London's up-and-coming chefs
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By Jenni Muir
Posted: Wed Jul 5 2006 
Helen Puolakka 'The customers still want little luxuries' The corporate high-flyer
Helena Puolakka, 36, Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Restaurant
Finnish-born Puolakka knew she wanted to come to London as soon as she read Marco Pierre White’s seminal first cookbook ‘White Heat’. ‘I instantly decided that I wanted to work for this guy, but I never managed it.’ She applied to every Michelin-starred restaurant in the capital just to get a foothold and the first to offer her a job was Gordon Ramsay’s Aubergine. ‘I knew nothing about him at the time,’ she recalls. Ironically Ramsay was one of the MPW brigade featured in the book’s photographs. After a long stint with Pierre Kaufman at the now-defunct La Tante Claire and three years at Sonny’s in Barnes, Puolakka is today in charge of food for the restaurant, bar and café at Harvey Nicks, aiming to woo back the ladies who lunch with her astute menus. ‘The customers here fit into dress sizes I’ve never seen in my whole life, but they still want little luxuries like foie gras, truffles and chocolate.’ Meanwhile critical interest has been piqued by the Finnish twists on the menu, such as fresh salmon and halibut hot-smoked to order. These days, when young Finnish chefs want to break into the London restaurant scene, this is who they call.
The Fifth Floor, Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ (020 7235 5250) Knightsbridge tube. Feature continuesAdvertisement
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6 comments
there is nothin negitive to say mat u r an inspiration!! i no u wud do anythin for ur big break n u wil get it jus keep believin!!
keep ur chin up n get urself out there keep doin wot ur doin eventually sumone wil hav the bollox to take the risk n giv u the break u deserve!! maybe u seem 2 gud 2 b true as u do hav it all!! the passion n ... See morecommitment u hav is incredible n who ever does take a chance on u i no u'l make them proud!! for now b proud of urself n dont ever giv up!!
all the luck in the world 2 u darlin x
According to Mat Lucania's website he has interest from US Media giants FOX Network and many others, why are we not supporting our own in the UK when he has so much to offer. I admit Mat is far from the norn of television cooking but thats a good thing, at least this guys entertaining and funny to watch. I recentley wrote to his PA and she siad "Mat's been trying for years to break into the UK Media Market but had little interest so far becuase the system is so regimented for UK based Chefs and entertainers". Mat had recently been into New York & generated more intrest in 2 weeks in the US than the UK in 5 years". The positives for Mat in the UK is a recent endorsement opportunity, however they were unable to comment at this time. I look forward to seeing more of him soon.
Thanks to Time Out London for featuring London's Up & Coming Chefs but there's one unsung hero that needs to be recognized...Mat Lucania! His knowledge, expertise and passion as a chef is undeniably outstanding!! I strongly suggest that Time Out London does a feature on this amazing and talented chef.
I went to the Ledbury about a year ago for the first time. I think I am now on my 8th visit. If it is the sort of food you love (check out the menu), low on the number of ingredients for michelin star, then this place is like eating in heaven. I could wax lyrical about the celeriac baked in ash (I only tried it because of we had the tasting menu), the heritage tomato salad, the 24 hour cooked lamb but you need to try it yourself. Lunch is stunning value.
I agree, I followed jeff's advice and google searched Mat Lucania, this guy has done so much and deserves some recognition. me and my boyfriend travelled to his pub and had the most delish meal, the attention to detail in the food and service was great. Mat even came out and said hi, my partner complimented on the wood pigeon so much that he askedthe chef for the recipe, mat glady gave it and I thought that was really nice. I'll keep my eye of this boy over the next couple of years if I were you.
I was hoping to see more up & coming chefs but you only have 1, we dont want to see who runs the top places or who has the michlen star, we want to see the guys in the shadows just starting to make a noise. I can think of a few chefs off your list, like Mat Lucania, kenny atkins etc