Restaurants

  • London's up-and-coming chefs

  • By Jenni Muir


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    Marcus Eaves 'I just want to be able to cook the best I can'

    The boy wonder
    Marcus Eaves, 24, Pied à Terre
    Teenagers alone in the house are inclined to get up to no good. We all know that – hell, we’ve all done it. But one day, when his parents were out and Marcus Eaves was bored, he didn’t call some friends round and hit the drinks cabinet. He tried to cook a strawberry sablé from the Roux Brothers’ famously challenging book of pâtisserie. ‘I saw the book, I saw the picture next to the recipe, I thought: Oh this will be very easy. There were no strawberries at the shop, so I got tinned peaches instead. Then the book started talking about crème pâtissière and I didn’t know what that was, and I just got deeper and deeper into a hole… The kitchen was a bombsite.’ Now at 24, he seems to have the hang of this cooking lark, winning the Gordon Ramsay scholarship and snaring the job of sous-chef at Pied à Terre, his favourite restaurant. Feature continues

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    Other high points on his brief CV include time with John Burton Race at the Landmark London Hotel, and at Claude Bosi’s Hibiscus in Ludlow. Eaves’s brother has become a chef too, at Cheltenham’s esteemed Le Champignon Sauvage. ‘It’s nice to have someone to talk to about it, which we do two or three times a week. It’s been good for our relationship.’ He admits he’s ambitious. ‘Every young chef dreams of opening their own restaurant, but I just want to be able to cook the best I can.’ That’s tinned peaches off the menu then.
    Pied à Terre, 34 Charlotte St, W1T 2NH (020 7636 1178) Goodge St tube.

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3 comments

  1. Posted by Margaret Courtney on 18 Oct 2009 18:01

    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.

  2. Posted by Daisy French on 18 Sep 2009 02:33

    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.

  3. Posted by Geff Healy on 10 Aug 2009 01:54

    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

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