HALVERLY

Edition 1.

Brigade WolfeSandy’s PentolinaWaterhouse Chez Antoinette Sidi Maarouf

HALVERLYContents

Wolfe Conyngham - “The aim is to make people feel comfortable, to enjoy the wine list, and to have a home cooking experience with a level of execution that they wouldn’t be able to do themselves”

SANDY’S - Incredible friendships formed over a shared passion for Corsican food

Brigade - Empowering people to change their lives through education and employment

Pentolina -“Cooking is about having a good product and touching it as little as possible.”

Chez Antoinette - A grandmother’s lessons brought to

life in the heart of Covent Garden.

Waterhouse - Helping young people change their

lives through learning cookery skills

Sidi Maarouf - Unparalelled levels of excellence fostered by a love of authentic cuisine

When it comes to the food and restaurant publications already circulated around London, there is, in my opinion, something missing. Too often the features and articles we read are too short, to shallow reaching, and too light. The publications and blogs that exist are admirable and do a fantastic job at highlighting the great work that is done by culinary establishments across the capital, but by and large they miss the greater human aspect that motivates and drives a restaurant.

It is rare that we are able to see into the world of the owners and chefs who work to produce the food that we all love so much. These men and women dedicate their lives to providing something which food lovers like you and me obsess over. Yet, often, these selfless individuals are overlooked in favour of the flavours they create and the dishes they serve.

This is fine, of course, but there comes a point at which we, as a food loving community, need to take a step back and recognise those who work long hours each day to provide food which creates lasting memories for all of us; because, without them, there would be no birthday dinner, no Instagram moment, or memorable Sunday brunch.

That process of stepping back, to recognise the work that is done by talented and experienced chefs across the city, is what drives this publication. Halverly aims to bridge the gap between the food on your plate and the person who made it. In each edition, we will focus on a small number of chefs and restaurant owners and tell their stories.

Over the following 60 pages, you will discover the stories behind some of the most interesting restaurants in London; from a hand-built physical and culinary extension of an Irish gent, to a centre of culinary excellence which helps to lift people out of homelessness and into employment.

I hope the features found in this edition will open your eyes to the people who serve you some of the fantastic food that this city has to offer and provoke you to explore beyond the plate.

Founder’s Letter

Matthew RoseFounder of Halverly

Brigade, SE1Harry, Alexy

HarryThroughout most of Harry’s life he never knew what he wanted to do. He joined the Army as a member of the Royal Logistics, ferrying around food, ammunition, and aid. Even though he had only been a member of the army for a short while, Harry knew that being in the Army wasn’t what he wanted, and he left the forces soon after joining.

After leaving the Army Harry’s life took an unexpected turn, he found himself homeless and suffering from a mental health illness. He went to prison three times and was committed to a psychiatric unit for a short period. Harry himself admits that he was in a dark place, “I used to hate everyone outside, I used to hate going outside, I used to get anxious that people were staring at me”.

For a while, it looked as though Harry’s life was going to continue down a path of unemployment, homelessness and mental health issues. However, early this year Harry’s life changed forever. He was offered a place on a basic skills cooking course, run by the charity Fresh Life, which is intended to help people who have experienced homelessness or mental health difficulties by teaching them the fundamental principles of cooking and healthy eating.

Throughout his life, Harry had always had an interest in cooking, but he had never been given the opportunity to develop this interest into something more. When he was offered a place on the basic skills course he enrolled without hesitation; although his initial thought was that like everything else

he had tried before, he would find that it wasn’t for him.

Thankfully, immediately after starting the course Harry discovered that his interest in cooking had rapidly developed into a passion for food. Over the next 6 months, he progressed through the course until the graduation date, and after graduating, Harry was selected to join Brigade as an Apprentice, as part of a partnership scheme run between Price Waterhouse Coopers, De Veere Events and Beyond Food. Since joining as an Apprentice, Harry has been able to develop his interest in cooking into a full-time career with incredible prospects. Past graduates of the apprentice scheme are now working at the Savoy, Hilton hotels and other top culinary establishments

across London.

Harry confesses that before joining Brigade, he was only able to cook himself beans on toast. However within the first two weeks of being in the kitchen, with the help of Brigade’s professional chefs, Harry has learned how to cook fish and meat and even how to tackle notoriously difficult elements like pastry and sorbet.

Harry’s cooking ability is not the only thing to have progressed since joining Brigade. Since starting his apprenticeship he has been able to come off Job Seeker’s Allowance and his psychiatric medication. He has even seen a change in his relationship with his family, who now feel proud of his accomplishments.

