CODE Bulletin Catch Up

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

Sponsored by

Apricity

Chantelle Nicholson has finally announced her new restaurant, Apricity, which follows her short-lived but brilliant Hackney-based “pandemic pop-up” All’s Well. The venue will open on Duke Street, Mayfair, in March 2022 and will focus on supporting small-scale farmers and fishermen. On the menu? Cornish mackerel and Shetland mussels with sambal butter and pickled pear; roasted Kuri squash with fermented fire flame chilies, miso aioli, squash seed crumb and Thai basil; venison with elderberry and walnut butter; and crispy brussels sprouts with spent beer vinegar and rosemary. This is classic Nicholson cooking and ought not to be missed. Of course, the wines will be low-intervention, and English vineyards abundantly used. The kitchen will aim to waste as few ingredients as possible. Nicholson told CODE: “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to do something a little different with Apricity, especially after the last 18 months now the world is a slightly different place. Starting with what’s effectively a blank piece of paper is super exciting.” She also mentioned in a statement: “I am delighted to be working with Grosvenor Estates to create a greener, healthier and more conscious community within the heart of Mayfair, and beyond”.

LaLee

Just months after Adam Handling left The Cadogan at the Belmond, the Chelsea hotel has revealed what will replace him. The LaLee will be an “all-day neighbourhood café-restaurant”, inspired by the voyages of one of the hotel’s most legendary past residents, Lillie Langtry. Well then, expect aubergine parmigiana, steak frites with béarnaise, Wiener schnitzel, and sea bream carpaccio. Presumably Welsh cakes and Battenberg for pudding? Chris Hill, formerly of Whatley Manor and The Ritz, will head up the kitchen, and there’ll be more than 80 wines by the glass, including a Gevrey-Chambertin, the favourite wine of many a chef, though not Raymond Blanc. GM Xavier Lablaude explained the concept: “Lillie Langtry would entertain the brightest stars of society, including the Prince of Wales, at 21 Pont Street – her elegant townhouse that became part of The Cadogan. Now, The LaLee brings Langtry’s spirit back to life, paying homage to the cuisine she adored during her epic travels”.

Blacklock

Modern chophouse Blacklock will open its fourth – and largest – restaurant in February, a 110-cover site in Covent Garden. Owner Gordon Ker is retaining his high quality meat at affordable prices at his latest outpost, though will also take it further, putting lesser-known cuts on the menu for the first time, with “maximum flavour at a fraction of the price”. Meat will continue to be sourced from Philip Warren, who farms and butchers native Ruby Red cattle on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall using regenerative methods. Blacklock is also now attempting to become a B Corp status company, a certification that proves a company’s commitment to purpose over profit, and is still planting a tree for every customer. Ker said: “It’s been a rough two years for everybody and so, over three years since we last opened a Blacklock, we are bubbling over with excitement to be looking forward, growing again and opening our fourth restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden”.

Country Creatures 

Richard Corrigan, Ben Tish, and Thomasina Miers will head to the Cotswolds next year for a new guest chef series at Country Creatures, the Cotswolds-based boutique hotel and restaurant group. Each chef will cook at one of Country Creatures’ countryside restaurants and will serve a tasting menu in their style. Fixtures will begin on 23 January, with Corrigan arriving at the group’s Double Red Duke in Clanfield.

The Ned NYC

Membership Collective Group has announced the opening of The Ned NoMad, a hotel and members’ club in New York. Launching in summer 2022, it marks The Ned’s first international site and will be located in Manhattan’s Johnston Building, which was built in 1903 as a department store and office. Its original architecture will be “honoured”. There’ll be a mix of public and private spaces, a rooftop bar, and a terrace restaurant.

Roy Ner

The award-winning chef Roy Ner, best-known for his work at the acclaimed Sydney restaurant Aria, is coming to London for the first time. Having forged a strong reputation in Australia, Ner will open Jeru on Mayfair’s Berkeley Street sometime before 2022. Israeli-born Ner will serve Middle Eastern food at Jeru, with dishes such as Yemenite butter bread with whipped curd and heritage tomato pulp; short rib burnt ends and Persian feta börek; langoustine murtabak with labneh, chilli and smoked eel salsa; and charcoal roast aubergine with macadamia milk and dry-aged smoked lamb. A bakery and basement bar will follow in the new year, Hot Dinners reports.

Selin Kiazim

After being startlingly delayed by a lack of paper (thanks Brexit/Covid), Selin Kiazim has launched her new cookbook, Three: Using Acid, Texture and Contrast to Redefine Your Cooking. In it, Kiazim uses the above to “transform a modest dish into the star of the show”, using store cupboard ingredients to elevate what might otherwise be a boring midweek meal. The idea, the Oklava chef said, is to highlight the processes and combinations that together show a dish “can be so much more than the sum of its parts”. Kiazim starts her recipes by identifying the foundations of a dish, before suggesting ideas for pickles, dressings and condiments to get the balance right.

To get the CODE Bulletin direct to your inbox every Monday morning sign up here