone, everywhere needs to eat”

what i know


SOUND GOOD?Want to join one of our kitchen teams in London, Somerset, Berlin, New York, LA, Miami or Toronto? Email [email protected] or check out our website, www.cook-house.info to find out about vacancies and how to apply.


competition

Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and you could compete too. Email [email protected] COOKHOUSE summer 2013 www.sohohouse.com www.cook-house.info summer 2013 COOKHOUSE 11

WANT TO LEARN?

The quarterly comp for junior sous and chefs-de-partie took place at Westminster Kingsway College, who once again generously lent

us their top-notch kitchens for the night. But before the chefs even got to the stoves, they were given £15 and an hour in Borough Market to source their ingredients. �eir brief was to cook two dishes in Soho House style, with the potential to go on a menu, so the judges wanted to see seasonal, fresh produce, used in tasty ways. It was a great opportunity for the chefs to show o� their knowledge, working with ingredients they love, while the judges got to assess whether they understood Soho House’s ethos.

Back at the college, the chefs had an hour and a half to cook up a storm, watched over by judges Gareth Jones, Lliam Boyle, Tim Fuller, Harvey Ayli�e and Pete McAllis-ter. As ever, it was a tightly fought contest but the eventual winner was

Jake Boyce, a demi-chef-de-partie at Dean Street Townhouse, with his delicious duck egg ravioli and lamb chop with red wine jus. Second and third places went to Marco Briotto and Andrew Martin.

For those at sous-chef level, the competition was a little di�erent, with their brief being all about showing their mastery of simple classical cooking. Martin Kuczmarski picked dishes like shepherd’s pie, steak tartare and coq au vin, which were then randomly allocated to each chef a week in advance. �e chefs had to source the ingredients from their site’s suppliers, bring a spec sheet for the dish and have ready full costings. On the night, they had two hours to prepare their dish – which needed to be tasty, fresh and seasonal as well as easy to replicate in a high volume Soho House site.

If that wasn’t pressure enough, they also had a surprise – a selection of seasonal vegetables from suppli-er Mash, bavette steak and lamb breast from Fairfax Meadows and gurnard from Richard Murray’s Fish, from which they had to create a special.

For the judges this was a perfect way to assess their creativity and see how the chefs coped with an in-tense kitchen environment. Martin, Harvey Ayli�e, Ronnie Bonneti, Steve Tonkin, Dylan Murray and Gareth, were all impressed by the standard of cooking. Ultimately junior sous Joe Hill, from Dean Street Townhouse, came out on top, with Soho House’s Markus Pieterse coming second and Nick Dever-all Smith from Pizza East Kentish Town taking third for creating the best special of the night.

We can’t wait for the next one...

JAKE BOYCE, DEAN ST TOWNHOUSEDUCK EGG RAVIOLI WITH ASPARAGUS AND WATERCRESSserves 13 duck eggs100-120g/ 3½-4 oz of 00 �our 5 asparagus tips1 bunch of watercressolive oil

Separate one of the egg yolks and blanch in boiling water for 30

seconds then set aside. Make a pasta dough using one whole duck egg

and the yolk from the third egg (not the blanched one) and 100g of 00

flour. Knead the dough for ten minutes then start to roll pasta into a

long sheet (or use a pasta machine). Assemble the ravioli by cutting

two circular discs of pasta. Place 4 or 5 watercress leaves and the

blanched yolk in to the centre of disc and put second disc on top.

Gently squeeze the

edges together.

Cook the asparagus

in boiling water for

3 minutes and toss in

butter. Cook ravioli for

2 minutes then serve on

top of asparagus. Place

watercress around the

edge, then dress the dish

with olive oil and season

with sea salt.

JOE HILL, LEMON SOLE MEUNIERE, ASPARAGUS AND BROWN SHRIMPserves 11 lemon sole �llet, 170-180g/6 oz, taken from the top of the �sh½ small lemon30g/1oz unsalted butter 5g/¼ oz plain �our5ml/1 teaspoon oil80g/3 oz English asparagus25g/1 oz cooked brown shrimps3g/1 tsp �at leaf parsley, washed and �nely choppedsalt and pepper

Lightly flour the lemon sole fillet, season and knock off any excess.

In a hot pan add the oil and a small knob of butter.

Put the lemon sole fillet in the pan and brown.

When you have a good golden colour, turn the fish over and cook until

just cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to rest.

Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water, drain and gently toss in a

little butter and season. Place the aspargus on the plate. Put the lemon

sole fillet on top of the asparagus so that it is sitting just off it.

Heat another small pan and add the rest of the butter.

When brown and foaming take off the heat and add the lemon juice.

Allow to cool slightly and then add the brown shrimps and chopped

parsley and correct the seasoning. Spoon the brown shrimp meuniere

butter over the fish and serve. Season to taste.

This summer we’ve broadened the scope of our cooking competitions, opening up a separate one for chefs at sous level, plus we’re asking chefs to source their own ingredients.

All of which makes for stiff competition and incredible dishes!

BEAT THE HEATFar left, sous-level winner Joe Hill and above winner Jake Boyce. Below, their winning dishes.

“�e judges wanted to see seasonal, fresh produce, used in particularly tasty ways”

competition

Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and you could compete too. Email [email protected] COOKHOUSE summer 2013 www.sohohouse.com www.cook-house.info summer 2013 COOKHOUSE 11

WANT TO LEARN?

The quarterly comp for junior sous and chefs-de-partie took place at Westminster Kingsway College, who once again generously lent

us their top-notch kitchens for the night. But before the chefs even got to the stoves, they were given £15 and an hour in Borough Market to source their ingredients. �eir brief was to cook two dishes in Soho House style, with the potential to go on a menu, so the judges wanted to see seasonal, fresh produce, used in tasty ways. It was a great opportunity for the chefs to show o� their knowledge, working with ingredients they love, while the judges got to assess whether they understood Soho House’s ethos.

Back at the college, the chefs had an hour and a half to cook up a storm, watched over by judges Gareth Jones, Lliam Boyle, Tim Fuller, Harvey Ayli�e and Pete McAllis-ter. As ever, it was a tightly fought contest but the eventual winner was

Jake Boyce, a demi-chef-de-partie at Dean Street Townhouse, with his delicious duck egg ravioli and lamb chop with red wine jus. Second and third places went to Marco Briotto and Andrew Martin.

For those at sous-chef level, the competition was a little di�erent, with their brief being all about showing their mastery of simple classical cooking. Martin Kuczmarski picked dishes like shepherd’s pie, steak tartare and coq au vin, which were then randomly allocated to each chef a week in advance. �e chefs had to source the ingredients from their site’s suppliers, bring a spec sheet for the dish and have ready full costings. On the night, they had two hours to prepare their dish – which needed to be tasty, fresh and seasonal as well as easy to replicate in a high volume Soho House site.

If that wasn’t pressure enough, they also had a surprise – a selection of seasonal vegetables from suppli-er Mash, bavette steak and lamb breast from Fairfax Meadows and gurnard from Richard Murray’s Fish, from which they had to create a special.

For the judges this was a perfect way to assess their creativity and see how the chefs coped with an in-tense kitchen environment. Martin, Harvey Ayli�e, Ronnie Bonneti, Steve Tonkin, Dylan Murray and Gareth, were all impressed by the standard of cooking. Ultimately junior sous Joe Hill, from Dean Street Townhouse, came out on top, with Soho House’s Markus Pieterse coming second and Nick Dever-all Smith from Pizza East Kentish Town taking third for creating the best special of the night.

We can’t wait for the next one...

JAKE BOYCE, DEAN ST TOWNHOUSEDUCK EGG RAVIOLI WITH ASPARAGUS AND WATERCRESSserves 13 duck eggs100-120g/ 3½-4 oz of 00 �our 5 asparagus tips1 bunch of watercressolive oil

Separate one of the egg yolks and blanch in boiling water for 30

seconds then set aside. Make a pasta dough using one whole duck egg

and the yolk from the third egg (not the blanched one) and 100g of 00

flour. Knead the dough for ten minutes then start to roll pasta into a

long sheet (or use a pasta machine). Assemble the ravioli by cutting

two circular discs of pasta. Place 4 or 5 watercress leaves and the

blanched yolk in to the centre of disc and put second disc on top.

Gently squeeze the

edges together.

Cook the asparagus

in boiling water for

3 minutes and toss in

butter. Cook ravioli for

2 minutes then serve on

top of asparagus. Place

watercress around the

edge, then dress the dish

with olive oil and season

with sea salt.

JOE HILL, LEMON SOLE MEUNIERE, ASPARAGUS AND BROWN SHRIMPserves 11 lemon sole �llet, 170-180g/6 oz, taken from the top of the �sh½ small lemon30g/1oz unsalted butter 5g/¼ oz plain �our5ml/1 teaspoon oil80g/3 oz English asparagus25g/1 oz cooked brown shrimps3g/1 tsp �at leaf parsley, washed and �nely choppedsalt and pepper

Lightly flour the lemon sole fillet, season and knock off any excess.

In a hot pan add the oil and a small knob of butter.

Put the lemon sole fillet in the pan and brown.

When you have a good golden colour, turn the fish over and cook until

just cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to rest.

Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water, drain and gently toss in a

little butter and season. Place the aspargus on the plate. Put the lemon

sole fillet on top of the asparagus so that it is sitting just off it.

Heat another small pan and add the rest of the butter.

When brown and foaming take off the heat and add the lemon juice.

Allow to cool slightly and then add the brown shrimps and chopped

parsley and correct the seasoning. Spoon the brown shrimp meuniere

butter over the fish and serve. Season to taste.

This summer we’ve broadened the scope of our cooking competitions, opening up a separate one for chefs at sous level, plus we’re asking chefs to source their own ingredients.

All of which makes for stiff competition and incredible dishes!

BEAT THE HEATFar left, sous-level winner Joe Hill and above winner Jake Boyce. Below, their winning dishes.

“�e judges wanted to see seasonal, fresh produce, used in particularly tasty ways”

ALL THAT JAZZ

www.cook-house.info summer 2013 COOKHOUSE 13

A beautiful selection of bespoke food and drinks were served to the lucky guests, with cocktails created by Grey Goose to suit J. Gatsby's tastes. Oliver Blackburn from Grey Goose explains. "�e drinks were designed to draw on cocktails that Gatsby himself might have enjoyed.