“I’ve changed the way I look at life, I enjoy getting up in the mornings now,

“I’ve never really tested myself in life, and I know that if you test yourself, it shows you

who you really are.”

instead of just sitting at home being depressed”Since being at Brigade, Harry has developed a thirst for future challenges. He dreams of working on a cruise ship or touring Spain, France and Italy to work in different kitchens. In 10 years time, he hopes to open his own restaurant, and even has dreams of becoming a Michelin Star Chef.

“I’ve never really tested myself in life, and I know that if you test yourself, it shows you who you really are”

With lofty ambitions, a transformed life and an incredible support network in the form of Brigade and its partners, Harry has developed the foundation necessary for future success. His transformation from having experienced homelessness, mental health illness and imprisonment, to now aspiring to pursue a career in professional kitchens shows that anyone is capable of achieving success. Indeed, Harry’s own words sum up his transformation best, “You can change your life if you want to”.

AlexyHarry’s incredible transformation at Brigade would not have been possible had it not been for the support and guidance he has been given by the staff who work there. For many peo-ple, working a day-job or studying at school or university are mundane ne-cessities that are merely a means to an end; but for Harry, his work at Brigade is something much more than that. When talking about his work at the restaurant, he mentions at length the positive impact the people who work there have had on him, and how he will forever be thankful for their help.

There is one man to whom Harry and the 60 other apprentices who have passed through Brigade (and on to better careers than they might have ever thought possible) owe an inordi-nate amount. Alexy is the Head Chef

at Brigade, and the man in charge of teaching, training and guiding the ap-prentices who come to the restaurant in search of a better and more fulfilling life.

Hailing from Colombia, Alexy began working with food from a very young age. At 7-years-old, he began work-ing with his father at the bakery he owned, and from there he developed his passion for food throughout his life. But for Alexy, even though he was in-volved with baking, and then cooking (through a course at his nearby col-lege), his path to a professional kitchen is not as plain sailing as it may appear.

When I interviewed Alexy, we spoke about how he is able to identify with the apprentices who work at Brigade, because he himself experienced simi-

lar situations to them, where his pros-pects were not always what he had hoped them to be. Despite being very proud of his home of Colombia, Alexy described how the prospects and op-portunities available to him there were not lucrative, and would not have giv-en him the life he wanted.

Thankfully, for Alexy, he was offered an opportunity to come to the UK to work, although not as a chef, but rather on a building site. Despite this not be-ing something that Alexy himself had wanted, he understood that there were far more opportunities in the UK than in his home of Colombia and he decid-ed to make a move halfway across the world, leaving behind his friends and family, in search of a better life.

When talking to Alexy, I found it incred-

ibly clear that the man in front of me was someone who is very much aware of life’s pitfalls and of the tradeoffs you have to make just to get by. For him, his journey from working in his father’s bakery, to coming to the UK to work on a building site, to finally ending up as the Head Chef of Brigade, are things which happened solely because he was willing to make concessions to achieve his long term ambition. What struck me was that Alexy is able to em-pathise with the apprentices who work at Brigade, who have gone through some of the most unfortunate experi-ences any person living in the UK can go through, not necessarily because he shares direct experiences with them, but because he is so acutely aware of the necessity of sacrifice and the abili-ty for life to dramatically change at any moment.

Shortly after Alexy came to the UK to work as a builder, his manager on-site, to whom he became very close, died. This left Alexy in a difficult place, as there he was in a foreign country, and the person who gave him the job that he left his family and life for, had just died. For many people, this would have been a devastating situation - imagine for one moment, moving to another country where a language totally al-ien to your own is spoken, and where you have been employed by someone with whom you developed a close friendship, only for them to pass away not long after your arrival. How would you manage?

Rather than immediately return home to Colombia, to a life that he knew was not what he wanted, Alexy continued to work in the UK in the hope of se-curing a better future for himself. His passion for food, and his lifelong ex-perience of cooking, allowed him to be in a position where he was able to secure an entry-level job in a restau-rant. From there, Alexy worked his way up the chain of responsibility slowly, changing jobs every half-decade or so,

and working for renowned chefs like Ed Baines, until he was in the position to be offered the role of Head Chef at Brigade.

Becoming a part of Brigade is some-thing that Alexy had dreamed of, as it united his passion for food with his love of helping those less fortunate than himself. Alexy and his wife are both dedicated supporters of a hand-ful of global charities, and are bene-factors to a young girl in Guatemala. Being able to work at Brigade and not only continue to practice his love of cooking each day, but to simultane-ously be directly affecting the lives of many disadvantaged young adults is something which gives him great joy.

It was during this point in our conver-sation, where we were discussing how

it feels to help so many people make a better life for themselves through hard work and having the opportunity to progress, that Alexy became emotion-al.

