Among London's trendiest dining destinations is Ikoyi, a Two MICHELIN-Starred restaurant that cooks up genuine cuisine influenced mostly by African dishes. Here's the story of chef Jeremy Chan, from Ivy League to the world of finance, to now his most exciting role yet.
The story
When thinking of London, the first chefs to come to mind are Heston Blumenthal, Clare Smyth and Gordon Ramsay, Hélène Darroze, Alain Ducasse and Pierre Gagnaire. Yet, according to most critics, Britain's most creative chef is someone else: his name is Jeremy Chan, he is thirty-five years old, and with his hyper-contaminated cuisine, with African, European and Asian influences, has earned his second MICHELIN Star and 49th place in the 50 Best Restaurants for Ikoyi in one year, after being named One to Watch in 2019 and soon releasing his first book, due in April from Phaidon.
©Cristiana Ferrauti
"I’ve poured my soul into this restaurant. It is my vision of a beautiful architectural space, where comfort is mixed with a little bit of brutality and precision," says David Thulstrup, architect of the spaces and of Noma, based on the design conceived with his partner Iré Hassan-Odukale. It is a fresh opening, dated last December, after the farewell in October to the old, cramped St. James's venue.
"It's about art, but we don't put art and food in the same category. Also, I don't want the restaurant to have a pretentious image. I want it to remain modest. Of course, it's not, because it's very ambitious and it's very expensive to come and eat here, but we do it with a humble attitude: we designed it so that guests feel magnificent, not so we would look magnificent."
© Maureen M. Evans
Born in Britain to a Chinese father, a lawyer by profession, and a Canadian mother, a dance teacher, raised in Hong Kong and the United States, never ceasing to travel, Chan studied languages and philosophy at Princeton University before working in finance in Spain. It was a monotonous job, from which he sought refuge by reading cookbooks and cooking for friends. Hence the decision, back in London, to take the big leap behind the stove, complete with unpaid internships at Claude Bosi's Hibiscus, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and Noma. Then the reunion with his old Nigerian study partner, now a partner, tired of his insurance career, and the decision in 2017 to open a West African cuisine restaurant, Ikoyi, from a neighbourhood in Lagos. In fact, he immediately used an original mix of African spices, fresh British ingredients, and techniques and styles coming from all over the world, from Asia to Scandinavia. We find signature dishes such as smoked jollof rice and plantain with raspberry salt and chilli pepper emulsion.
Smoked jollof rice, plantain, chicken
For some, their cuisine was not "African" enough and the Chinese chef should be kicked out; Even today, despite the awards, it remains divisive. "If menus were people, the last one would be like an old man coming across a young man and inspiring him for something different. It's not better, but it is different, more mature, subtle and measured, with delicate, layered textures that make you think rather than explode your palate." Provocation, however, is not lacking. "What appeals to most and offends some is usually very, very good, because is something going all the way down. Intensely original food has to be a thing going all the way through, ending up offending someone."
Source: scmp.com
Cover photo: © Kirchgasser Photography