�e Le Fizz is our signature cocktail and it certainly �ts that glamorous Champagne reception moment. �e homemade raspberry syrup for �e Secret Cocktail (and also expert bartending skills) was courtesy of Erdem Kayalar (Soho House's head bartender)."

Dishes served were inspired by menus from 1920s New York, when �nger foods were laid on by speakeasy owners to try and prevent their patrons getting so rolling drunk that when they spilled out into the streets they drew too much attention to their illegal drinking dens. So the modern-day Soho set tucked into their cocktails and nibbled shrimp vol au vents, Waldorf salad, smoked salmon and caviar blini plus steak tartare. Dinner was a little more up-to-date, with duck and girolles with beetroot, wild bass with samphire or gnocchi on o�er, but puds stepped back in time again, with a gorgeous peach melba. �ere was also raucous entertainment from a pair of fabulous Charleston dancers!

PS - there's an exclusive video of Soho House's seasonal Grey Goose cocktail, Le Citron Chamomile Gimlet, and how to pair it with scallops on our website: www.cook-house.info

Fabulous frocks and Grey Goose cocktails for Gatsby.

Speakeasy style drinks and glamour at Soho House London's cinema.

GREY GOOSE LE FIZZ35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose25ml/¾ oz St Germain 20ml/2/3 oz lime juice75ml/2¼ oz soda water

Shake all but soda, strain into flute, top with soda.

Garnish with Grey Goose stirrer

GREY GOOSE 20TH CENTURY COCKTAIL

35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose L’Orange

15ml/½ oz Benedictine10ml/1/3 oz vanilla liqueur

35ml/ 1¼ oz grapefruit juiceShake ingredients over ice and double

strain into Martini glass.

Garnish with a grapefruit zest.

GREY GOOSE SECRET COCKTAIL

35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose La Poire15ml/½ oz applejack or

apple brandy15ml/½ oz lemon juice

20ml/¾ oz egg white10ml/1/3 oz homemade

raspberry syrupShake all ingredients and double


Drop raspberry on top.

To celebrate the launch of Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrman’s extravagant and opulent cinematic take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary novel,

Soho House and Grey Goose vodka hosted a screening of the film followed by dinner.

“ �e drinks were designed to draw on cocktails that Gatsby himself might have enjoyed”

ALL THAT JAZZ


A beautiful selection of bespoke food and drinks were served to the lucky guests, with cocktails created by Grey Goose to suit J. Gatsby's tastes. Oliver Blackburn from Grey Goose explains. "�e drinks were designed to draw on cocktails that Gatsby himself might have enjoyed.

�e Le Fizz is our signature cocktail and it certainly �ts that glamorous Champagne reception moment. �e homemade raspberry syrup for �e Secret Cocktail (and also expert bartending skills) was courtesy of Erdem Kayalar (Soho House's head bartender)."

Dishes served were inspired by menus from 1920s New York, when �nger foods were laid on by speakeasy owners to try and prevent their patrons getting so rolling drunk that when they spilled out into the streets they drew too much attention to their illegal drinking dens. So the modern-day Soho set tucked into their cocktails and nibbled shrimp vol au vents, Waldorf salad, smoked salmon and caviar blini plus steak tartare. Dinner was a little more up-to-date, with duck and girolles with beetroot, wild bass with samphire or gnocchi on o�er, but puds stepped back in time again, with a gorgeous peach melba. �ere was also raucous entertainment from a pair of fabulous Charleston dancers!

PS - there's an exclusive video of Soho House's seasonal Grey Goose cocktail, Le Citron Chamomile Gimlet, and how to pair it with scallops on our website: www.cook-house.info

Fabulous frocks and Grey Goose cocktails for Gatsby.

Speakeasy style drinks and glamour at Soho House London's cinema.

GREY GOOSE LE FIZZ35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose25ml/¾ oz St Germain 20ml/2/3 oz lime juice75ml/2¼ oz soda water

Shake all but soda, strain into flute, top with soda.

Garnish with Grey Goose stirrer

GREY GOOSE 20TH CENTURY COCKTAIL

35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose L’Orange

15ml/½ oz Benedictine10ml/1/3 oz vanilla liqueur

35ml/ 1¼ oz grapefruit juiceShake ingredients over ice and double


Garnish with a grapefruit zest.

GREY GOOSE SECRET COCKTAIL

35ml/1¼ oz Grey Goose La Poire15ml/½ oz applejack or

apple brandy15ml/½ oz lemon juice

20ml/¾ oz egg white10ml/1/3 oz homemade

raspberry syrupShake all ingredients and double


Drop raspberry on top.

To celebrate the launch of Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrman’s extravagant and opulent cinematic take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary novel,

Soho House and Grey Goose vodka hosted a screening of the film followed by dinner.

“ �e drinks were designed to draw on cocktails that Gatsby himself might have enjoyed”

THAT TODDLING TOWNSoho House is coming to Chicago next year and our chefs and directors have been trying out the exciting menus that the city

has to o�er – all in the name of “research”, lucky things! Here are a few of their favourite spots to eat.

on tour


Woof! �e coolest meat platter ever at the Purple Pig Restaurant

Meaty goodies at Publican Quality Meat, far le� and Purple Pig, le�; above, the beautiful setting of Girl And �e Goat and right, octopus as served at Purple Pig.

Publican Quality MeatAndrea Cavaliere: Chicago was so brilliant. �e restaurants are very chef driven, meaning chefs own and design the spaces. It’s got some Italian roots but also huge American in�uences. I’m really looking forward to opening up there. When we went there on our research trip we ate in about six places a day. I loved Publican Quality Meat, it’s an amazing cafe-deli with a counter where you can buy cheese and their incredible cured meats – many of which they cure themselves. Plus they do all their own breads which are so good I want them to supply us! �ey also do their own butchering and sell exceptional raw meats too. 825 W. Fulton Market Street, Chicago, IL 60607, publicanqualitymeats.com

Girl and the GoatKeith Edwards: My favourite restaurant was �e Girl and the Goat. Quite simply the best food I have ever eaten (sorry Grandma). We had a selection of starters and main courses and the �avours were out of this world.

I almost fainted when I ate the wood-oven roasted cauli�ower dish. I was so inspired I went straight to Amazon and bought chef Stephanie Izzard’s cookbook. 809 W. Randolph St, Chicago IL 60607, girlandthegoat.com

Purple PigAndrea Cavaliere: �e best, best, best place is the Purple Pig. It’s basically the best place in Chicago.

Keith Edwards: Who would have thought that pigs ears with kale could taste so good?

A�er lunch the chef came and said Hi which was nice touch. 500 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, thepurplepigchicago.com

BavetteKeith Edwards: �e other really cool restaurant was Bavette’s, Brendan Sodiko�’s steak house (Brendan works with Soho House). I had steak frites which were about the best I have ever had and the décor of the restaurant was really cool too.... Paris meets Chicago. 218 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, bavetteschicago.com

“�e best food I have ever eaten (sorry Grandma)”

We stayed at Rinconada Dairy, a Santa Margarita dairy famed for their hand-produced artisanal goats’

and sheep’s milk cheese. Christine and Jim Maguire opened their doors and their dairy to us and taught us about everything that is necessary to produce really high-quality cheese – starting with milking the goats and sheep at 5:30am and ending the day with beautiful meals using their delicious cheeses and homegrown produce.

We toured nearby Nick Ranch, a sixth-generation, family-owned, grass-fed beef operation in Santa Margarita, which grows its own sprouted fodder and uses sonograms to view the cuts of meat on the cattle as they grow. We also spent some time getting to know their 2,500-pound prize bull…Scary.

Bill and Barbara Spencer of the Windrose Farm in Paso Robles took us on a morning stroll around their 50-acre farm, which follows biodynamic farming principles, to learn more about biodynamic practices and what it takes to run a family farm. At Windrose, they grow everything from garlic to rosemary and every green you can think of for a salad, plus 40 di�erent types of apples, sheep for grazing and free-roaming chickens.

Next, oil producers Pasolivo welcomed us, taking us on a tour of their olive oil production facility and showing us an incredible Pieralisi olive mill. �ey tasted us through their extra-virgin and infused olive oils, made from olives hand picked on Pasolivo’s 45 acres of Tuscan-style missionary olives. �ey recommended a stop at Limerock Orchards down the road, where we were able to sample a number of

products produced from locally grown walnuts, including walnut oil and a heavenly walnut butter.

While in Central California, we were also sure to take some time to stop by a few of the region’s best organic and biodynamic wineries, including Baileyana, Tablas Creek and Whalebone (there are so many amazing wineries to choose from).

We had dinner at two of Central California’s best restaurants, Artisan Paso Robles and �e Range, to see how local chefs are putting this incredible bounty to use and to take a peek inside both of their kitchens.

Expect to see new dishes inspired by our trip on Soho House’s North American menus, as even more of the Californian farm-fresh in�uence spreads through our kitchens.

CALIFORNIA DREAMINGAs part of the Cookhouse training programme, chefs from all over North America gathered in California for a trip up the Central Coast to explore the rich farmland of Paso Robles and Santa Margarita, home to a number of farms that employ

organic, biodynamic or dry farming principles. Julia Taylor-Brown reports back

on tour

Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and and get involved. Email [email protected]


“Expect to see dishes inspired by this trip on menus in the coming months”

WANT TO LEARN?

�e cookhouse team; sheep at Rinconada

READY...STEADY...COOK!Get the lowdown on Cookhouse’s inaugural cooking competition.

Heirloom tomatoes and bell peppersSummer is the best time to enjoy cooking with heirloom tomatoes and peppers. Blitz sweet and tasty raw tomatoes and use as fresh passata or in a fresh tomato Bloody Mary; roast and bottle them; make a tomato gelato (try saying that 10 times quickly); burn and blacken the skins, then use in Mexican-style slow-cooked meat sauces, for a smoky, sharp �avour.

Mix roasted and sliced bell peppers with �ame grilled aubergines/eggplants (burn whole aubergine skins over a gas �ame, scrape out the �esh) for a Middle Eastern dip; blitz roasted pieces with walnuts, olive oil, cumin, lemon and garlic and serve smeared on toast.