He remembered a moment that hap-pened when he was sat on a bus with his wife, travelling around London, where he received an unexpected call from a former apprentice. He said that his initial reaction was one of worry, ‘are they OK?’ was his first thought. However it immediately transpired that the apprentice was more than OK, in fact, they were calling Alexy to thank him for the tireless dedication that he showed them during their time at Bri-gade, and to let him know that they were now working as a pastry chef at an internationally renowned res-taurant in London (something which

they themselves admitted they never thought would have been possible).

When Alexy recounted this memory to me he emphasised how important it is that we as individuals, and as society, give people the opportunity to have a second chance at life. This apprentice, and many others who pass through Brigade, found themself in a situation that you and I most likely cannot im-agine, and was largely dismissed by society as being ‘beyond help’. How-ever through the hard work they did at Brigade, clearly demonstrated that that was not the case. For people who have been homeless or imprisoned, or worse, to have been able to transform their lives and achieve something which would be a significant feat for any other person, is testament to the value that each of us has as people.

With this in mind, it would be easy to dismiss Brigade as an honourable so-cial enterprise which does incredible work to help disadvantaged people turn their lives around, but one which serves average (or even lacking food). However, that is incredibly far from the truth. Despite running a system by which apprentices who have very little cooking knowledge are involved di-rectly in food preparation, the quality at Brigade does not slip.

Brigade, it seems, is one of these rare places that is able to combine an in-credibly noble mission with exception-al execution. Long may it continue.

“We want people to come back to society stronger than before.”

Brigade is open for breakfast, dinner and lunch reservations daily, between 7:30am-late Monday-Friday and 5:30-late on Saturday.

139 Tooley St, London SE1 2HZ

www.thebrigade.co.uk

________________________________ ____________

SANDY‘S-

W1

Despite being tucked away in quiet Seymour Place, Marylebone, SANDY’S Corsican Pizza is an experience unlike many others in London. Intimate, unassuming and welcoming, the restaurant is a delight to visit, and the food is divine. Named after its owner, Sandy, the restaurant aims to offer a Corsican inspired experience that is second to none.

Founded after owner Sandy noticed that London was sorely lacking in high quality pizza restaurants that are able to provide guests with a delicious experience, SANDY’S aims to transport guests from the often dreary surroundings of London, to the far flung regions of the Mediterranean. On a trip to Corsica with a friend, Sandy discovered the incredibly rich and diverse culture and culinary heritage that the island has to offer, and sought to bring that back to London for locals and tourists to enjoy.

Like many restauranteurs, Sandy does not have a lifelong background in hospitality or in food, instead, she is highly experienced in property developing and spent many years working on projects throughout the city. Although she had always had an interest in food, it wasn’t until her brother decided to open his own restaurant that Sandy discovered that her dreams of opening an establishment of her own in London were able to be realised.

Over the next few years, Sandy scoured London in search of a suitable site, before finding what now stands as Sandy’s Corsican Pizza. Like anybody who is working to make their dreams a reality, Sandy was intent on finding a team that was able to work with her to ensure that her project would flourish. Despite London being a city with an immensely large population, 8.5 million at last count, finding kitchen and front

of house staff who are able to dedicate themselves to your restaurant, and help it compete against the ever growing list of eateries opening around the city each week, is a hefty challenge.

However, this is a challenge which Sandy seems to have cracked. Around her, she has assembled a crack team of employees who each work to make SANDY’S a hit with locals and occasional visitors alike. Part of their success is the way in which they work together as a team, for Sandy, having employees that work together like a family, each pulling their weight around the restaurant, is incredibly important and ensures that a restaurant runs smoothly.

It is this sense of family that sets SANDY’S apart, unlike other restaurants where staff members come and go, clocking in

and out right at the start and end of their shifts, the employees at SANDY’S actually care about the business, and that means about you as a customer.

An integral part of the Sandy’s team is Anna, the general manager. Unlike most staff and owner dynamics, Sandy and Anna’s relationship extends outside of work. When asked about the dynamic between the two of them, they both described them as being ‘best friends’, something which you don’t often hear from employees and their managers. This closeness translates not only to make for a relaxed work environment, but also for an incredibly welcoming surrounding for guests. When you visit SANDY’S, you feel as though, for the short time you are spending at the restaurant, you have actually been integrated into the very heart of the restaurant.

This welcoming feeling is enhanced by both of the chefs who work at SANDY’S; Marcin and Alex are both incredibly warm people, and they regularly take time to interact with the guests in a way in which you wouldn’t receive in another restaurant. As a result of the open kitchen, both of the chefs, and indeed SANDY’S heart, is on show for all to see and judge. Because of this, every aspect of the restaurant has been created with an honesty and transparency at its heart.

When designing her restaurant Sandy chose fixtures and fittings that would evoke the mission that she wants to achieve - to make diners feel at home within her restaurant.

