I’m a two Michelin star chef – and that’s why British food is the BEST in the world. Do you agree?
British food has a bad reputation.
But chef Jeremy Chan has a defiant, against-the-current attitude towards it, describing it as ‘the best’.
It’s a remarkable vote of confidence, because Jeremy knows a thing or two about cooking: his restaurant, Ikoyion the Strand in London, has two Michelin stars and is ranked the 42nd best eatery in the world.
Jeremy’s comments on British cuisine came at the St Pancras International launch event for the new Eurostar menu, for which he has composed the appetizer and main courses.
He told MailOnline Travel: ‘I love living in Britain – and I actually love British cuisine. I think this is for the best.
Two-Michelin star chef Jeremy Chan (above) has teamed up with French pastry chef Jessica Préalpato and British sommelier Honey Spencer to create the new Eurostar menu. Jeremy says British food is ‘the best’
‘It’s minimal, no-nonsense. It’s meat, vegetables, simple sauce. I find the desserts very comforting.
‘It has a bad reputation, but when I go to Japan and other places I miss the comfort food of Britain.’
Jeremy, who lives in South London, revealed that the new Eurostar menu has ‘a nod to that sense of comfort’.
Above, from the new Eurostar menu: glazed duck with citrus fruits, pumpkin, candied pecans, treviso salad; Colston Bassett Stilton with burnt honey; Smacked kohlrabi, pine nut milk amuse; citrus delight, green cardamom dessert
It comes with a braised lamb shoulder that he says “looks like a school dinner” – but is much more “interesting” than it looks.
Jeremy, who also says he is a fan of French cuisine, continues: ‘It has a garlic/anchovy/harissa marinade and is served with pearl barley and carrots.
‘It literally looks like a school dinner. Lamb. Carrots. Barley. It’s really spartan. But that’s what I love about British food: it can look spartan. But it can taste healthy and pleasant.
‘But how do we make the lamb interesting? The barley is cooked in a very intense mushroom stock, roasted mushrooms are mixed in and the carrots are candied with honey.”
The new Eurostar desserts were created by Jessica Préalpato, a French pastry chef who ‘favors natural flavors such as ancient grains, unrefined sugars and plants’. Named the Best Pastry Chef in the World in the World’s 50 Best in 2019 and the first woman to be named Pastry Chef of the Year by Gault et Millau. Her dessert offerings include citrus delight infused with green cardamom, and honey and hemp financier.
The new wines and champagne have been selected by the British sommelier and co-owner of the London restaurant Sune – Honey Spencer.
From left to right: Pastry Chef Jessica, Chef Jeremy and Head Sommelier Honey walk past a Eurostar train in Paris’s Gare du Nord