Also at their best:Plums, green beans, sweet corn on the cob, �gs, arugala, beet greens, apricots, melon, passion fruit, cherries.

In Season Now: USA

Heirloom tomatoes and peppers photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley


CucumbersCucumbers are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables in the world and started being grown to eat about 4,000 years ago. Cucumber is well known as a perfect match for yoghurt, which, because it is sour, brings out the cucumber’s delicate and slightly sweet perfume. Although most cucumber is eaten raw, it’s delicious in soup, �avoured with lemon, dill or cream, and is also good wilted in butter and served alongside �sh like trout or salmon, stir-fried or baked with cream and ham. Because of its high water content, it doesn’t take well to roasting or grilling.

Also in season:So� green herbs like chervil, dill, basil, chives, parsley and mint; tomatoes, courgettes, spinach, spring onions, broad beans, green beans and even the occasional aubergine.

In August look for berries: bilberries, strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries, plus cherries and other stone fruits may be nearly ready to eat or bottle.

In season now: Europe

Cucumber photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley


Heirloom tomatoes and bell peppersSummer is the best time to enjoy cooking with heirloom tomatoes and peppers. Blitz sweet and tasty raw tomatoes and use as fresh passata or in a fresh tomato Bloody Mary; roast and bottle them; make a tomato gelato (try saying that 10 times quickly); burn and blacken the skins, then use in Mexican-style slow-cooked meat sauces, for a smoky, sharp �avour.

Mix roasted and sliced bell peppers with �ame grilled aubergines/eggplants (burn whole aubergine skins over a gas �ame, scrape out the �esh) for a Middle Eastern dip; blitz roasted pieces with walnuts, olive oil, cumin, lemon and garlic and serve smeared on toast.

Also at their best:Plums, green beans, sweet corn on the cob, �gs, arugala, beet greens, apricots, melon, passion fruit, cherries.

In Season Now: USA

Heirloom tomatoes and peppers photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley


CucumbersCucumbers are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables in the world and started being grown to eat about 4,000 years ago. Cucumber is well known as a perfect match for yoghurt, which, because it is sour, brings out the cucumber’s delicate and slightly sweet perfume. Although most cucumber is eaten raw, it’s delicious in soup, �avoured with lemon, dill or cream, and is also good wilted in butter and served alongside �sh like trout or salmon, stir-fried or baked with cream and ham. Because of its high water content, it doesn’t take well to roasting or grilling.

Also in season:So� green herbs like chervil, dill, basil, chives, parsley and mint; tomatoes, courgettes, spinach, spring onions, broad beans, green beans and even the occasional aubergine.

In August look for berries: bilberries, strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries, plus cherries and other stone fruits may be nearly ready to eat or bottle.

In season now: Europe

Cucumber photo by Dai Williams, styled by Alice Wigley

VENEZUELAN CHOCOLATE CHILLI CHICKEN

Paul A Young is a brilliant chocolatier and chef, who has taught several chocolate-y classes for guests and chefs. �is recipe is from Adventures with Chocolate

(published by Kyle Books)

serves 41 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 x 400g/14oz tin chopped tomatoes1 tablespoon dark muscovado sugar

150g/5oz Venezuelan dark chocolate, broken into pieces

bunch of coriander leaves (about 25g/1oz)4 banana shallots, chopped �nely

2 garlic cloves, chopped �nely1 tablespoon light olive oil

4 organic, free-range chicken thighs4 organic, free-range chicken drumsticks

juice and zest of 3 oranges3 fresh red chillies, �nely diced

2 teaspoons dried mulatto chillies (or any other mild chillies)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. In a casserole dish, sauté the shallots and

the garlic in the olive oil, then add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides.

Add the orange juice and zest, fresh and dried chillies, coriander seeds, tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. Pop on the lid and cook in the oven for 20

minutes. Remove from the oven, li� out the chicken and stir the chocolate into the remaining sauce.

Serve with the sauce smothered over the chicken with generous amounts of

chopped or torn coriander leaves. www.paulayoung.co.uk

PAUL A YOUNG

cut itout.........PAUL A YOUNG

out.........Recipes for you to cut out and keep from some of the top chefs who’ve visited Soho House Group’s kitchens around the world.

GET ON THE GUEST LIST!Join one of Soho House's kitchens and work with our great guest chefs. Email [email protected]

ORI MENACHE

PICI CON STRACOTTO DI AGNELLO

PICI PASTA WITH LAMB NECK RAGU

Along with his wife, Genevieve Gergis, Ori Menache runs Bestia,

a wonderful Italian hotspot in Downtown Los Angeles where the best seat

in the house is at the chef ’s bar. We’re happy to say that he’s

a friend of Cookhouse.

serves 4

For the ragu:

10 lamb neck �llets3 heads garlic, 1 head split and cloves sliced

3 sprigs rosemary1½ cups tomato paste (we make our own but

store bought and watered down with a few tablespoons of stock or water will do)

extra-virgin olive oil4 carrots4 onions

2 lb/900g cardoons2 Fresno chillies, split

bouquet garni of bay, marjoram, rosemary and thyme

4 cups/1 litre white wine

Trim the lamb necks of excess fat and sinew, season with salt and pepper. Finely mince two

of the heads of garlic and the rosemary. Stir into the tomato paste along with a healthy glug of olive oil. Rub this paste on the lamb necks. Place the lamb on a roasting rack and roast in a 300ºF/150ºC oven for �ve hours, rotating the

pan in the middle. Once the lamb necks are cooked and tender, cool until you are able to

handle. Pick the meat o� the bones (but do not discard the bones!).

Reserve the pulled lamb neck meat, and make a stock out of the bones according to the

recipe below.

Dice the remaining vegetables and add the chilli and garlic. Put all this into a rondeau

pan and cook over a medium-high heat until tender and golden, about 20 minutes. To this vegetable base add the pulled lamb neck meat

and the remaining herbs and then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Reduce by three quarters, then cover with the lamb neck stock.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper and allow to cook for two hours

at a lazy simmer.

For the pici pasta:

2lb 3oz/1kg 00 pasta �our1lb 2oz/500g goat’s milk

2 oz/50g extra-virgin olive oil½ oz/10g kosher salt

2 organic eggs

Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using the well method (make a well in the centre, add the wet ingredients to the well and slowly stir together). Knead for 20 minutes.

Mix thoroughly and chill for 12 hours before using. Roll out and cut into strips. Using your hands, roll into thick strands, like oversized spaghetti. Cook the pasta in boiling salted

water for two minutes, then add to the ragu and allow to �nish cooking brie�y in the sauce.

Finish the dish with a little extra virgin olive oil and pecorino cheese.

For the lamb stock

2 medium carrots3 large onions2 sticks celery

1 head garlic, splitbouquet garni of bay leaf, marjoram,

rosemary and thyme2 cups/500ml dry white wine

Roast all the vegetables in a pot large enough to accommodate the bones. Add the bones and herbs, deglaze with the dry white wine

and then cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer for four hours. Strain and set the

liquid aside until needed.www.bestiala.com

Ori and his wife Genevieve and below, his original recipe

Paul A Young, right, and above his chocolate chilli chicken.

Photograph by Anders Schønnemann

“I can’t say it’s authentic, but it does have the wow factor when eaten”

VENEZUELAN CHOCOLATE CHILLI CHICKEN

Paul A Young is a brilliant chocolatier and chef, who has taught several chocolate-y classes for guests and chefs. �is recipe is from Adventures with Chocolate

(published by Kyle Books)

serves 41 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 x 400g/14oz tin chopped tomatoes1 tablespoon dark muscovado sugar

150g/5oz Venezuelan dark chocolate, broken into pieces

bunch of coriander leaves (about 25g/1oz)4 banana shallots, chopped �nely

2 garlic cloves, chopped �nely1 tablespoon light olive oil

4 organic, free-range chicken thighs4 organic, free-range chicken drumsticks

juice and zest of 3 oranges3 fresh red chillies, �nely diced

2 teaspoons dried mulatto chillies (or any other mild chillies)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. In a casserole dish, sauté the shallots and

the garlic in the olive oil, then add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides.

Add the orange juice and zest, fresh and dried chillies, coriander seeds, tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. Pop on the lid and cook in the oven for 20

minutes. Remove from the oven, li� out the chicken and stir the chocolate into the remaining sauce.

Serve with the sauce smothered over the chicken with generous amounts of

chopped or torn coriander leaves. www.paulayoung.co.uk

PAUL A YOUNG

cut itout.........Recipes for you to cut out and keep from some of the top chefs who’ve visited Soho House Group’s kitchens around the world.

GET ON THE GUEST LIST!Join one of Soho House's kitchens and work with our great guest chefs. Email [email protected]

ORI MENACHE

PICI CON STRACOTTO DI AGNELLO

PICI PASTA WITH LAMB NECK RAGU

Along with his wife, Genevieve Gergis, Ori Menache runs Bestia,

a wonderful Italian hotspot in Downtown Los Angeles where the best seat

in the house is at the chef ’s bar. We’re happy to say that he’s

a friend of Cookhouse.

serves 4

For the ragu:

10 lamb neck �llets3 heads garlic, 1 head split and cloves sliced

3 sprigs rosemary1½ cups tomato paste (we make our own but

store bought and watered down with a few tablespoons of stock or water will do)

extra-virgin olive oil4 carrots4 onions

2 lb/900g cardoons2 Fresno chillies, split

bouquet garni of bay, marjoram, rosemary and thyme

4 cups/1 litre white wine

Trim the lamb necks of excess fat and sinew, season with salt and pepper. Finely mince two

of the heads of garlic and the rosemary. Stir into the tomato paste along with a healthy glug of olive oil. Rub this paste on the lamb necks. Place the lamb on a roasting rack and roast in a 300ºF/150ºC oven for �ve hours, rotating the

pan in the middle. Once the lamb necks are cooked and tender, cool until you are able to

handle. Pick the meat o� the bones (but do not discard the bones!).

Reserve the pulled lamb neck meat, and make a stock out of the bones according to the

recipe below.

