Chefs at home - what London's chefs are cooking for themselves during lockdown

Catherine Hanly 19 June 2020

Over the many long weeks we've been in lockdown (wait - is that still actually on?) we've really enjoyed bringing you our weekly roundup of what London's chefs have been making for themselves at home.

Elyse Li - Japan Gourmet

London based sake specialist and restaurant consultant Elyse has spent her lockdown time wisely by making this quite beautiful cherry blossom brioche (you can buy the dried blossom from her company's website).

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Sakura brioche with cream cheese. For dried Sakura, please visit my website www.japan-gourmet.com😉
A post shared by Elyse Li (@elyse_li) on Jun 17, 2020 at 12:40pm PDT

Melissa Thompson - Fowl Mouths Food

Pop-up host and podcast broadcaster Melissa describes the process of smoking her own brisket as "a long process full of laughter, tears and no sleep". Find out exactly how she did it on her stories.

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Remember that brisket I smoked that took 423 hours? Thankfully there were leftovers and they make for a brilliant dinner of minimum effort. Which sort of makes up for the days I lost initially. (Served with my failed confit potatoes and the last of my lockdown sauerkraut.)
A post shared by Melissa Thompson | Food (@fowlmouthsfood) on Jun 18, 2020 at 11:49am PDT

Amy Poon - Poon's

Anyone stuck indoors homeschooling will feel Amy's pain - luckily she knows how to make things better, with bao. Bao buns make EVERYTHING better.

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Homemade pork and Chinese cabbage bao - emergency fuel for prepositions... 😫 . . . #ediblelove #chinesefood #chinesehomecooking #bao #homeschooling
A post shared by Amy Poon Mackenzie (@amy__poon) on Jun 17, 2020 at 10:14am PDT

Ixta Belfrage - Ottolenghi

Olttolenghi recipe developer and co-author Ixta gives us a detailed recipe - along with some interesting back story - for plantains with scotch bonnet, masala spices and lime. Just the hit of heat we need while the weather's a bit on and off.

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Plantains with scotch bonnet, masala spices and lime. My mum is from the northeast of Brazil and grew up in Cuba- two places that eat a heeellll of a lot of plantain. Mum pretty much consumes them intravenously so I’ve grown up having them alongside pretty much every meal. I always thought that plantains were native to Africa, and brought to the Carribean/Central America/Latin America/South America by the pesky Portuguese (or vice versa) but apparently they’re native to southeast Asia, which is so interesting because when it comes to (specifically Asian) plantain recipes, I’ve only ever come across Indian curries or Thai and Malaysian fritters, but I’m sure there are so many variations I’m missing out on (hit me up!). Scotch bonnets are native to the Caribbean and are the best chillies out there, fact, but feel free to use a milder chilli if you prefer. I used a rose masala spice mix here, which is an incredible mix of black pepper, toasted coconut, rose, cardamom, black cumin and coriander, but you can use another masala spice mix, or just use one or a few of the above spices . 1.5 tbsp olive oil 1.5 tbsp ghee 1 red scotch bonnet, halved 3 large, ripe plantains (deep yellow, soft with lots of black spots) cut into 3cm chunks 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp rose petal masala (or another masala spice mix) ½ tbsp maple syrup 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve Add the oil, ghee and scotch bonnet to a large saute pan on a medium-high heat and gently cook until the ghee has melted. Add the plantain and spread out as much as possible, sprinkle with the salt, then gently fry for 3 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden-brown. Toss the plantain, then continue to gently fry for another 3 minutes until the other sides are nicely golden-brown. Add the spice mix and maple syrup, cover with the lid and continue to cook for another 3 minutes. In general you want the plantains to softly caramelize, not to fry intensely, so turn the heat down if necessary. Transfer to a platter, squeeze over the lime and serve . Step by stem in my stories and highlights #ottolenghitestkitchen #ottolenghi #OTK
A post shared by Ixta (@ixta.belfrage) on Jun 17, 2020 at 6:12am PDT

Alex Craciun - Nori to Go

While he serves up amazing raw fish and more from his Nori To Go spot at SmokeStak during lockdown, Alex can also do a mean line in raw beef as this homemade tartare shows.

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Mmm 😋 aged beef tartare egg yolk sourdough croutons crispy leaks and pomsuffle.
A post shared by Alex Craciun (@alex__craciun) on Jun 16, 2020 at 7:37am PDT