The shutters that cover the walls provide an incredibly different feel to other restaurants, and are quite arresting upon first visit. The chairs and tables that fill up the main space of the restaurant have been chosen to provide a disarming and authentically warm feel that beckons diners to sit and relax.

What makes SANDY’S special is the food that it serves. Everything, bar the tuna, is brought into the restaurant fresh each day, and the team at SANDY’S prepare each dish with a love and attention that is likely quite hard to find in other restaurants. For both of the chefs, their own personal experiences influence the way they cook the pizzas, pastas and salads at the restaurant. For Marcin, his background in cooking at establishments across London, and in his home of Poland, have influenced the way that he executes and prepares dishes, and for Alex (who started at SANDY’S and has really grown as a chef as a result of his time at the restaurant), his French background influences the way he layers ingredients to enhance flavours.

When visiting SANDY’S, you get a sense that you are being transported away from London, just for a short while, to somewhere far away in the Mediterranean. Sandy and her team have really succeeded in executing her vision of creating an oasis of calm and comfort right in the centre of an incredibly busy city, and the restaurant is worth visiting again and again.

Sandy’s is open for dinner and lunch reservations between 12:00-3:00pm and 6:00-10:30pm14 Seymour Place, W1H 7NF

When you visit SANDY’S, you feel as though for the short

time you are spending at the restaurant, you have actually

been integrated into its very heart.

WaterhouseAmrit

AmritTucked away opposite the Kingsland Canal is a restaurant with a purpose beyond serving amazing food. Waterhouse aims to help at-risk young people out of lives of crime, debt, underachievement and low prospects, and into promising and fulfilling careers. Every year, the restaurant takes on a small number of trainee chefs, each dedicated to improving their own prospects by learning how to cook and gaining experience in a professional kitchen. Each trainee is overseen by the talented and experienced members of full-time kitchen staff who dedicate their time to providing excellent food and training services at Waterhouse.

In charge of the training programme is Amrit, a chef who has worked at Waterhouse for a number of years, and who has seen over 100 trainees pass through his kitchen. With the training programme, Waterhouse and Amrit aim to provide new skills to young people who might otherwise have fallen through the cracks and into a life of unemployment.

Growing up in Wembley, Amrit developed a passion for food from a young age. His first memory of cooking dates back to age 6, where, in an attempt to help his mother prepare a meal for the family, Amrit used mud from his garden to help give the dish flavour, much to the dismay of the whole family. Despite his first venture into cooking being poorly received, and perhaps a little unsanitary, from that moment on Amrit became dedicated to the notion that he would spend his life in the kitchen.

Although Amrit had discovered his passion for food, and was committed to becoming a chef, during his teenage years he found himself becoming involved with the wrong crowd and for a while his future prospects looked bleak. At the time, Amrit focussed less on his studies in college, and more on misbehaving and creating mischief in the wider world. Thankfully, Amrit had what he describes as an epiphany around his 16th birthday, where he took a look at his life and released that his actions were not going to bring him anywhere closer to his goal of becoming a professional chef. It was at this time that Amrit decided to totally dedicate himself to securing his goal; he enrolled on a cooking course at a local college, and began to fully dedicate his life to his career.

For Amrit, one of the great attractions of being a chef was that he would be able to secure work all over the world; this, he said, opened his eyes to the idea that (once he had trained as a chef) he would be in demand all over the globe. For many young people, the idea that you are wanted by those in the world of work is an incredibly motivating feeling, and for Amrit, this feeling of demand prompted him to throw himself head-on into training as a chef and then rapidly progressing to positions of seniority.

After securing his qualification, Amrit went to work at a Premier Inn as a kitchen porter, until one fortuitous morning (when the breakfast chef failed to show up for work) when he was thrust into the position of preparing the breakfasts for the hotel’s guests and ultimately promoted to that

position full-time. From the Premier Inn, Amrit went to work in the Virgin Atlantic First Class Lounge at Heathrow Airport, where, aged only 17, he gained experience cooking for the international jet set and celebrities. This experience gave Amrit even more determination, working in the Lounge exposed him to the upper echelons of society and gave him insight into where being a chef could take him.

After working at the First Class Lounge, Amrit found himself progressing quickly through positions in the kitchen, first working at Villandry where he gained experience working in a high-pressured and fast-paced environment, and then on to Acorn House where he worked as a Chef de Partie. At age 23, Amrit secured a position as Head Chef at Acorn House, before moving on to Waterhouse restaurant. Over a period of only 7 years, Amrit rose from college student to a Head Chef, something which he had dreamt of, but perhaps didn’t see happening so soon.

