a bar which is six feet long, at a generous estimate, and a small hall leading to the kitchen. The kitchen alone could be an exercise in Tokyo real-estate planning. There is barely room to swing a spoon let alone a cat. In fact if you did swing anything, you would send every pot, pan and piece of cutlery in the place clattering to the floor.
simple as changing plate sizes mean you have to look at the table settings – where the salt and pepper goes, where the drinks menu goes. It’s the same in the kitchen. When we got the sous vide, I had to make the call of getting rid of the deep fat fryer to make space.”
ttage Hotel near Dorchester. As head chef at the Yalbury, Russell earned two rosettes and – more importantly – was given the freedom to pursue his own style of cooking. After three and a half years at the Yalbury he moved on again to work for Michelin-starred chef Peter Gorton at the Horn of Plenty in Devon.
“We’ve become much more focused on seasonality,” said Russell. “More focused on the quality of the ingredients and that’s grown over the years. The seasons are what drive the menu now, entirely. “My cooking has become more confident as well, and that’s mostly confidence to make it more simple – just taking a great piece of meat or fish, cooking it sympathetically and putting really nice garnishes with it.”Small Contribution. Big Impact.
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