Dice the remaining vegetables and add the chilli and garlic. Put all this into a rondeau

pan and cook over a medium-high heat until tender and golden, about 20 minutes. To this vegetable base add the pulled lamb neck meat

and the remaining herbs and then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Reduce by three quarters, then cover with the lamb neck stock.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper and allow to cook for two hours

at a lazy simmer.

For the pici pasta:

2lb 3oz/1kg 00 pasta �our1lb 2oz/500g goat’s milk

2 oz/50g extra-virgin olive oil½ oz/10g kosher salt

2 organic eggs

Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using the well method (make a well in the centre, add the wet ingredients to the well and slowly stir together). Knead for 20 minutes.

Mix thoroughly and chill for 12 hours before using. Roll out and cut into strips. Using your hands, roll into thick strands, like oversized spaghetti. Cook the pasta in boiling salted

water for two minutes, then add to the ragu and allow to �nish cooking brie�y in the sauce.

Finish the dish with a little extra virgin olive oil and pecorino cheese.

For the lamb stock

2 medium carrots3 large onions2 sticks celery

1 head garlic, splitbouquet garni of bay leaf, marjoram,

rosemary and thyme2 cups/500ml dry white wine

Roast all the vegetables in a pot large enough to accommodate the bones. Add the bones and herbs, deglaze with the dry white wine

and then cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer for four hours. Strain and set the

liquid aside until needed.www.bestiala.com

Ori and his wife Genevieve and below, his original recipe

Paul A Young, right, and above his chocolate chilli chicken.

Photograph by Anders Schønnemann

Mix thoroughlyMix thoroughlyMix and thoroughly and thoroughly chill for 12 for 12 for hours before

“I can’t say it’s authentic, but it does have the wow factor when eaten”

FLAME ON!Summer’s here! What more excuse do you need to �re up the barbie and get some great food on the grill?

We asked our top chefs for some smokin’ good recipes

license to grill

Photograph by Steven JoyceChicken wings, ribs and sticky sauces, all recipes by Pete McAllister, overleaf.

FLAME ON!Summer’s here! What more excuse do you need to �re up the barbie and get some great food on the grill?

We asked our top chefs for some smokin’ good recipes

license to grill

Photograph by Steven JoyceChicken wings, ribs and sticky sauces, all recipes by Pete McAllister, overleaf.

license to grill


JERK SPICE RUB

�is is a great marinade for chicken cooked on the barbie.

1 bunch spring onions/scallions4 cloves garlic

2cm/1 inch ginger4 green chillies, 2 deseeded1 bunch coriander/cilantro

½ bunch mint

½ stick lemon grasszest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes2 teaspoons

ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon ground paprika

125ml/½ cup veg oilsplash soy sauce

Chop all fresh ingredients then add the

dried ingredients and oil.

Finally add the soy sauce.

Blend everything together, preferably in a thermo mixer. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Before cooking, lightly rub the chicken with the

jerk mix and leave to marinade.

Cook on the barbecue.

licence to grill

PORK RIB SAUCE

100ml/3½ � oz sweet chilli sauce100ml/3½ � oz barbecue sauce

100ml/3½ � oz soy sauce100ml/3½ � oz honey

1/3 cup / 50g dark brown sugar½ red onion, diced

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Put

aside until ready to use. Any leftovers will keep.

CAJUN SPICE MIX50g/2oz cayenne125g/4oz paprika

15g/½oz onion powder

15g/½oz garlic powder

5g/¼oz cracked black peppercorns15g/½oz cumin seeds

5g/¼oz dried oregano and thyme5g/¼oz celery salt

Blitz on half power in a coffee grinder.

BBQ PORK RIBS

At the Hoxton we can go through over 100kg a week of our St. Louis pork ribs.

8 whole pork ribs

Trim the meat of any unwanted fat. Poach in a

pot of water on the stove top for about 2 hours

until you can push a skewer through the meat with

ease. Do not boil as the ribs will become tough.

(You can also try poaching your ribs in cola. Cola

helps break the tendons down in the meat.)

Remove the ribs from the water and dry them

off. Dust the ribs with Cajun spice mix (above),

and then coat them with sticky rib sauce (above).

Finish the marinated pork ribs in the oven or on

the BBQ. You can also cut the ribs along the bone

for baby back ribs.

RED SLAW

A perfect spicy side for barbecued meats.serves 4-6

¼ small red cabbage1 beetroot

1 red onion

3 large carrots1 bunch spring onions/scallions

1 bunch of radishparsley

3 red chillieslime juice and chilli sauce to dress

Slice everything except the spring onion, parsley

radish and chilli using a mandolin. Wash the cut

cabbage and beetroot of excess redness.

Slice the spring onion and chilli and mix everything

together. Dress with sweet chilli sauce and lime

juice. Season and taste.

PETE MCALLISTER, HOXTON GRILLBitatiundis ditis inusda dolupta

ipsam volenimus ea pa nos

volestrum quia ilignist eium

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE, WILD ARUGULA/ROCKET,

CURRANTS, ORANGE AND HAZELNUT SALAD

serves 8For the octopus:

1 raw octopus, around 2 lb/900g2 bottles white wine

½ cup/50g black peppercorns1 tablespoon tomato paste

zest of 1 orange

To prep the octopus: heat a large pan with a little

oil. Bring it to smoking point then sear the octo

on both sides until it turns a rich red colour.

Once red on both sides, add the two bottles

of white wine, peppercorns, tomato paste and orange zest. Braise until tender, about one hour. Allow the octopus to cool fully. Slice into pieces, removing the eyes, beak and mushy parts within

the head, keeping tentacles intact. Marinate the octopus pieces in half the romesco

sauce (recipe below) for at least an hour, or overnight if possible. Keep the rest of the

romesco back for serving.

For the romesco: 3 dried ancho chilies

1 red bell pepper1 Roma (plum) tomato

sprig of thyme5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons smoked paprika1 cup/240ml blended oil (80% grapeseed oil

mixed with 20% extra-virgin olive oil)

1 x 1 inch/3cm thick slice of rustic bread, grilled (char is good but don’t burn it)

¼ cup/35g hazelnuts¼/75ml sherry vinegarlemon, for squeezing

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Rehydrate the ancho chillies in hot water. Clean

out as many seeds as possible.

Roast the red pepper over the grill. Cool slightly

and remove charred skin. Roast the tomato in

the oven or on a wood grill with the thyme, two cloves of the garlic, splash of extra-virgin olive

oil, salt and one tablespoon of the paprika.When cooked, puree together the pepper and tomato with the ancho chilli and rest of the

garlic. Pulse slowly, adding the oil, until smooth. Tear the bread into pieces then add along with the

nuts. Puree again. Season and add the vinegar and

a squeeze of lemon. Add one tablespoon of smoked

paprika and a teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Season with salt.

For the balsamic vinegar dressing:1 shallot, diced

1 clove garlic minced1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ cup/120ml balsamic vinegar1½ cups/560ml blended oil (80% grapeseed

oil, 20% extra-virgin olive oil)cracked black pepper & salt

lemon, for squeezing

Combine shallot, garlic and mustard. Add the

vinegar and whisk in the oil. Season to taste with

cracked black pepper and salt and finish with a

squeeze of lemon.

For the balsamic reduction:2 cups/500ml balsamic vinegar

½ lemon, juiced

Mix the vinegar and lemon juice then reduce by

half over a low heat. Be careful not to over

reduce or scorch the vinegar.

For the salad:marinated octopus pieces

1 orange, zest julienned then juiced4 or 5 handfuls wild arugula/rocket

handful toasted hazelnuts, lightly crushedhandful of dried or fresh blackcurrants

remaining romesco saucebalsamic reductionbalsamic dressing

Place the marinated octopus pieces on the

barbecue grill. Char the octopus until heated

through, being careful not to overcook or burn

the smaller part of the tentacles. Remove from

heat. Pour the orange juice over the octopus and

allow to rest.

Toss the arugula/rocket, currants, zest and

hazelnuts in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper

and dress lightly with balsamic vinegar dressing.

Toss. Slice each octopus part into 3-4 pieces and

toss with the salad.

On 8 serving plates, spread a small amount of romesco on the bottom along with a small amount

of balsamic reduction. Place tossed salad over the

romesco and balsamic allowing a little of each to

be seen. Make sure to layer all ingredients so

every bite has a little of everything in it.

MICHAEL MAHONY, SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD

BARBECUED BRANZINOServes two

1 European seabass (branzino), approx 600g/1 ½ lbs

2oz/50g fennel, thinly shaved 3 sprigs parsley, leaves picked1 clove of garlic, thinly shaved

3 round lemon slicessalt and pepper

Have your fishmonger butterfly the whole

branzino and remove the spine bone. Lay the

fish on a secure cutting board with the head

facing away from you, and the body open. Using

tweezers, remove pin bones from along the belly

portions on either side of the fish. Run your

fingers along the bone line to make sure you have

not missed any. Season the fish with salt and

pepper on both sides. On the right side distribute

the shaved fennel evenly over the flesh. Then

place the parsley, garlic and lemon rounds neatly

on top, making sure to spread them evenly over

the flesh of the fish. Close the fish, making sure

to tuck the ingredients back into the belly cavity

if they are bulging out. Use a skewer to pin the

belly of the fish closed so that you have a neatly

stuffed whole branzino. The fish can be oven-

roasted or wood-fired, depending on the weather!

Simply drizzle a small amount of olive oil and salt

and pepper on the skin (both sides) and grill over

medium-high heat for 12-14 minutes. Serve with

salsa verde and lemon wedges.

NANO CRESPO, SOHO HOUSE TORONTO

license to grill


JERK SPICE RUB

�is is a great marinade for chicken cooked on the barbie.

1 bunch spring onions/scallions4 cloves garlic

2cm/1 inch ginger4 green chillies, 2 deseeded1 bunch coriander/cilantro

½ bunch mint

½ stick lemon grasszest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes2 teaspoons

ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon ground paprika

125ml/½ cup veg oilsplash soy sauce

Chop all fresh ingredients then add the

dried ingredients and oil.

Finally add the soy sauce.

Blend everything together, preferably in a thermo mixer. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Before cooking, lightly rub the chicken with the

jerk mix and leave to marinade.

