A
nna Hansen still
sniggers when she
recalls the phone call. “I
thought it was a prank,”
she says, “I was
thinking, ‘Are you
taking the piss?’” The
no-nonsense New
Zealand chef, whose
skill with exotic
ingredients has made
her a star via her London restaurant, The Modern Pantry
(
themodernpantry.co.uk
),
is talking about her
unexpected MBE in 2012.
“
I was thinking that there are so many people out
there so much more deserving than I am,” says the
43-
year-old. “But when they explained it was about
succeeding as a woman, for being one of the few females
to have left an impression on the London restaurant
scene as a chef, I thought, I can deal with that.”
She’s sitting at a wooden table in the warmly lit
confines of Koya (
koya.co.uk
)
when easyJet Traveller
catches up with her for a photoshoot. This cultish Soho
udon noodle bar is one of her favourite places in London
to grab a spot of lunch and she’s not alone. Midday
queues often stretch out into the street. The simple fare
–
think soups, noodles and dumplings – may sound like
a world away from the precise cooking she’s used to
producing, but in common with many chefs, Hansen
craves comfort and simplicity from the places that she
eats on her days off.
“
The formal fine-dining thing is hard going and not
just because of what it costs,” she says. “All the long
menus and all that performance, you can only do it now
and again or it becomes tedious. For me, five to six
courses is the perfect number to still be interested in the
food, if you want to do the tasting-menu thing.”
But, mostly, she doesn’t opt for such a large spread. “I
love places like this,” she says. “It’s simple, clean, easy
food and really hearty at the same time. I love that they
do the noodles properly on site, and they have a couple
of guys jumping up and down on the dough – it’s a
beautiful thing to watch. I love having the cold udon
with the hot broth – I like to swap my broths around. I
eat the noodles cold first and then I have some hot, and
it’s a completely different experience.”
Her other London favourites include the East End
Punjabi grill, Tayyabs (
tayyabs.co.uk
). “
I like their dry-
rubbed lamb chops,” she says. “I would cross London for
them if I didn’t live nearby. I also love the madness of the
place.” And when it comes to breakfast, The Wolseley
(
thewolseley.com
)
in Piccadilly is one of the places that
does it for her every time. “I just love the environment,”
she says. “I love everything about the way it looks. Every
detail is perfect, from the teapots to the cutlery.”
Like the style of cooking that she’s made her name
with, Hansen is a fantastically cosmopolitan blend.
“
Formal fine-dining is
hard going and not just
because of what it costs.
All the long menus and
all that performance –
it becomes tedious”
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