The owner and the head chef of Anglo refitted the kitchen and ripped out the basement. Then the five-star reviews arrived
This year’s Best Newcomers have earned their award the old-fashioned way: graft and determination. Mark Jarvis, owner and head chef of Anglo in Farringdon, east London, and his co-head chef Jack Cashmore both got hooked on cooking at an early age – Jarvis from watching his grandmother bake cakes at home in Buckinghamshire, Cashmore from his weekend pot-washing job at a local restaurant in Staffordshire. Having worked their way up through some of the toughest kitchens – Le Manoir, Restaurant Sat Bains – they seemed a good match when Jarvis decided to set up a place of his own in London.
His initial idea was to open somewhere “a bit refined” in the West End. Then a period working in restaurants in Spain convinced the 34-year-old that his venture needed to be “more approachable and relaxed. The food still had to be amazing,” he clarifies, “but I didn’t want that stiffness you get in high-end places.”
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