Elystan Street – London, U.K.
Serial award-winner Phil Howard is often described in the press as ‘the chef’s chef’. He doesn’t have his own reality TV show and you won’t see him fooling about in the celebrity gossip pages but that’s because he’s too busy getting on with the serious business of “delivering pleasure through the harmony of flavours” as he puts it.
His restaurants have won multiple Michelin stars over the years and Elystan Street in Chelsea is no exception. Their cook-at-home hampers, which aim to replicate the excitement of unwrapping an exquisite gift, actually require very little cooking at all; just a little re-heating here and a bit of sauce drizzling there to add the finishing touch to one or two of the dishes.
Just imagine getting a delivery of cured Cornish sea bream with dressed fennel, tardivo, blood orange, olive oil and chilli for starter, followed by a haunch of venison with roasted pear, celeriac, sprout tops, red wine and pickled walnut.
Dessert was a delightfully light and delicate ‘Islands’ chocolate mousse with nut clusters and candied orange, rounded off with a cheese board served alongside walnut bread and spiced pear chutney. Forget TV dinners; this is superlative food from a real master chef.