It is this almost stratospheric rise that makes Amrit so capable of assisting and training the trainees who come to study at Waterhouse. He is a living example of how learning to cook, and gaining skills working in a professional kitchen, can dramatically change one’s life. Being a Head Chef and looking after a number of trainees is a far cry from his troubled youth where he and his friends were more concerned with causing mischief than advancing their own careers.

Amrit is himself very aware of how becoming a chef allowed him to secure a successful future; he spoke at length about how he is able to identify with many of the experiences that Waterhouse trainees have gone through, and through doing so, is able to help guide them to make better choices. Amrit is dedicated at making sure that the trainees who come through Waterhouse are aware of the impact and power that cooking and hospitality is able to have on their lives and take full advantage of the opportunities they are presented with.

For many of the trainees, Waterhouse offers an invaluable opportunity to gain skills and experience working in an area which has the ability to provide significant future work. Past trainees have been able to secure full-time employment immediately after graduating from Waterhouse’s training programme, and through doing so have been able to turn their lives around.

Already, Waterhouse has seen over 100 trainees come through its doors and change from being at-risk young people, to being highly qualified individuals who are in high demand across the capital and beyond. Amrit is a clear example of how hard work, determination, and the willingness to turn away from a life of troublemaking, and to pursue a lucrative career, can have an impact far beyond one’s imagination.

Amrit is a living example of how learning to cook, and gaining skills working in a professional kitchen, can

dramatically change one’s life.

PENTOLINA-

W14

Heidi and Michele

When Heidi and Michele first met on a beach in France many years ago, they were strangers from opposite sides of the world, brought together by perfectly timed international holiday plans. Within the first 24 hours of knowing each other they decided that, some time in the future, they would ‘do something together’. A marriage, two daughters and a little while later, that something is Pentolina, a beautifully unassuming restaurant on Blythe Road in West Kensington, occupying a site previously held by a Chinese takeaway.

Pentolina is the result of many years of discovery, experience, and a shared desire for courage brought on by the birth of their two daughters. For Heidi and Michele, the restaurant was a final attempt to make their mark on London, and to introduce their values and experiences to the quiet corner of the city which they call home. With Pentolina, they have created an authentic representation of Italian cooking which is incredibly dogmatic in its desire to remain true to tradition.

Growing up in Florence, Michele’s childhood was one surrounded by copious amounts of good food. His mother was an incredibly talented cook who would often host dinners at their family home for in excess of twenty people, and he and his brother would regularly fight with each other over portions of her meals. Like many children growing up, Michele sought to rebel against his mother; however he did this not by staying out late or by playing loud music, but by challenging her conventions in the kitchen and attempting to out-cook her. He recalls a time where he and his mother were cooking for a group of their friends and family, where his sole goal was not only to cater for his guests, but to create spectacular dishes in a way in which his mother could not have imagined.

Michele found himself devoting his life to food very early on, and made sure that wherever he went, food was his number one priority. After spending time living just outside Florence, Michele and his family moved to Naples. This move had a significant impact on his culinary ability, as it led to him being exposed to different styles of Italian cooking and to him uncovering new and exciting recipes. From Naples, Michele moved to London in an attempt to forge a career in the diverse capital. While there, he spent time catering private events, driving from venue to venue on his Vespa, and working in a West End club. These experiences helped Michele to develop his culinary style and, as he has never had any formal cooking education, allowed him to discover the techniques and processes which would make his cooking unique.

Throughout his life, Michele has always had an interest in making things by hand. Whether it be fantastic paintings,

sculptures, or furniture, he is willing to dedicate his time to create something from nothing. This is very much echoed in his cooking, which draws on Italian tradition and his personal experiences to create something magical from a small set of base ingredients. For Michele, “cooking is about having a good product and touching it as little as possible”; the way in which he creates his dishes allows the distinctive qualities of each ingredient to shine, and allows for the finished product to be a carefully layered masterpiece of flavours.

With Pentolina, Michele has taken his passion for making things to new heights. Alongside his wife and business partner Heidi, he has transformed what used to be an incredibly disheveled site into a beautiful and clean restaurant that delights local regulars and occasional visitors alike. Adorning the walls are examples of his artistic creations, and throughout the restaurant are gifts from friends and family, given to the couple throughout their life.

Pentolina is unlike many other restaurants in that it is a family home away from home, Heidi and Michele decorated the restaurant in their style, incorporating furniture that used to have its place in their house, and items which they handpicked from local artisans. Indeed, this has helped to create a very intimate, family feel to the restaurant; Heidi and Michele know the majority of their guests on a first name basis, and consider each of their regulars to be a part of their extended family. The dining experience at Pentolina is something far removed from the clinical and almost distant experience found at other restaurants, Heidi and her front of house team strive to create an incredible atmosphere of warmth and friendship in order for guests to feel as though they are being welcomed into a home.

