Fish and chips and John Dory ‘en papillote’ are hard to improve, but a little technology or Asian flavours can really make them sing
Breaded cod with air fryer wedges and tartare sauce and Asian style John Dory 'en papillote' with clams. Photograph: Harry Weir
“What do G&T’s, black clothes and cash have in common?” This was a question regularly posed by a former employer during long-winded debates on menu development. “They never go out of fashion,” we would reply with tepid, contrived enthusiasm. While we had heard it so many times before, the message always resonates. The world changes every year, some would say every month of late, but certain ideals and standards remain constant. That said though, if the same former employer posed the question now, I’d have to press him on the cash question.
When it comes to food I identify as a classic cuisinist. I favour recipes and ideals that have been around forever, which stand the test of time. Time, of course, being the true measure of success. It is in the restaurant industry at least. Now sometimes these classic ideals will be dressed up in new guises – look at most high-end restaurant plates and menus – but at their heart they remain true to their core values.
This week I’m taking two classics and adding a touch of technology and culture to bring them into the 21st century. Fish and chips with tartare sauce won’t redefine cooking, but when each element is done right it’s easy to see why it’s one of the most popular dishes in the world. Cod is breaded and fried in a pan as I don’t have time to clean up the mess of making batter at home. The tartare is chunky, full of the good stuff just barely bound together with mayonnaise.
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