Dan Doherty in the kitchen
Update - 16/8/17. The latest Sprout pop up is over at Cannon and Cannon - and it has the AMAZING pea hummus. Get tickets here.
Original story below
For the past five years, Dan Doherty has been Executive Chef of Duck and Waffle and boy has he made a name for himself. Before D&W high-rise dining was - with the exception of Galvin at Windows - somewhere you went to gaze out of the window rather than down at your food. But at D&W it became exciting, innovative - the food was every bit as interesting as the 40th-floor view.
So it's safe to say that Dan doesn't like staying still. This year he's already helmed the launch of Duck and Waffle local - a ground floor level experience in St James. And now, he's experimenting with his own standalone dining experience – Sprout.
We popped along to the first outing of Sprout, which will, in due course, become Dan's own restaurant once he finds the right spot. While the search for that continues, for the past few days he occupied the Fifth Floor terrace cafe at Harvey Nichols. Here's what was on the menu...
Fried rabbit nuggets - a big twist on the usual chicken (or even the duck you're used to from him)
Dukkah crisp bread, stracciatella and wild herbs - one of two starting dishes that we just didn't want to share. Just leave us with some stracciatella this fresh and we'll always be happy with that. And a spoon.
Fresh pea hummus, garden veg and smoked yoghurt - a twist on the hummus and veg plate and a dish that couldn't be fresher. We asked for the recipe for this on the night - definitely something we want to attempt ourselves.
As for the main - a huge chunk of slow cooked lamb shoulder, with saffron potatoes, zhoug and sumac - a beautifully cooked main course with a touch of Middle Eastern spices.
And for dessert - buttermilk cheesecake (although of the deconstructed kind), with strawberries, tarragon, hobnobs and tarragon vinegar. That tarragon vinegar was incredible - we want a jar now.
So what's next for Sprout? Dan has plenty of Sprout events over the Summer, so there will be chances to try out the menu for yourselves before the restaurant arrives. Just make sure to follow him on Twitter to get the latest updates of where Sprout will hit next. And of course, we'll tell you as soon as more news of future events hits.