With Pentolina, Heidi and Michele have achieved great success not only in staying true to their words exchanged in a fortuitous meeting on a French beach all those years ago, but also by staying incredibly true to Italian tradition and Michele’s experience of Italy. The dishes they serve are in no way adapted or anglicised to suit local taste; Michele is incredible passionate about having people experience the Italy he experienced growing up by tasting the food which he has learned to create over time. There is no creamy carbonara here, but instead an incredibly pure representation of Italian cooking found in a beautiful and welcoming setting.

Heidi and Michele

Pentolina is open Tuesday to Saturday, 12:30-3:30pm and 6:30-11:30pm71 Blythe Rd, W14 0HP

“Cooking is about having a good product and touching it as

little as possible”

Wolfe, W11

Wolfe Conyngham, the man behind the eponymous restaurant, is incredibly interesting. Growing up in Ireland, surrounded by food, he developed an intense passion for cooking from an early age and always dreamt of owning his own restaurant.

When I met him on an unusually warm September day, I was struck by just how very normal he appears. When going to meet someone with the first name Wolfe, as much as you try to avoid it, you develop a set of preconceived ideas of how they will sound, act, and dress. Refreshingly, Wolfe was none of my preconceptions, indeed he appears very normal, despite his rather unconventional name. It is this obvious normality that is welcoming. He is incredibly warm and charismatic, with polished manners and a clear desire to please. During my time with him, he appeared attentive, highly intelligent, and, at times, refreshingly candid. Wolfe conveys an incredibly deep sense of connection to food, and a passion which is perhaps unrivalled.

This passion was ignited during his childhood, when he spent time in and around his father’s restaurant. As a boy, Wolfe relished the opportunity to be in an environment where he was surrounded by delicious food, and over time, developed an intense appreciation for food in all forms. As well as his father being a restauranteur, Wolfe’s mother was a talented cook who often made delicious dishes for the family. It is perhaps this combination of both parental figures being invested in food which has given Wolfe such an affiliation for the art of cooking, and has led to him being so personally invested in both his restaurant and the food he serves.

When speaking to him, you get the sense that, for Wolfe, food isn’t a binary concept of likes and dislikes, it is a mélange of complimentary flavours, textures and smells that come together to form a dynamic understanding of a dish. Unlike others, Wolfe is able to find excitement

Wolfeand inspiration in food of all forms, be it a kebab or a three star Michelin main course.

This comes across incredibly clearly when he talks about the food he serves at Wolfe. Despite the menu changing daily, as a result of his desire to only use the freshest produce, Wolfe’s focus is on elevating traditional home cooking to a level unable to be achieved by diners in their own kitchens. This is done through incredible attention to detail and by using only the best ingredients; everything, bar the milk, is made in house and to the highest level.

But despite the desire to iterate upon

home cooking and provide diners with an exceptional experience, Wolfe strives to make each patron feel at home. “The aim” he says, “is to make people feel comfortable, to enjoy the wine list, and to have a home cooking experience with a level of execution that they wouldn’t be able to do themselves”.

The notion that patrons should feel at home is very much reflected in his restaurant, which is a cosy, warm, and inviting space with low lighting, and a fantastic handmade bar. Indeed, almost everything found in Wolfe, the restaurant that is, has been made by the man himself. Over a laborious six and a half month period, Wolfe painstakingly built his restaurant from the ground up. Limited by budget and wanting to use a variety of materials of family origin, Wolfe

“The connection doesn’t get any deeper. This is my soul. Everything you see here is an existential extension

of my mind, my body, my soul. Everything you see

here is Wolfe.”

Wolfe29, All Saints Road, W11

poured himself into 18 hour days to realise his dream.

The result is something spectacular, a restaurant that has soul.

With Wolfe, he has managed to capture both his individuality and his aesthetic, something which requires intense introspective analysis. To be able to conceptualise and realise one’s own personality, warmth, and aesthetic requires great personal depth. Indeed, being able to create a restaurant that is an extension of one’s own being and personality is highly commendable, both from an interior design and artistic point of view.

What Wolfe has achieved is especially laudable when considered against the backdrop of the highly calculated and strategised restaurant openings that occur across the city on a daily basis. From the ever changing menu, to the simple, yet arresting decor, Wolfe is a restaurant that lives and breathes its mission. There are no bells and whistles that wow guests and floor reviewers, it is simply a very clear directive to provide well executed and delicious food in an environment that welcomes each guest with open arms and keeps them coming back. Wolfe doesn’t rely on gimmicks or set menus, it thrives on unparalleled simplicity and a clarity of purpose that other restaurants lack.

With Wolfe, Conyngham has created what he calls a “gift to the community”, but it is much more than that. From the incredibly simple, yet astonishingly delicious home staples, to the labour of love that is the walls, floor, ceiling and bar of the restaurant, Wolfe is a magical place which deserves its steadily growing reputation.

