Seb Holmes picked up a lot of fans while head chef at the Smoking Goat and then with a series of Pestle pop-ups. Now he's nearly ready to settle down in Borough with his new restaurant Farang - but not before a series of supperclubs in Highbury's San Daniele. That superclub gives us a good idea of the food that Farang will be serving in Borough and includes:
- Tempura squid with a lightly mild curry, ginger and turmeric batter, served with a burnt chilli dipping sauce
- Clear vermicelli noodle soup with fresh herbs, chilli, cucumber, goji berries and lime
- Jungle curry of braised beef, kaffir, pea aubergine, lemongrass and Asian herbs
- Mango, coconut and cassia bark rice with palm sugar caramel
The new restaurant will be part of a big new development at Flat Iron Square - part of a government regeneration scheme in the area. We caught up with Seb Holmes to find out more:
What can you tell us about Farang?
Farang is everything that I love about food, all my favourite techniques and ingredients from 13 years of cheffing. I spent the first half of my career with a focus on using seasonal ingredients to their best, and the second half falling in love with Thai food. Put these together in London and you get 'Farang' (foreigner in Thai). I hold no allegiance to authenticity, just flavour and taste.
And what will the set-up be?
There will be a small kitchen serving extremely high quality food to take away or eat in, with a large bar area too. There will be heated Messene seats and also lots of benches and cover for diners. Due to the nature of the site it is expected that you will just rock up and order at the counter to receive food instantly, rather than book.
I will be going in here with my team of quality chefs and cooking our hearts out. We will be making our own curry pastes as usual and have a large range of our own recipes that we're trying out at pop-ups and markets. If all goes to plan I will be staying in this site for a minimum of one year and building my brand to allow myself time to decide Farang's future. All I know is that me and my team want to cook some serious Thai food- and this is the start.
And can you tell us about the drinks?
The drinks in Borough are still to be decided. At the San Daniele we use organic Italian wines from Vino Passione, these guys really know their stuff. We also sell Chang beer and we are teaming up with Bold Spirits in the near future - these guys make a mean cocktail too.
Farang opens in Spring/ Summer in Flat Iron Square. In the meantime, they're holding supperclubs at Highbury's San Daniele for £35 per person. To book tickets to their next event on 28 February, email them at info@faranglondon.co.uk. For more, follow them on Twitter @farangLDN
Photos by Zeren Wilson and Kaleem Hyder.