Cook on the barbecue.

licence to grill

PORK RIB SAUCE

100ml/3½ � oz sweet chilli sauce100ml/3½ � oz barbecue sauce

100ml/3½ � oz soy sauce100ml/3½ � oz honey

1/3 cup / 50g dark brown sugar½ red onion, diced

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Put

aside until ready to use. Any leftovers will keep.

CAJUN SPICE MIX50g/2oz cayenne125g/4oz paprika

15g/½oz onion powder

15g/½oz garlic powder

5g/¼oz cracked black peppercorns15g/½oz cumin seeds

5g/¼oz dried oregano and thyme5g/¼oz celery salt

Blitz on half power in a coffee grinder.

BBQ PORK RIBS

At the Hoxton we can go through over 100kg a week of our St. Louis pork ribs.

8 whole pork ribs

Trim the meat of any unwanted fat. Poach in a

pot of water on the stove top for about 2 hours

until you can push a skewer through the meat with

ease. Do not boil as the ribs will become tough.

(You can also try poaching your ribs in cola. Cola

helps break the tendons down in the meat.)

Remove the ribs from the water and dry them

off. Dust the ribs with Cajun spice mix (above),

and then coat them with sticky rib sauce (above).

Finish the marinated pork ribs in the oven or on

the BBQ. You can also cut the ribs along the bone

for baby back ribs.

RED SLAW

A perfect spicy side for barbecued meats.serves 4-6

¼ small red cabbage1 beetroot

1 red onion

3 large carrots1 bunch spring onions/scallions

1 bunch of radishparsley

3 red chillieslime juice and chilli sauce to dress

Slice everything except the spring onion, parsley

radish and chilli using a mandolin. Wash the cut

cabbage and beetroot of excess redness.

Slice the spring onion and chilli and mix everything

together. Dress with sweet chilli sauce and lime

juice. Season and taste.

PETE MCALLISTER, HOXTON GRILLBitatiundis ditis inusda dolupta

ipsam volenimus ea pa nos

volestrum quia ilignist eium

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE, WILD ARUGULA/ROCKET,

CURRANTS, ORANGE AND HAZELNUT SALAD

serves 8For the octopus:

1 raw octopus, around 2 lb/900g2 bottles white wine

½ cup/50g black peppercorns1 tablespoon tomato paste

zest of 1 orange

To prep the octopus: heat a large pan with a little

oil. Bring it to smoking point then sear the octo

on both sides until it turns a rich red colour.

Once red on both sides, add the two bottles

of white wine, peppercorns, tomato paste and orange zest. Braise until tender, about one hour. Allow the octopus to cool fully. Slice into pieces, removing the eyes, beak and mushy parts within

the head, keeping tentacles intact. Marinate the octopus pieces in half the romesco

sauce (recipe below) for at least an hour, or overnight if possible. Keep the rest of the

romesco back for serving.

For the romesco: 3 dried ancho chilies

1 red bell pepper1 Roma (plum) tomato

sprig of thyme5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons smoked paprika1 cup/240ml blended oil (80% grapeseed oil

mixed with 20% extra-virgin olive oil)

1 x 1 inch/3cm thick slice of rustic bread, grilled (char is good but don’t burn it)

¼ cup/35g hazelnuts¼/75ml sherry vinegarlemon, for squeezing

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Rehydrate the ancho chillies in hot water. Clean

out as many seeds as possible.

Roast the red pepper over the grill. Cool slightly

and remove charred skin. Roast the tomato in

the oven or on a wood grill with the thyme, two cloves of the garlic, splash of extra-virgin olive

oil, salt and one tablespoon of the paprika.When cooked, puree together the pepper and tomato with the ancho chilli and rest of the

garlic. Pulse slowly, adding the oil, until smooth. Tear the bread into pieces then add along with the

nuts. Puree again. Season and add the vinegar and

a squeeze of lemon. Add one tablespoon of smoked

paprika and a teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Season with salt.

For the balsamic vinegar dressing:1 shallot, diced

1 clove garlic minced1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ cup/120ml balsamic vinegar1½ cups/560ml blended oil (80% grapeseed

oil, 20% extra-virgin olive oil)cracked black pepper & salt

lemon, for squeezing

Combine shallot, garlic and mustard. Add the

vinegar and whisk in the oil. Season to taste with

cracked black pepper and salt and finish with a

squeeze of lemon.

For the balsamic reduction:2 cups/500ml balsamic vinegar

½ lemon, juiced

Mix the vinegar and lemon juice then reduce by

half over a low heat. Be careful not to over

reduce or scorch the vinegar.

For the salad:marinated octopus pieces

1 orange, zest julienned then juiced4 or 5 handfuls wild arugula/rocket

handful toasted hazelnuts, lightly crushedhandful of dried or fresh blackcurrants

remaining romesco saucebalsamic reductionbalsamic dressing

Place the marinated octopus pieces on the

barbecue grill. Char the octopus until heated

through, being careful not to overcook or burn

the smaller part of the tentacles. Remove from

heat. Pour the orange juice over the octopus and

allow to rest.

Toss the arugula/rocket, currants, zest and

hazelnuts in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper

and dress lightly with balsamic vinegar dressing.

Toss. Slice each octopus part into 3-4 pieces and

toss with the salad.

On 8 serving plates, spread a small amount of romesco on the bottom along with a small amount

of balsamic reduction. Place tossed salad over the

romesco and balsamic allowing a little of each to

be seen. Make sure to layer all ingredients so

every bite has a little of everything in it.

MICHAEL MAHONY, SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD

BARBECUED BRANZINOServes two

1 European seabass (branzino), approx 600g/1 ½ lbs

2oz/50g fennel, thinly shaved 3 sprigs parsley, leaves picked1 clove of garlic, thinly shaved

3 round lemon slicessalt and pepper

Have your fishmonger butterfly the whole

branzino and remove the spine bone. Lay the

fish on a secure cutting board with the head

facing away from you, and the body open. Using

tweezers, remove pin bones from along the belly

portions on either side of the fish. Run your

fingers along the bone line to make sure you have

not missed any. Season the fish with salt and

pepper on both sides. On the right side distribute

the shaved fennel evenly over the flesh. Then

place the parsley, garlic and lemon rounds neatly

on top, making sure to spread them evenly over

the flesh of the fish. Close the fish, making sure

to tuck the ingredients back into the belly cavity

if they are bulging out. Use a skewer to pin the

belly of the fish closed so that you have a neatly

stuffed whole branzino. The fish can be oven-

roasted or wood-fired, depending on the weather!

Simply drizzle a small amount of olive oil and salt

and pepper on the skin (both sides) and grill over

medium-high heat for 12-14 minutes. Serve with

salsa verde and lemon wedges.

NANO CRESPO, SOHO HOUSE TORONTO

license to grill


licence to grill

I love to grill everything, especially �sh. Fish is a wonderful and delicate thing that is ready to be simply married with sea salt,

fresh lemon and great extra-virgin olive oil…But, I also have some tricks to share, so here you go. From my garden I make a marinade with fresh oregano, red chillies,

lemon and lime zest, pink peppercorns and basil. For a beautiful Montauk striped bass

I butter�y it (removing the spine and all the bones and opening up the �sh like a book).

�en I sprinkle some sea salt and some of the marinade, then I close up the �sh.

Next, repeat the seasoning on the skin side – but you want to be careful not to have an excess of oil so you don’t have a �re when

you put it on the grill. My favourite way to grill it is over a very hot charcoal grill. It must be very hot so the skin doesn’t stick

on the grill, and also so you have a beautiful crispy skin when it comes to

the eating.

How much time it will need on the grill depends on the thickness of the �sh – we

cover it and check it a�er �ve minutes.My father hand-cra�ed a special wooden cutting board, which tapers down at the

edge and functions beautifully as a spatula or shovel to collect the �sh from the grill, so

we just eat it from that.

I hope this inspires more people to grill and enjoy the outdoors!

GERMAN LUCARELLI, SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK

COFFEE-RUBBED PORK

I came up with this recipe while travelling and cooking through Costa Rica and

Nicaragua. �e co�ee grown there is superb and I was inspired to use it for one of the many post-surf barbecues we had, also

using another natural resource: dri�wood collected from the beach.

I love cooking on a barbecue (or braai as we call it back home) and de�nitely prefer using wood over charcoal. �e smoke from the wood adds depth and character to the

meat and can be totally di�erent depending on which wood you use. We generally opted for the dry, not-too-heavy-or-sandy variety.

Co�ee was a tricky one to incorporate but here the balance of sugar, ginger and orange rounds the �avours o� really well.

�e other spices just give the rub body, and if you don’t have smoked paprika the

regular sweet kind will do. Marinating the meat is another useful trick in your arsenal and gives the �avours some time to get to know each other and sink into the meat. I recommend marinating at least the night

before but preferably 24-48hrs in advance.

serves 41 inch/3cm stick of ginger

4 garlic cloveszest of 2 orangeszest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon fennel seeds1 teaspoon mustard seeds1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon smoked paprika1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon4 good sized pork chops

1 cup/150g ground co�ee⅓ cup/50g brown sugar

This will make a bit more than you need but you'll

be able to store the mix once ready for about a

month in a sealed container.

I'm a huge fan of the Microplane for these sorts

of jobs. They are available from most catering

stores and will puree garlic and ginger and

perfectly remove the zest of any citrus without

taking any of the pith with it. The fine side on

a regular grater will work too but it's not as

precise. So grate the ginger and garlic, and zest

the lemon and oranges.

Toast all the seeds in a dry pan until their aroma

is released (one or two of the mustard seeds will

start to pop like popcorn when they are ready).

Be wary and keep an eye out, as they burn easily

if left unattended for too long. When they're still

warm, crush them, ideally in a pestle and mortar.

A spice grinder or coffee grinder can also work

but be sure not to turn it into a powder. Mix all

ground spices, the crushed and grated ingredients

together and lay them out on a tray in a warm

spot to dry. We have the benefit of hot lamps in

the kitchen which speed up the process, but as an

alternative placing the tray near a sunny window

or on top of an oven will do the job too. Once

dry, give them a last smash in the mortar so that

all the particles are more or less the same size.

Add the sugar and coffee and mix. Congratulate

yourself with a beer before marinating the meat.