“Its all about love, that’s what we give here, we give 100% love.”

“It’s about as personal and as representative as it comes. Everything

here is family orientated, there’s a photo of my grandmother on the wall, there are early 18th Century ferns pressed by my

family, everything you see here has been built by my own hands. There could be

nothing more personal.”

Chez AntoinetteAurelia

WC2

AureliaLike many who dedicate their lives to food, Aurelia Delclos developed

her passion for cooking from an early age. Growing up in Lyon, one of

the food capitals of France, Aurelia found herself nurturing an interest

in good food and fine cooking early on in life. During her childhood,

she was looked after by her mother, who stayed at home to raise her

children and maintain the family home, and who spent many days and

nights cooking delicious dishes for her husband and children to enjoy.

Aurelia describes her mother’s meals as the thing that piqued her

interest in food and provoked her to continue a lifelong journey of

exploration and discovery which ultimately culminated in her opening

Chez Antoinette in the heart of Covent Garden.

Aurelia’s food journey, while started by her mother’s cooking, was heavily

influenced by her grandmother who went to great lengths to teach

Aurelia how to make typically French dishes like beef bourguignon and

lemon tart. Aurelia has fond memories of going to her grandmother’s

house, tasting her food and learning how to make dishes with recipes

that had been passed along the generations.

With Chez Antoinette, Aurelia is attempting to immortalise her

grandmother’s cooking in the heart of London and share it with

Londoners and tourists alike. Inside the restaurant are little touches

that make Chez Antoinette special; the wallpaper that adorns the area

next to the cakes and pastries is the same wallpaper that Aurelia’s

grandmother had in her home, there is a photo of her grandmother

on the wall, and each place setting consists of a mismatch of unique

glass and chinaware. These elements, while potentially appearing to be

haphazard and alien to a typical restaurant setting, combine to create

an incredible sense of home within the restaurant which is itself an

intimate refuge from the hustle and chaotic bustle of Covent Garden.

Aurelia’s journey to opening Chez Antoinette was long and diverse.

Even though she had always had a passion for food, rather than work

in hospitality, Aurelia chose to enter the world of high-end interior

design, where she worked on projects across the globe, ranging from

penthouses in Dubai to hotel suites in France. Although her work was

rewarding, and to an extent glamorous, when Aurelia turned 30, she

found herself wanting more from life, and decided to take a years break

from employment and travel to India. There, she immersed herself in

the culture and spent many weeks absorbing the sights and sounds of

the country, as well as sampling its delicious and diverse food offerings.

After spending a year abroad, Aurelia returned home to Lyon where

she first entered the restaurant world, working at various positions

within a local restaurant, before graduating to the restaurant manager

after a short while. From there, Aurelia moved to London to open her

dream, Chez Antoinette. Aurelia states that as much as she likes living

in London, she misses the dinner party culture of France, where friends

and family would regularly go to each other’s houses for a meal and to

drink wine. Rather than try and force this culture upon London, Aurelia

sought to create a place that feels like home within the centre of an

incredibly busy area of London, so that travellers and office workers,

locals and visitors would have somewhere that they could briefly call a

place of refuge from the never-ending march of city life.

For Aurelia, Chez Antoinette is more than a restaurant, it is a space

that draws on her childhood memories, and where she welcomes

guests to spend time relaxing and enjoying her food. As Aurelia lacks

a background in cooking, her menu serves only simple home staples,

rather than hyper-constructed examples of culinary excellence. Because

of this, Chez Antoinette achieves Aurelia’s mission to create a home for

guests, there are no intimidating dishes or unwelcome surprises, just

simple (yet delicious) home cooking executed to perfection.

For the guests who dine at Chez Antoinette, Aurelia’s aim is to establish

a connection with them beyond just the food - her and her staff make

an active effort to engage with them on a personal level, discovering

more about them in order to build a lasting relationship. Indeed, for

Aurelia, the guests who dine at Chez Antoinette are just that, guests;

they are welcomed and engaged with in the same way that she would

engage with guests dining at her house. Because of this, the atmosphere

in the restaurant is almost entirely different to any other - when leaving,

patrons actively seek out Aurelia and her team to say thank-you and

goodbye, there is no pay and run here.

Aurelia states that her intention for Chez Antoinette was to immortalise

her grandmother’s cooking in an environment where guests would feel

at home in a way in which she was made to feel at home when she

visited her grandmother years ago, and with Chez Antoinette, Aurelia

has more than achieved her ambition.

Chez Antoinette is open daily for lunch and dinner reservations

30 Henrietta St, WC2E 8RE

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

Aurelia sought to create a place that feels like home within the

centre of an incredibly busy area of London.

