To The Sea, The Sea, to Fix the Food Chain!
Food pioneers Imogen Davies and Ivan Tisdall Downes have once again managed to deliver an important message, deliciously.
Often the truth about food can leave a bad taste, with everyone involved in putting dishes on a menu complicit in bad practice. Costs, customer tastes and convenience often dictating how things are done.
To explore alternatives and interpretations of invasive species, bycatch, sustainability and zero waste methods (and give their guests a wonderful culinary experience) they have assembled a line-up of genuinely exciting chefs – half of them female – from vastly different cultures and backgrounds.
There’s an incredible array of cuisine and experiences for the curious foodie to choose from in this series, with representation from Mexico, the Middle East and Malaysia by way of Adriana Cavita, Sabrina Gidda and Ramael Scully, to name just a few of the incredible talents bringing something different to The Chef’s Table at The Sea, The Sea, in Hackney.
Last night was the first event, a collab between Ivan and French born Thomas Lemercier, currently Head Chef at The Princess of Shoreditch (formerly Hide and Waterhouse Project) which boasts a menu focused on British provenance and ingredients.
The menu designed by Thomas was tweaked to maximise its seasonality and minimise its impact with input from wild food evangelist, Ivan. For example, indigenous woodruff added to a dish of Native Lobster and King Oyster Mushroom – a subtle but important alteration, whilst a dessert of compressed pear and parsnip ice-cream played with people’s perceptions and showcased Thomas’ skill in transforming humble ingredients.
Guest watched on as the chefs artfully prepared each course in front of them and there was lots of interaction too, as they spoke to the group about their food and the intention behind it. In the warm glow of the atmospheric venue, with the distinct aroma of open-fire cooking, this was a memorable Monday night.
A six-course dinner, supported by St Germain and exceptional wine pairings won’t solve all the world’s problems, but the best we can all do is play our small part in this global issue.
What Imogen and Ivan have created with this innovative guest chef series is an expression of hope through beautiful food. Taking the worthiness out of it they are making the topic more palatable and the arguments for fixing the food chain more persuasive.
