Chefs at home - London's chefs are cooking for themselves during lockdown (24 April)

Catherine Hanly 24 April 2020

Looking for inspiration during lockdown? With chefs at home rather than in their restaurant kitchens, many of them are showing just what's possible to knock up in your own home. We've picked five of the best examples we've spotted on Instagram from the past week.

James Ramsden - Pidgin

Pidgin and Sons + Daughters co-founder James shares the results of his fridge forage - he's come up with a marvellous looking frittata with his haul of chorizo, fennel, chard, potatoes, capers, spring onion, cheddar and eggs. Of course, you'll need a decently stocked fridge for this one.

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Fridge forage frittata. Chorizo, fennel, chard, potatoes, capers, spring onion, cheddar. Eggs help.
A post shared by James Ramsden (@jamesramsden_) on Apr 20, 2020 at 4:04am PDT

Asma Khan - Darjeeling Express

As she admits, it's taken Asma Khan a while to get her cooking mojo back during lockdown, but she's firmly back in the game with these puchkas and chaat.

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Finally! I missed Puchkas so much! It has taken me a month to finally open my “Chaat” case in my kitchen and now my entire kitchen is smelling of kala namak- the first few weeks of the lockdown were a whirlwind- I was in awe of chefs who began doing cooking videos on Instagram immediately -I spent a lot of my evenings listening to Sufi music and mornings organising things for my team and chatting to them- one of my kids is in those low carb fitness regimes- won’t eat a lot of rice or roti- for the past 4 years I have not cooked at home a lot- now I was cooking protein rich meals all day (at least it felt like that!)- now I have got super organised- I soak beans the night before- I found someone who can deliver 90 eggs at a time. Finally I can indulge myself and make Chaat.
A post shared by Darjeelingldn (@darjeelingldn) on Apr 20, 2020 at 5:28am PDT

Chris Leach - Manteca

Manteca chef Chris has been busy upping his Covid cooking skills - and we're very tempted by this week's pulled pork with slaw and pickles - in his own homemade buns.

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Covid cooking - made some buns, made some pulled pork, made some pickles, made some slaw - took me right back! Then made some kimchi and had fried eggs and kimchi buns for breakfast. #lockdowncooking
A post shared by Chris Leach (@thisisleachy) on Apr 17, 2020 at 7:53am PDT

Shaun Searley - Quality Chop House

Looking for something to sling on the BBQ this weekend? Well, Shaun Searley turned to his mates in the business for ideas on what to make for his weekend BBQ - using a marinade for his lamb kebabs from chef Kian Samyani at Berenjak and making flatbreads to Black Axe Mangal's Lee Tiernan's recipe.

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Saturday nights at home... kebab night!! Inspiration from some of our favourite restaurants in London... Lamb marinade from Kian @kiansamyani @berenjaklondon and flat bread from @leetiernan @blackaxemangal just brilliant dinner @shaunsearley followed by the Searley Family Quiz with the Chappetts too. Lots to be thankful for 🥰
A post shared by Joanne Searley (@joannesearley) on Apr 18, 2020 at 3:02pm PDT

Ben Tish - Norma

Norma chef Ben might be stuck, like the rest of us, at home in London, but he's gone as far as North Africa and Sicily in search of inspiration for this dish of pork chops with bay, rosemary, green olive and preserved lemon gremolata.

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Inspired by a delivery from @stepneycityfarm and some delicious free range pork. This is super easy and tasty. Flavours on North African and Sicily make this #moorish #sicilia #cookingathome #homecooking #travellingwithoutmoving the method is in my stories 👆☀️ Pan roasted pork chops with bay, rosemary, green olive and preserved lemon gremolata Serves 4 4 decent fatty pork chops A handful of rosemary leaves A handful of oregano leaves A handful of thyme leaves 1 tablespoon capers 3 preserved lemons- desseded and chopped 8 large green olives chopped 2 cloves garlic chopped A handful of pine nuts, toasted 50ml sweet white vinegar Zest and juice of a lemon Extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper for cooking Optional extra -parmesan cheese Blend together the garlic, capers, herbs, vinegar, lemon juice and zest in a fast blender- to a coarse paste- season well. Stir in the chopped preserved lemons, olive and pinenuts. Add a little olive oil to loosen- so its spoonable. Reserve. Heat a large saute pan and season the chops well. Add a good amount of oil and when hot sear the chops over a medium heat on both sides for 5-6 minutes adding in the bay leaves and cook until nice and caramelised and just cooked through. A little pink inside is good. Pour juices into the gremolata. Rest the chops for 5 minutes before serving with the gremolata and more herbs to finish. I are with chickpeas and spinach x
A post shared by Ben Tish (@ben.tish) on Apr 23, 2020 at 10:59am PDT