Joining Cycene
Taz joined Cycene as senior sous chef in January 2024 and became head chef later that year, replacing Theo Clench. Owners James and Christie Brown described the appointment as the start of a new and progressive direction for the restaurant.
The move gave Taz the chance to lead a small, focused kitchen where every ingredient could be closely controlled. Cycene serves only a limited number of guests each evening, allowing the team to work with small farms and specialist suppliers that would be difficult to use in a larger restaurant.
Taz Sarhane’s cooking style
Taz’s cooking is built around British produce, micro-seasonality and preservation. Around 90 per cent of the ingredients used at Cycene are British, with the kitchen fermenting, pickling, salting and ageing produce when it is at its best so those flavours can be used later in the year.
Rather than allowing preserved ingredients to dominate a dish, Taz uses them to add background acidity, salinity or umami. Homemade misos, pickles and fermented ingredients are used carefully, helping the kitchen retain variety through the colder months without relying heavily on imported produce.
Foraging is also an important part of his approach. Taz’s interest began through family experiences in North Africa and now influences the ingredients and ideas used at Cycene, alongside close relationships with British farms, fishermen and specialist suppliers.
The Cycene experience
Cycene is located within Blue Mountain School, a five-storey cultural space bringing together food, art, furniture, ceramics and fashion. The restaurant is deliberately discreet, with no prominent sign outside, creating what Taz has described as one of Shoreditch’s best-kept secrets.
The meal moves through different areas of the building. Guests begin in the ground-floor bar with bread, broth and drinks, before moving through the kitchen and into the intimate first-floor dining room. Bespoke crockery and handmade pieces from Blue Mountain School collaborators are used throughout the experience.
Taz and the chefs also play a significant role in serving and explaining the food. His aim is for diners to feel as though they have been welcomed into someone’s home, rather than experiencing traditional white-glove fine dining.
Michelin star at Cycene
Cycene received its first Michelin star in 2023 and has retained it since Taz became head chef. Michelin praises the restaurant’s delicate, balanced and innovative dishes, as well as the chef’s knowledge of and pride in ingredients such as Shetland cod and Highland wagyu.
Under Taz, the restaurant has continued to evolve while retaining the intimacy and craftsmanship that originally defined it. The focus is now more firmly placed on British ingredients, preservation and the relationship between the chefs and the guests.
Taz Sarhane at Cycene
Today, Taz leads one of Shoreditch’s most distinctive Michelin-starred restaurants. His approach combines the technical experience gained in leading London kitchens with a personal interest in nature, foraging and preserving ingredients at their seasonal peak.
At Cycene, that philosophy extends beyond the plate. The food, service, art and movement through the building form one connected experience, designed to leave guests with a sense of warmth and generosity rather than simply a memory of individual dishes.
