fall 2009
celebratedliving.com
44
London
fOOD
Global Gourmet Guide
Within the last fewdecades, Londonhas transformed from a citywheredining
was something to suffer through to a culinary powerhouse. The arrival of Food
Network celebrity chef
JamieOliver
, whopossesses a deliciousmixof boyish
enthusiasm andexpert kitchen skills, signaled toAmericans that theU.K. had
movedwell beyondbangers andmash. “I thinkBritainused tohave a bit of a
bad reputation for food,” admitsOliver, “but thesedays there are somany
fantasticchefsworking in and aroundLondon thatwe’re theenvyof theworld.”
Sho p
“If you’re in london on theweekend,”
says Oliver, “get up early and go to
BOrOughmarket
(boroughmarket.org.
uk). You don’t have to buy anything,
although you probably will, but it’s
worth just soaking up the atmosphere
and great smells.”
maryleBOne high
Street
, chock-full of boutiques, is an-
other wonderful place to wander. In
particular, Oliver recommends
la
FrOmagerie
(lafromagerie.co.uk). “It’s
owned bymy goodmate PatriciaMi-
chelson,whoknowsmoreaboutcheese
thananyone I’veevermet,”hesays.
➤
Eat
at the topoflondon’s foodchain ischef
RichardCorrigan’s restaurant
COrrig-
an’S mayFair
at the Grosvenor House
(
), which
serves rustic country-house cuisine.
OnOliver’s list is
theriverCaFé
(www.
rivercafe.co.uk), where he trained
years ago, and
theO randall
(theo
randall.com). a humanitarian option:
FiFteen lOndOn
(
, Oli-
ver’s culinary-focused foundation that
offers youths at risk a life change by
trainingaschefs.
Dr ink
londoners are flocking to the rooftop
bar at Terence Conran’s new venture,
the
alBiOn CaFé and reStaurant
(albioncaff.co.uk) at The Boundary
(theboundary.co.uk/rooftop) in lon-
don’s trendy Shoreditch (note: While
there dip into the nearby
CallOOh
Callay Bar
, calloohcallaybar.com). for
quirky fun, the two-story
BOB BOB
riCard
(bobbobricard.com), inspired
by the golden era of train travel, show-
cases a champagne trolley summoned
byabutton. “I love
vinOteCa
,”saysOli-
ver, “whichwas introduced tome by a
goodmate, Matt Skinner, a few years
ago” (vinoteca.co.uk).
VEnt ur E out
It’s hard to think of any culinary day
tripmore intriguing than
the Fat duCk
in Bray (fatduck.co.uk), just 30 miles
west of londonand runby chefHeston
Blumenthal, “a smashing bloke,” says
Oliver. This is molecular gastronomy
on steroids. a few not-to-miss dishes:
the nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice
creamandgaletteof rhubarbwithner-
oli-scentedyogurt. “Ontheothersideof
london,” says Oliver, “is the
CriCket-
erS
(in Clavering, where I grew up),
which isstillownedandrunbymydad”
(thecricketers.co.uk).Set inacharming
16th-century English country inn, “it
has great food, and if you’re lucky, Dad
will come out of the kitchen and say
hello,”Olivernotes.
Clockwise from top right: celebrity chef Jamie Oliver; the albion Café and restaurant; awide selection of wines from vinoteca; the charm-
ing Cricketers, which is owned by Oliver’s father; Callooh Callay Bar; and (top center) Corrigan’smayfair at the grosvenor house
bottomright:
©CamillablaCkie