Sidi MaaroufW2

Tamo, Wadih, Samira

Situated on Edgware Road, towards Marble Arch, Sidi Maarouf is

home to some of the most authentic and traditional moroccan cooking

in London. Part of the Maroush group, Sidi Maarouf strives to give

diners a taste of Morocco, with the occasional Mediterranean twist.

Headed by Executive Chef Tamo, the food served at Sidi Maarouf

builds on experiences shared by all of the members of staff who

work there in order to transport guests away from London and to

Morocco.

Growing up in Morocco, Tamo’s life was heavily centred around

food, her mother was a talented cook, and Tamo herself always

aspired to work in a kitchen. Tamo started her career as a chef

working in kitchens in Morocco for over a decade, before coming to

London to work. When she came to the city, she found the diversity

and vibrancy incredibly attractive, so sought to make it her new

home. With her, she brought her lifelong experience of Moroccan

cooking and a flair for creating dishes that replicate the smells and

tastes of Morocco’s best cuisine.

Tamo’s passion for Moroccan cuisine is conveyed extremely clearly

by the passion with which she talks about the subject. She describes

how, during her time growing up in Morocco, she became exposed

to new flavours and dishes, and smells, all of which helped her

to grow as a chef. She mentions how there is so much diversity in

moroccan food, how every city cooks each dish in a slightly different

way, and how this all combines to create dishes that have developed

and progressed over time, as a result of being cooked by different

hands in different locations.

For Tamo, the food she cooks at Sidi Maarouf harks back to the

very core of moroccan cuisine, her Lamb Tagine, Bisteeya, and

Harira, are all cooked using recipes which she learned from her

time growing up and working in Moroccan kitchens. Because of this,

guests who themselves come from Morocco remark that her dishes

remind them of their childhood, of the way which their mothers and

grandmothers cooked, and how the flavours and smells bring about

memories which they thought they had forgotten. This is very much

the experience those working at Sidi Maarouf strive to create; an

environment where guests are provoked to explore the food, and to

use their tasting experience to conjure memories they thought had

been lost.

Alongside Tamo, work Wadih and Samira, who both hail from

hospitality backgrounds. Wadih gained experience at the

Intercontinental, working as the Assistant Manager at the Sydney’s

Club in Lebanon, before coming to London to work with the Maroush

Group. Wadih’s experience working at the famed Sydney’s Club,

which has played host to many a dignitary and celebrity, has been

very much integrated into Sidi Maarouf. He notes that his background

working for a well established, and highly respected, restaurant

has made him almost fanatical about service. For him, the guests

who dine at Sidi Maarouf are treated as though they are the most

important person in the room. He relishes the opportunity to impress

guests by providing them with a level of attention to detail and

service which they would not get anywhere else across the capital.

When Wadih first came to London, he was struck by the diversity of

the city, how different cultures and religions intermingled in a way

in which cannot be found elsewhere. As surprising as that was at

first, Wadih soon began to appreciate the way in which London

would allow him to grow and progress both in his career, but also

as an individual. It is this diversity of cultures and backgrounds which

excites Wadih, and those who work at Sidi Maarouf; with each new

diner, they have the opportunity to expose people to Morocco, to

give them a culinary and dining experience which is unable to be

rivalled in London, and cannot be found without journeying to the

other side of the world.

This opportunity to transport guests to Morocco, within the confines

of a London restaurant, is also what drives Samira. Unlike Wadih,

Samira has only worked for the Maroush Group, starting as a

waitress before rapidly progressing to managerial positions. For her,

Sidi Maarouf represents the ability of staff and guests of different

cultures to come together under one roof and enjoy an authentic

experience of Morocco.

Sidi Maarouf may often be overlooked, situated towards the end of

Edgware Road, the unassuming exterior hides an incredibly rich and

diverse restaurant that is in many ways a small slice of Morocco.

Once inside however, the restaurant and its food are unforgettable

and continue to attract a range of guests who hail from different

backgrounds and cultures, all of whom are aware of this hidden

capsule of Moroccan excellence.

Sidi Maarouf is open for lunch and dinner reservations daily, between

12:00pm-12:00am

56-58 Edgware Rd, W2 2EH

LOCATIONS

SANDY’S14 Seymour Pl,

Marylebone W1H 7NF

Brigade139 Tooley St

Southwark SE1 2HZ

Waterhouse10 Orsman Rd

Shoreditch N1 5QJ

Pentolina71 Blythe Rd

West Kensington W14 0HP

Wolfe29 All Saints Rd

Notting HillW11 1HE

Chez Antoinette30 Henrietta StCovent Garden

WC2E 8RE

Sidi Maarouf56-58 Edgware Rd

Bayswater W2 2EH

HALVERLY.COM