I can remember the first meal I ate at St John, Fergus Henderson's deceptively simple restaurant in Clerkenwell. What struck me more than the plainness of the room or the white paper tablecloths was the uncompromising starkness of the menu. In refreshing contrast to the "too much information" that infects so many menus nowadays the descriptions of the offerings at St John verged on the terse. Never was a case of what you see is what you get more apt.
This month, we salute St John, its founders, team and alumni. Rachel Cooke speaks to Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver, there from the beginning, and we ask fans and chefs for their explanation of St John's enduring nose-to-tail success. In addition, we have a handful of the kitchen's most loved recipes, from boiled ham and parsley sauce to mince and tatties.
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