CODE Meets Alex Dilling

Hey Alex, I imagine it’s been a very busy few months for you?! 

Yes! It’s been a crazy few months. Opening a restaurant is no small feat, the list of things you need to try and remember, and be on top of, is extraordinary. Luckily, we have had an amazing team with us along the opening journey, a lot of guys who have been with me before. This has helped drive the process along as the communication is already there, they know the way I work. Having an owner like Victoria (Victoria Sheppard) is also hugely helpful, having her 100 per cent involved has made a huge difference.  

What is your Vision for Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal? You’ve worked in a few places with two Michelin stars… is that the aim? 

Yes, we want to be a three-star restaurant. That has been a personal goal of mine throughout my career. I know it’s very ambitious, but I believe we can do it, especially where we are with our food and the environment we have. Other than that, I want this to be a great French restaurant – it’s the cuisine I love, and it’s what all my training has been focused on. It also should be a fun restaurant to come to – I don’t want the stigma that follows many classical French restaurants: that they may be too formal, or you feel you have to keep your voice down. That’s not what I want – I want it to be buzzing, encouraging people to have fun and maybe drink a bit too much. 

Do you see the current crisis in both staffing and costs being a barrier to achieving such feats? 

When it comes to achieving stars you never know exactly what Michelin wants. At the moment I am lucky I have a strong team. It’s about excellence and consistency. All we can do is just continue this, continue choosing the best ingredients, and give excellent service. So if we don’t reach that goal, then I can only put that on myself.  

Will the famous hunter’s chicken be making a return?  

We – with my head chef of eight years Pierre – don’t want to cook the things we cooked at the Greenhouse. It would have been easy, and we know it works, but as chefs we need to always be challenging ourselves. When it comes to that chicken, if I see that thing one more time, I will probably jump off a bridge. I can’t wait to showcase more dishes like the clam chowder which is a nice link to my time growing up in San Francisco… I think that’s a nice story for the guests.  

We’re working on our 2022 happiness in hospitality survey. What are you guys doing to ensure you have happy staff in a happy workplace? 

It’s a huge topic and its hugely important for me. I know if we retain our staff for a long time, the food will just be better for it. That goes for the front-of-house team as well. We are closed two days a week and lunch service is not every day we are open – we don’t want to overload the hours. I think ultimately it’s creating a good culture where your team is happy to come to work, and they go home at night still happy. We want to create an exciting environment where people are learning all the time. I think that’s what most people are looking for. We also make sure we do regular socials for a bit of R&R. 

Where do you like to eat?  

I love Andrew Edmunds in Soho. I think I have been three or four times in the last week. I’m also a big fan of Fallow. 

And your death row meal?  

For me, I’ll have a bit of caviar, a roast chicken, and a nice piece of French cheese. 

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