Teal's ex-Head Chef Abbie Hendren is going it alone at Trindle Stores in Kew

Chef Abbie Hendren is someone that you have likely seen on the last Great British Menu series earlier this year. She's also had a career in London that includes La Trompette, The Glasshouse and Sam's Waterside. Most recently, you might have enjoyed her cooking as Head Chef of Teal by Sally Abé. But now she's getting ready to go it alone with Trindle Stores. 

Trindle Stores itself opened as a grocery store in Kew a couple of years ago, but always with an intention to open a kitchen there too - and that's what Abbie is taking on. We caught up with her to find out just what drew her to Kew.

"West London is home to me, and as soon as I stumbled across the secret garden at Trindle Stores, I knew I wanted to be involved in some capacity," she told Hot Dinners. "Little did I know a kitchen was being conveniently installed in the back, ready for a keen chef to take on! So I signed myself up."

The food she'll be cooking is by modern British and Mediterranean cooking, as well as her childhood in Australia. The initial menus are being finalised, but we've been told to expect dishes like beef fat waffles with creme fraiche, garden herbs & trout roe, ember-roasted delica pumpkin with brown butter, sage and pickled walnut, a devilled crab crumpet and "Autumn's best" mushrooms on toast.

On the dessert front, she'll have a fig and pistachio tart alongside blackcurrant leaf fudge, with proceeds from those donated to Chiswick House. 

"Partnering with the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden team helps with this massively," Abbie explains. "They grow amazing produce all year round, and they're only ten minutes up the road. It also means we can support their Community School's Programme by buying from them."

Abbie will be taking over the kitchen from breakfast through to the afternoon to start with, and the evening service will start next spring. But in the meantime, she'll be hosting evening supperclubs at least once a month, so keep an eye out for those. She's also planning some chef collaborations in the future. 

"In my career so far, I feel like I've almost had blinkers on," she says. "I've just kept my head down, worked crazy hours and tried to learn my craft. Not that the learning ever stops; that's one of the best bits about hospitality. But going forward, I'd like to channel that work into projects that matter to me and the community. I'm really inspired by chefs such as Skye Gyngell and Alice Waters, and I'd love to bring a bit of that ethos to Trindle. Good food, cooked simply and using the most sustainable, seasonal produce I can get my hands on."

Sounds like a trip to Kew should be in the offing for anyone interested in trying Abbie's food.