Jo taylor

London From The Outside | Great British Menu star, Roberta Hall-McCarron The chef patron of Edinburgh's The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern shares her London food memories Whoever said women can’t have it all clearly hasn’t met Roberta Hall-McCarron. A distinguished chef, author, mother, and a frequent face on the BBC’s Great British Menu, she’s the proud co-owner of three beloved Edinburgh eateries, built hand-in-hand with her longtime partner, Shaun, after cutting her teeth at the likes of Tom Kitchin’s The Kitchin and Castle Terrace, and the Burj al Arab, Dubai. Catnip for food lovers near and far, The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern, embody the essence of Hall-MaCarron herself: stylish and elegant, yet wholesome, unpretentious and approachable all at once. A master at coaxing seasonal Scottish produce into the best it can be, to dislike one of her dishes is to take umbrage with Scotland itself – but let’s be honest, that’s not going to happen, and she secured 45th place in the most recent National Restaurant Awards to prove it. As one of few celebrated UK chefs who’s swerved the temptation of a London kitchen, we couldn’t help but wonder: what is Hall–McCarron’s relationship with our big, bustling city? Of course, we had to sit her down to find out… Dish at The Little Chartroom Roberta Hall-McCarron Dishes at Eleanore What was your first memory of London? My auntie lives about an hour or so outside of London, and I used to go down and stay with her when I was younger. About 20 years ago we met up with my uncle for lunch at this amazing Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. I can't remember which restaurant it was – we went down into a basement somewhere – but I thought it was unreal. I found the city quite overwhelming, but I loved it. I was taken aback by it all in a really positive way. I still love the buzz. What’s your first London food memory? My first proper food memory of London would be visiting my sister in my early twenties. I'd flown down and landed early in the afternoon – I made sure that I got down in time for lunch. I booked St. JOHN, the original, and had some pretty wild food actually. I mean, I had the very, very classic bone marrow with the parsley, then intestines for the main course. I was determined to try some really weird dishes because I knew that they did all the kind of fun, good stuff. Then, for dessert, I ordered the madeleines that they make to order, to take away. I remember walking down the street carrying these madeleines, and getting wafts of them the whole time. The smell was incredible. It was like such a good moment. I don't think any I’ve had since have been as good. What's the most memorable meal that you've had in London? I would say my most memorable meal was at the Ledbury, which was a really long time ago. It was before the pandemic, before they changed everything. The food was exceptional, and the vibe was so cool, so relaxed. It’s my first memory of a fine dining meal that was super relaxed and friendly. Up until that point, any special restaurants that I'd gone to had been very stuffy. It’s my first memory of that kind of service, and it really struck home with me. I was like, ‘this is cool’, ‘this what a restaurant should be.’ We had this incredible series of pigeon dishes made from different parts of the animal. They sent out a broth, then a skewer, and then something else. Obviously, most people do that now – make two or three dishes from the same thing, and send them one after the other – but at the time it was a first for me. We had their amazing brown sugar tart for dessert, and back in the day they’d do this little thing where if you worked in the industry they’d give you the kitchen cheque, the one they have printed out for orders in the kitchen, along with the bill, which I thought was really smart. It was covered in writing from the chefs in the kitchen, which was really so nice to take home. A nice little touch. St. JOHN The Ledbury Have any London chefs influenced you throughout your career at all? Not necessarily like throughout my career, because I've only really recently started to cook with them – I’ve never worked in London. I’ve admired people that I’ve visited from afar. More recently, though, I’ve worked with some great people. I just love everything that Shaun Searley does, which takes me onto my favourite restaurant in London, the Quality Chop House. I love that restaurant. I love the concept of what they do. The food's exceptional, but it's also timeless. There's this beautiful, old school institution sort of vibe to it, but it's very current as well, which is a very difficult thing to strike. I think Shaun absolutely nails it. He came up to Edinburgh and cooked with us last year and we had such a good time. I just – I love the food. I love how he is in the kitchen – his presence, everything – it was inspiring to watch. Where else do you flock to when you’re in London? A new favourite would be Morchella. I've been there twice. I always love trying new places when I come to London because I'm not there often. I do try to mix it up a bit. Dorian is a new favourite, but unfortunately it's a bit too expensive. It's not gonna be somewhere I go time and time again, unfortunately. Well, maybe one more time… Sean is really keen to go and I think we should. And I can't wait to try AngloThai. But The Quality Chop House is the one restaurant in London I've visited the most. I always take the team there because it's great for them to see what they're doing. A long time ago when we had about five employees we went, and when we got to dessert we were trying everything. We had the ganache, and one person flagged the waiter down and was like, ‘we’re going to need another one’, without any of us saying a word. I always find that’s the perfect situation, the mark of a good meal. That has always stuck with me. That's one of the reasons why I love to take people there. The Quality Chop House Morchella Is there anything you don't like about the London food scene? I don't think so, actually. I always get so excited when I come to London because there's so much choice and I just love the buzz. We’re always blown away by just how busy places are, when they get packed out. There is also so much outside seating compared to Edinburgh, which adds such a great atmosphere. And, I mean, we don't have great weather up here either. It's always a treat to go out and experience it. Would you ever open a restaurant in London? No, no, no, I love visiting it. I love the fact that I can leave. The Changing Tides: A Cookbook, by Roberta Hall-McCarron is available now. Find out more about Roberta here

Jo Taylor

London From The Outside | Great British Menu star, Roberta Hall-McCarron

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