Sprinkle a bit of the mix into a tray and place the

pork down, sprinkling more on top. Think salt and

pepper and that should give you an idea of how

much to use. The sugar will naturally caramelise

when cooked so don't add too much or it may

burn. A little extra can always be added towards

the end of the process. Leave the flavours to

mingle for as long as you have patience and then

barbecue away. Turn the meat regularly to avoid

burning and remove from heat when the meat is

firm to the touch.

Rest for about the same time you cook it and

serve with coleslaw or roasted vegetables.

“I hope this inspires more people to grill and enjoy the outdoors!”

LLIAM BOYLE, PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO

Co�ee-rubbed pork. Recipe and photo by Lliam Boyle.

license to grill


licence to grill

I love to grill everything, especially �sh. Fish is a wonderful and delicate thing that is ready to be simply married with sea salt,

fresh lemon and great extra-virgin olive oil…But, I also have some tricks to share, so here you go. From my garden I make a marinade with fresh oregano, red chillies,

lemon and lime zest, pink peppercorns and basil. For a beautiful Montauk striped bass I butter�y it (removing the spine and all the bones and opening up the �sh like a book).

�en I sprinkle some sea salt and some of the marinade, then I close up the �sh.

Next, repeat the seasoning on the skin side – but you want to be careful not to have an excess of oil so you don’t have a �re when

you put it on the grill. My favourite way to grill it is over a very hot charcoal grill. It must be very hot so the skin doesn’t stick

on the grill, and also so you have a beautiful crispy skin when it comes to

the eating.

How much time it will need on the grill depends on the thickness of the �sh – we

cover it and check it a�er �ve minutes.My father hand-cra�ed a special wooden cutting board, which tapers down at the

edge and functions beautifully as a spatula or shovel to collect the �sh from the grill, so

we just eat it from that.

I hope this inspires more people to grill and enjoy the outdoors!

GERMAN LUCARELLI, SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK

COFFEE-RUBBED PORK

I came up with this recipe while travelling and cooking through Costa Rica and

Nicaragua. �e co�ee grown there is superb and I was inspired to use it for one of the many post-surf barbecues we had, also

using another natural resource: dri�wood collected from the beach.

I love cooking on a barbecue (or braai as we call it back home) and de�nitely prefer using wood over charcoal. �e smoke from the wood adds depth and character to the

meat and can be totally di�erent depending on which wood you use. We generally opted for the dry, not-too-heavy-or-sandy variety.

Co�ee was a tricky one to incorporate but here the balance of sugar, ginger and orange rounds the �avours o� really well.

�e other spices just give the rub body, and if you don’t have smoked paprika the

regular sweet kind will do. Marinating the meat is another useful trick in your arsenal and gives the �avours some time to get to know each other and sink into the meat. I recommend marinating at least the night

before but preferably 24-48hrs in advance.

serves 41 inch/3cm stick of ginger

4 garlic cloveszest of 2 orangeszest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon fennel seeds1 teaspoon mustard seeds1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon smoked paprika1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon4 good sized pork chops

1 cup/150g ground co�ee⅓ cup/50g brown sugar

This will make a bit more than you need but you'll

be able to store the mix once ready for about a

month in a sealed container.

I'm a huge fan of the Microplane for these sorts

of jobs. They are available from most catering

stores and will puree garlic and ginger and

perfectly remove the zest of any citrus without

taking any of the pith with it. The fine side on

a regular grater will work too but it's not as

precise. So grate the ginger and garlic, and zest

the lemon and oranges.

Toast all the seeds in a dry pan until their aroma

is released (one or two of the mustard seeds will

start to pop like popcorn when they are ready).

Be wary and keep an eye out, as they burn easily

if left unattended for too long. When they're still

warm, crush them, ideally in a pestle and mortar.

A spice grinder or coffee grinder can also work

but be sure not to turn it into a powder. Mix all

ground spices, the crushed and grated ingredients

together and lay them out on a tray in a warm

spot to dry. We have the benefit of hot lamps in

the kitchen which speed up the process, but as an

alternative placing the tray near a sunny window

or on top of an oven will do the job too. Once

dry, give them a last smash in the mortar so that

all the particles are more or less the same size.

Add the sugar and coffee and mix. Congratulate

yourself with a beer before marinating the meat.

Sprinkle a bit of the mix into a tray and place the

pork down, sprinkling more on top. Think salt and

pepper and that should give you an idea of how

much to use. The sugar will naturally caramelise

when cooked so don't add too much or it may

burn. A little extra can always be added towards

the end of the process. Leave the flavours to

mingle for as long as you have patience and then

barbecue away. Turn the meat regularly to avoid

burning and remove from heat when the meat is

firm to the touch.

Rest for about the same time you cook it and

serve with coleslaw or roasted vegetables.

“I hope this inspires more people to grill and enjoy the outdoors!”

LLIAM BOYLE, PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO

Co�ee-rubbed pork. Recipe and photo by Lliam Boyle.

THE STAFF OF LIFE...As part of the 2013 commitment to improve Soho House across the board, the family meal has been given a shake-up. Senior sta� from Soho Houses venues all around the world got together to brainstorm and already

their ideas have transformed team food. We took a look at who is doing what.

license to grillPhotographs by Steven Joyce


get staffed…

Sta� food is important. Heck, Ferran Adria was so obsessed with it, he published a whole cookbook about what he fed his sta� at el

Bulli. So back in early 2013, senior sta� from around the world met in Chicago to discuss their plans for the year. Each team-member was tasked with a special area to look a�er and Pierre Dourneau, US East Coast director, jumped at the chance to improve sta� food, the meals that are served to sta� throughout their working days.

“I’ve been with the company since 1996 and sta� food is a subject close to my

heart,” he explains. “I o�ered to do this. How we feed our sta� is a re�ection of how we treat our sta� and nurturing their passion for food has to start with what is on their own plates. I spoke to all the general managers in all sites and made sure they knew they were responsible for their sta� food – if they were already proud of it then �ne, but if they weren’t then it was time to do something.” Some venues had already nailed the issue. “At Pizza East, under Kelly Taylor, they already had a great programme, with chefs and line cooks cooking really delicious and varied food for everyone. I started to connect the

dots – where is some of the best food being served to guests in the company? Pizza East. And where are some of the best sta�, who give the best service? Pizza East. It made sense because they were feeding their sta� the best food too. So I thought – let’s run with what they do. From Berlin to Los Angeles, somewhere in the company, there’s always someone eating.”

Without exception, every kitchen has embraced the change. “All the chefs have been outstanding. Everyone has risen to the challenge. Every kitchen is incredibly busy, but no-one has said, ‘I can’t do

this’”, says Pierre. Now, he is happy to see teams from Cafe Boheme and BKB two neighbouring sites in Soho, having breakfast together; in Soho House West Hollywood sta� eat with nicer tableware (“No more stainless steel hotel pans and serving bowls,” says Pierre, “it should be as though you are having dinner with 20 friends”); dishes across the company are given calorie counts; salads are served more o�en but so are treats like cakes (“My favourite is a chocolate and croissant pudding that is out of this world,” says Pierre). And at every mealtime, managers or chefs take pictures of the food that are sent to every other site in the group, fostering just a little healthy competition between kitchens. (See the next page for just a few examples.)

Andrea Cavaliere, US executive chef, is equally enthusiastic. “Sta� food is how we show love and care to our sta� and I’m so happy that we’re talking about

it,” he explains. “At Cecconi’s West Hollywood about three years ago, we started doing a menu for sta� food and it worked so well people would come in on their days o� to eat.” Each day has a theme and a member of sta� – sometimes a runner, or manager, not always a chef – will cook the food of their home country. So Tuesdays might be all about Korean food, cooked by manager Chris Kim – who rustles up jap chae (Korean noodles), homemade citrus teriyaki, bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef) or kung pao chicken. (Um – can Cookhouse pay a visit for some sta� food soon please!?) �ursday could be Mexican taco day, Friday you get Italian. Monday is when the only American in the kitchen gets to cook ‘US trash’ and on Wednesdays, a runner from Bangladesh, Suku (Zaman Kashruz), cooks up wonderful curries.

“We have a lot of sta� from the front-of-house who are excited to participate and cook. People get to show o�, not just their cooking but their culture,” says Andrea. Now, at Soho House West Hollywood, where Andrea is currently at the helm, “One cook per day is in charge. At the end of the week, the chef and sous chefs judge who did best based on �avour, creativity and use of products. Everyone who cooks gets paid lots of compliments. Everyone is happy!”

Andrea feels that sta� food has a deep importance. “When they share meals together and break bread together, di�erent teams are able to spend time together and get to know each other better. It raises morale and standards and minimises waste. It increases creativity. Good sta� food really changes the sta�’s mentality, imbuing them with positive energy. Lots of good things come from good sta� food!”

Staff food at Shoreditch House.

THE STAFF OF LIFE...As part of the 2013 commitment to improve Soho House across the board, the family meal has been given a shake-up. Senior sta� from Soho Houses venues all around the world got together to brainstorm and already

their ideas have transformed team food. We took a look at who is doing what.

license to grillPhotographs by Steven Joyce


get staffed…

Sta� food is important. Heck, Ferran Adria was so obsessed with it, he published a whole cookbook about what he fed his sta� at el

Bulli. So back in early 2013, senior sta� from around the world met in Chicago to discuss their plans for the year. Each team-member was tasked with a special area to look a�er and Pierre Dourneau, US East Coast director, jumped at the chance to improve sta� food, the meals that are served to sta� throughout their working days.

“I’ve been with the company since 1996 and sta� food is a subject close to my

heart,” he explains. “I o�ered to do this. How we feed our sta� is a re�ection of how we treat our sta� and nurturing their passion for food has to start with what is on their own plates. I spoke to all the general managers in all sites and made sure they knew they were responsible for their sta� food – if they were already proud of it then �ne, but if they weren’t then it was time to do something.” Some venues had already nailed the issue. “At Pizza East, under Kelly Taylor, they already had a great programme, with chefs and line cooks cooking really delicious and varied food for everyone. I started to connect the

dots – where is some of the best food being served to guests in the company? Pizza East. And where are some of the best sta�, who give the best service? Pizza East. It made sense because they were feeding their sta� the best food too. So I thought – let’s run with what they do. From Berlin to Los Angeles, somewhere in the company, there’s always someone eating.”

Without exception, every kitchen has embraced the change. “All the chefs have been outstanding. Everyone has risen to the challenge. Every kitchen is incredibly busy, but no-one has said, ‘I can’t do

this’”, says Pierre. Now, he is happy to see teams from Cafe Boheme and BKB two neighbouring sites in Soho, having breakfast together; in Soho House West Hollywood sta� eat with nicer tableware (“No more stainless steel hotel pans and serving bowls,” says Pierre, “it should be as though you are having dinner with 20 friends”); dishes across the company are given calorie counts; salads are served more o�en but so are treats like cakes (“My favourite is a chocolate and croissant pudding that is out of this world,” says Pierre). And at every mealtime, managers or chefs take pictures of the food that are sent to every other site in the group, fostering just a little healthy competition between kitchens. (See the next page for just a few examples.)

Andrea Cavaliere, US executive chef, is equally enthusiastic. “Sta� food is how we show love and care to our sta� and I’m so happy that we’re talking about

it,” he explains. “At Cecconi’s West Hollywood about three years ago, we started doing a menu for sta� food and it worked so well people would come in on their days o� to eat.” Each day has a theme and a member of sta� – sometimes a runner, or manager, not always a chef – will cook the food of their home country. So Tuesdays might be all about Korean food, cooked by manager Chris Kim – who rustles up jap chae (Korean noodles), homemade citrus teriyaki, bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef) or kung pao chicken. (Um – can Cookhouse pay a visit for some sta� food soon please!?) �ursday could be Mexican taco day, Friday you get Italian. Monday is when the only American in the kitchen gets to cook ‘US trash’ and on Wednesdays, a runner from Bangladesh, Suku (Zaman Kashruz), cooks up wonderful curries.

“We have a lot of sta� from the front-of-house who are excited to participate and cook. People get to show o�, not just their cooking but their culture,” says Andrea. Now, at Soho House West Hollywood, where Andrea is currently at the helm, “One cook per day is in charge. At the end of the week, the chef and sous chefs judge who did best based on �avour, creativity and use of products. Everyone who cooks gets paid lots of compliments. Everyone is happy!”

Andrea feels that sta� food has a deep importance. “When they share meals together and break bread together, di�erent teams are able to spend time together and get to know each other better. It raises morale and standards and minimises waste. It increases creativity. Good sta� food really changes the sta�’s mentality, imbuing them with positive energy. Lots of good things come from good sta� food!”

Staff food at Shoreditch House.

license to grill

Food, glorious foodEvery day, hundreds of photos of delicious staff meals are sent around the company. Get the picture?

license to grill

Food, glorious foodEvery day, hundreds of photos of delicious staff meals are sent around the company. Get the picture?

THE FOOD LIFEDon’t just take our word for it – this is what the sta� and chefs have to say...

license to grill


get staffed…

Steve Nolte, Soho House West HollywoodSta� food has become the BEST part of our day. �e entire team (kitchen, maintenance dept, front-of-house, o�ce managers) get a chance to sit down and enjoy a beautiful meal, together. I think one of the best things about family meal is we all get to enjoy great food together. One big (only slightly dysfunctional) family. Our kitchen team has really taken family meal to the next level.

�eir passion and food knowledge comes out in their creative and seasonal o�erings. I cannot tell you how much our sta� really appreciate the meals served every day. It makes such a di�erence in their positivity and overall presence.

David Stewart, Pizza East Kentish TownI can’t remember the last time someone spoke about the sta� food except to say how good it is. Like the evolution of this wonderful site, sta� food has evolved right alongside it. Giving the sta� this level of cuisine is not only bene�cial to health and energy levels etc but it is also crucial in creating solid relationships between sta�, chefs and management. �e guys feel appreciated which mirrors their performance wherever their position is in the site.

Since introducing “waiter’s choice” it’s added a whole other dimension to this site and brought people closer together. From Hungarian feasts, to Mexican �estas, we have shown the full extent of our cultural backgrounds.

It’s been such a pleasure to see the guys and the chefs come together to produce food that is healthy, delicious and something to be proud of. Sta� meal times are now a mini event and something to look forward to. �ere is a family atmosphere and a sense of being a part of something great.

�e appreciation from the sta� is evident at 11:15 and 4:15 every day when they’ve �nished. Smiling faces and full bellies. Long may it continue…

German Lucarelli, Soho House New YorkPeople don’t complain about the food any more – they seem to love it. �e guys who run the freight elevator in

the building even come in to eat with us now! And it’s great to have people actually come into the kitchen and say thank you. We plan our family food calendar six weeks in advance and we post the menu a week before on our bulletin board. For me, I love to see our family smile and be happy when they come down for food. I know they feel the value the we put on feeding them.

Happy tummies all around!

Victoria Soulsby, Dean St Townhouse�e improvement in sta� food here has been nuclear! Gone are the days of moaning about blandness of �avour and lack of variety and hello to sta� getting excited about what lies in store in the canteen. �e clear and concise menu on display has had many compliments from sta� and managers and the quality of the dishes now served has met and exceeded all expectations. We now have a huge variety of dishes in each sitting that appeal to all palates and dietary requirements. �e canteen is a happy place to be!

Raizelle Paz, Soho House Toronto

We don’t have a sta� cafe and so we usually serve our family meal in the House Kitchen. One day, as we served the family meal, a new member of our team came up to me and asked “What’s going on here, what’s the special occasion?” I said it’s our family meal and she couldn’t believe it. She was very thankful a�erwards and told me how amazing it was.

It’s a really great boost for employee morale.

Giacomo Maccioni, Cecconi’s MayfairWe are very happy with the sta� food situation: we have a weekly menu, a balanced diet, not just of pasta, but rice, a selection of meats, �sh, pizza, salad every day, soups, fresh fruits, and a vegetarian option for every meal. I ask everyone how they feel and everyone really enjoys and embraces the change. Morale has gone up since the change; the sta� clap the chefs at every meal.

It’s very rewarding to see the positivity, and we are going to keep improving the o�ering because it’s evident that the bene�ts are immense. Sta� morale is priceless and should always be at the top of the list rather than pushed down to the bottom.

Sergio Sigala, Soho Beach House MiamiSince we implemented the sta� food program here in Miami, we have happier employees. It is great when lots of sta� comment positively about the food they just had in the cafeteria – we get as much grati�cation from that as when we receive great comments on food from our guests and members. In the past, our sta� menu was mostly heavy and based on carbs and protein, but now are trying to design a lighter and healthier menu, especially considering the summer is coming and the temperature will soon be up over 90ºF. We’ve also introduced foods from di�erent countries, so we cook Mexican, Cuban, Mediterranean and also Asian food.

Left: a staff food menu,

staff food pics sent from around

the company

THE FOOD LIFEDon’t just take our word for it – this is what the sta� and chefs have to say...

license to grill


get staffed…

Steve Nolte, Soho House West HollywoodSta� food has become the BEST part of our day. �e entire team (kitchen, maintenance dept, front-of-house, o�ce managers) get a chance to sit down and enjoy a beautiful meal, together. I think one of the best things about family meal is we all get to enjoy great food together. One big (only slightly dysfunctional) family. Our kitchen team has really taken family meal to the next level.

�eir passion and food knowledge comes out in their creative and seasonal o�erings. I cannot tell you how much our sta� really appreciate the meals served every day. It makes such a di�erence in their positivity and overall presence.

David Stewart, Pizza East Kentish TownI can’t remember the last time someone spoke about the sta� food except to say how good it is. Like the evolution of this wonderful site, sta� food has evolved right alongside it. Giving the sta� this level of cuisine is not only bene�cial to health and energy levels etc but it is also crucial in creating solid relationships between sta�, chefs and management. �e guys feel appreciated which mirrors their performance wherever their position is in the site.

Since introducing “waiter’s choice” it’s added a whole other dimension to this site and brought people closer together. From Hungarian feasts, to Mexican �estas, we have shown the full extent of our cultural backgrounds.

It’s been such a pleasure to see the guys and the chefs come together to produce food that is healthy, delicious and something to be proud of. Sta� meal times are now a mini event and something to look forward to. �ere is a family atmosphere and a sense of being a part of something great.

�e appreciation from the sta� is evident at 11:15 and 4:15 every day when they’ve �nished. Smiling faces and full bellies. Long may it continue…

German Lucarelli, Soho House New YorkPeople don’t complain about the food any more – they seem to love it. �e guys who run the freight elevator in

the building even come in to eat with us now! And it’s great to have people actually come into the kitchen and say thank you. We plan our family food calendar six weeks in advance and we post the menu a week before on our bulletin board. For me, I love to see our family smile and be happy when they come down for food. I know they feel the value the we put on feeding them.

Happy tummies all around!

Victoria Soulsby, Dean St Townhouse�e improvement in sta� food here has been nuclear! Gone are the days of moaning about blandness of �avour and lack of variety and hello to sta� getting excited about what lies in store in the canteen. �e clear and concise menu on display has had many compliments from sta� and managers and the quality of the dishes now served has met and exceeded all expectations. We now have a huge variety of dishes in each sitting that appeal to all palates and dietary requirements. �e canteen is a happy place to be!

Raizelle Paz, Soho House Toronto

We don’t have a sta� cafe and so we usually serve our family meal in the House Kitchen. One day, as we served the family meal, a new member of our team came up to me and asked “What’s going on here, what’s the special occasion?” I said it’s our family meal and she couldn’t believe it. She was very thankful a�erwards and told me how amazing it was.

It’s a really great boost for employee morale.

Giacomo Maccioni, Cecconi’s MayfairWe are very happy with the sta� food situation: we have a weekly menu, a balanced diet, not just of pasta, but rice, a selection of meats, �sh, pizza, salad every day, soups, fresh fruits, and a vegetarian option for every meal. I ask everyone how they feel and everyone really enjoys and embraces the change. Morale has gone up since the change; the sta� clap the chefs at every meal.

It’s very rewarding to see the positivity, and we are going to keep improving the o�ering because it’s evident that the bene�ts are immense. Sta� morale is priceless and should always be at the top of the list rather than pushed down to the bottom.

Sergio Sigala, Soho Beach House MiamiSince we implemented the sta� food program here in Miami, we have happier employees. It is great when lots of sta� comment positively about the food they just had in the cafeteria – we get as much grati�cation from that as when we receive great comments on food from our guests and members. In the past, our sta� menu was mostly heavy and based on carbs and protein, but now are trying to design a lighter and healthier menu, especially considering the summer is coming and the temperature will soon be up over 90ºF. We’ve also introduced foods from di�erent countries, so we cook Mexican, Cuban, Mediterranean and also Asian food.

Left: a staff food menu,

staff food pics sent from around

the company

license to grill


get staffed…

Joe Eva, Soho House�e focus on sta� food has made big strides so that the sta� are all feeling valued and invested in. We can all see the sense in o�ering fun, thoughtful and healthy food to each other considering that this is what we pride ourselves in o�ering to our customers. �e comments leaving the kitchen at lunch and dinner time – which at times previously have been a bit sarcastic – are now more o�en given with respect, grace and positivity. �e side-e�ects of this are hugely bene�cial for a good team ethic.

Tom Collins, Soho HouseIt’s about helping the sta� have respect for what the kitchen does. Especially

as sta� food is for many one of the few times they actually get to eat the food we produce. Hearing the sta� say thanks to the chefs for taking the time to produce something nice is great and will only help to build a good spirit within the business, as well as rewarding everyone for their hard work each day.

Nano Crespo, Soho House TorontoFor me family meal is just that – the family sitting together and enjoying a good meal. I consider this my family since mine is very far away and I don’t get to see them too o�en.

Since we all have improved the quality

of the meals we serve every day to our sta� and ourselves, I have even more pride in what we do. �e e�ect on the sta� has been very positive all around, they look forward to coming to work, wondering what’s for today’s meal. It li�s spirits and people have a sense of belonging to something great!

Alex Cassano, Pizza East ShoreditchAt PES a member of our �oor and bar sta� will come into the kitchen on a weekly basis to cook sta� food. We encourage them to bring in some of their favourite recipes and to have some fun.

We have sta� from all over the world

and so we get a great varied menu. Our sta� enjoy learning about their colleagues’ favourite dishes and it’s great to encourage pride in our shared meal times.

Marino Monferrato, Soho House West HollywoodSince the good weather started again here in LA we are able to serve most of our sta� meals outside since we do not have a real sta� cantina. Eating good food under the sun helps the morale for sure. �e food is been always been balanced but by changing the presentation it shows that we care, and the employees are spending that 30 minutes together chatting. �e di�erent ethnicity of the foods that we prepare

also helps break the monotony of working with, and eating, Italian food every day (although there’s nothing wrong with that!).

Alex Farrey, Café Boheme�e sta� food initiative has been great for Café Boheme, especially for sta� morale. Relations between the departments have improved and the �oor and bar sta� really appreciate the e�ort put in by the chefs. �e chefs also have a bit of friendly competition going between them too, which can’t hurt.

Lizzy Kelk, Babington House�e recent changes to our sta� food o�er have been received extremely positively by the team. We have added

a hot breakfast option at 8am and all departments pop in to grab a bite before they start their shi�, so there is a really convivial atmosphere between all sta� at the start of the day.We also have launched a monthly Family Gathering where departments take turns to organise and theme a sit-down, three-course meal for a couple of representatives from each department. It’s a great opportunity for the team to get together with colleagues that they don’t usually see on a daily basis – like chefs chatting with the Cowshed therapists.

We serve fantastic food to our members and guests, so it’s only right that we should do the same for our teams.

Pizza time! Plus just a few of the colourful dishes now making up family meals.

license to grill


get staffed…

Joe Eva, Soho House�e focus on sta� food has made big strides so that the sta� are all feeling valued and invested in. We can all see the sense in o�ering fun, thoughtful and healthy food to each other considering that this is what we pride ourselves in o�ering to our customers. �e comments leaving the kitchen at lunch and dinner time – which at times previously have been a bit sarcastic – are now more o�en given with respect, grace and positivity. �e side-e�ects of this are hugely bene�cial for a good team ethic.

Tom Collins, Soho HouseIt’s about helping the sta� have respect for what the kitchen does. Especially

as sta� food is for many one of the few times they actually get to eat the food we produce. Hearing the sta� say thanks to the chefs for taking the time to produce something nice is great and will only help to build a good spirit within the business, as well as rewarding everyone for their hard work each day.

Nano Crespo, Soho House TorontoFor me family meal is just that – the family sitting together and enjoying a good meal. I consider this my family since mine is very far away and I don’t get to see them too o�en.

Since we all have improved the quality

of the meals we serve every day to our sta� and ourselves, I have even more pride in what we do. �e e�ect on the sta� has been very positive all around, they look forward to coming to work, wondering what’s for today’s meal. It li�s spirits and people have a sense of belonging to something great!

Alex Cassano, Pizza East ShoreditchAt PES a member of our �oor and bar sta� will come into the kitchen on a weekly basis to cook sta� food. We encourage them to bring in some of their favourite recipes and to have some fun.

We have sta� from all over the world

and so we get a great varied menu. Our sta� enjoy learning about their colleagues’ favourite dishes and it’s great to encourage pride in our shared meal times.

Marino Monferrato, Soho House West HollywoodSince the good weather started again here in LA we are able to serve most of our sta� meals outside since we do not have a real sta� cantina. Eating good food under the sun helps the morale for sure. �e food is been always been balanced but by changing the presentation it shows that we care, and the employees are spending that 30 minutes together chatting. �e di�erent ethnicity of the foods that we prepare

also helps break the monotony of working with, and eating, Italian food every day (although there’s nothing wrong with that!).

Alex Farrey, Café Boheme�e sta� food initiative has been great for Café Boheme, especially for sta� morale. Relations between the departments have improved and the �oor and bar sta� really appreciate the e�ort put in by the chefs. �e chefs also have a bit of friendly competition going between them too, which can’t hurt.

Lizzy Kelk, Babington House�e recent changes to our sta� food o�er have been received extremely positively by the team. We have added

a hot breakfast option at 8am and all departments pop in to grab a bite before they start their shi�, so there is a really convivial atmosphere between all sta� at the start of the day.We also have launched a monthly Family Gathering where departments take turns to organise and theme a sit-down, three-course meal for a couple of representatives from each department. It’s a great opportunity for the team to get together with colleagues that they don’t usually see on a daily basis – like chefs chatting with the Cowshed therapists.

We serve fantastic food to our members and guests, so it’s only right that we should do the same for our teams.

Pizza time! Plus just a few of the colourful dishes now making up family meals.

Jackfruit is a very interesting fruit. I like it because it is so unusual. It is large, funny looking and covered in spikes, appearing

threatening and inedible to those who don’t know what it is. It grows only in tropical regions, and we have a lot of it here in Miami.

�is fruit is very versatile – it can be eaten as a vegetable if picked before it is ripe or as a fruit if picked when mature and allowed to ripen fully.

If eaten as a vegetable, you would normally eat it between the ages of one and three months when the fruit is green and can be used in cooking.

�e texture of the unripe fruit is so similar in texture to chicken that people sometimes call it “vegetable meat”.

You can tell that a Jackfruit is ripe when it starts to have a strong odour – like rotting onions (but I promise it tastes good). It should be slightly so� when pressed, and the spikes on the skin become slightly more rounded when ripe. A ripe fruit will produce a lot of latex sap, which will stick to your �ngers if you’re not careful! A good trick is to re-cut the stem end to gauge the amount of latex sap being produced. If the fruit is quite sappy, just rub your hands with coconut or vegetable oil and the latex won’t stick.

Jackfruit �esh is so� and tastes like a cross between a ripe banana, mango and a pineapple. Its excess �esh can be frozen for up to a year, and the seeds, which are very high in protein, are delicious when roasted. �ey taste like chestnuts.

While jackfruit grows everywhere in Miami, I don't really use it at Soho House. I mainly use it at home when making smoothies a�er a long run or bike ride. (Blend ½ cup/80g jackfruit, ½ banana, ½ cup/80g pineapple, cubed, 3 cups/90g fresh baby spinach and 8 � oz/240ml coconut water.) It's a great ingredient to use in recovery drinks because it is rich in potassium, magnesium, iron and many antioxidants.

I’ve also used it to make a dessert very similar to crème brulée, with jackfruit, caramel and crème fraiche. Delicious.

Sergio Sigala is head chef at Soho Beach House Miami. Here, he explains why he loves jackfruit.

“We have a lot of it here in Miami!”

ingredients…


in praise of…

JACKFRUIT

WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

WE'RE LOOKING FOR FRESH FACES

For more information about current kitchen vacancies worldwide and how to apply email [email protected],

visit our website, www.cook-house.info, or call Gareth Jones on +44 (0)20 7581 2569

If you’d like to work in our North American sites, email Julia Taylor-Brown, [email protected]

Soho House Group is always on the look out for new talent. If you want a great career in food then get in touch. We have 23 members clubs, restaurants and hotels in the UK, Berlin and North America,

with more opening in the next couple of years. We offer tailor-made training, excellent support and the chance to travel or possibly even work overseas.

Our farm-to-fork food philosophy is all about working with great ingredients, treated simply and with respect — whether we're flipping burgers in our brand new diner kitchens

or making perfect pasta in Cecconi's.

LE CITRON CHAMOMILE GIMLETCREATED BY TOM KERR

THIS REFRESHING CONTEMPORARY GIMLET WITH

NOTES OF CHAMOMILE, GREEN APPLE AND LEMON

IS AVAILABLE IN EVERY HOUSE BETWEEN JUNE

AND AUGUST – JUST ASK THE BARMAN.

PAIRED WITH SCALLOPS CRUDO, AVOCADO,

TOMATO GAZPACHO AT SHOREDITCH HOUSE.

TO SEE HOW TO MAKE THIS COCKTAIL GO TO

WWW.HOUSETONIC.COM

For the facts drinkaware.co.uk

©2013 GREY GOOSE, THE GREY GOOSE BOTTLE DESIGNS AND THE GEESE DEVICES ARE TRADEMARKS AND/OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.

Grey Goose Cookhouse and House Tonic Ad May.indd 1 15/05/2013 13:37

Documents

Cook House Issue 13