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The GrEat British restaurant aims to bring British cuisine to the West End

greatbritishinteriorGeorge Hammer, the man behind Aveda, L'Occitane and the Sanctuary, and Tony Zoccola of the East Dulwich Deli have joined forces to launch the GrEat British, and all-day restaurant opening on North Audley Street in Mayfair in late October. Their new venture will be focusing solely on British food, all sourced from British suppliers. We caught up with them to find out more.

What made you focus on British food for the menu?

George Hammer: I go abroad a lot for work, especially to Italy, where my counterparts take me to wonderful Italian restaurants and the same happens in France. So when they come over to the UK they all ask me to take them to a proper British restaurant and I end up taking them to a pub or to somewhere a bit stiff and formal. They don’t want to go to Spitalfields to find somewhere properly British, they want to stay in the West End, so I saw a niche.

I think it’s a bit shameful that a lot of restaurants that say they are British serve things that aren’t. It’s hard to find places that go beyond bangers and mash. I wanted everything to be sourced from Britain; French wine doesn’t do it for me so we are serving British wine instead. I adore British food, I honestly loved school dinners and dishes like Lancashire hot pot, I can still taste it now. I think it’s the right time for me to do it.

Tony Zoccola: Over the past 50 years, Great Britain has absorbed many wonderful food cultures from around the world, but in the process we have forgotten our own food heritage and cuisine. There has recently been a British food renaissance, which seems to be gathering momentum and after finding the ideal location, both George and I felt it was the right time to open a British restaurant.

Can you let us know a bit more about what to expect from the menu at The GrEAT British?

George Hammer: For breakfast we aren’t just offering a Full English, there’ll be lots of other classic dishes such as kippers, kedgeree and, most importantly, the best bacon sandwich you can buy. It’ll be on thick white bloomer bread, with lots of butter and your bacon cooked how you want it, along with a big mug of tea. We’ll also have a round Cumberland sausage in a crusty white bap.

With our ‘grab and go’ menu, I wanted to adapt the idea of stopping off for a kebab so that people can drop in to The GrEAT British for a lovely doorstep sandwich with rare roast beef and horseradish.

Inside there’ll be seasonal dishes, so when kale is at its best we’ll use it and when spinach is, we’ll swap. There’ll be a rotating daily menu. All the classics will be on the à la carte but with a twist, such as wood pigeon salad with chicory and raisin slaw and Loch Duart salmon with potted Morecambe Bay shrimp fritter and heritage cauliflower. I wanted it to be a truly British restaurant, so there’ll also be dishes like Irish stew, Cullen Skink and Welsh rarebit.

Tony Zoccola: Dishes such as Potted Ref Johnson duck with apple and elderberry salad, Maize Farm longhorn rib eye steak with Pickering watercress and crunchy duck egg. All the classics will be there as well. The fish and chips will come with chip shop curry sauce - our head chef Pete Taylor’s nod to his northern roots. There’ll be some fantastic puddings like warm chocolate pudding with salted caramel and hazelnuts and Bakewell tart with Cornish clotted cream ice cream and cherry preserve. The menu will be as seasonal as possible with produce from artisan suppliers across the British Isles.

Can you tell us some of the British suppliers you'll be using - particularly the wine and the coffee?

George Hammer: Obviously we don’t grow coffee here so we’ll be using Kenyan coffee, but we’re also going to use Camp coffee. We’ll mix the two and use evaporated milk, so it’ll be a proper old school coffee. It’ll be like Marmite in that people will either love it or hate it, and if you hate it, just have a cup of tea instead!

Tony Zoccola: We were amazed at the number of small regional suppliers that there are in the British Isles. A lot of our meat will be coming from a rare breed meat specialist in North Yorkshire and we have been working in collaboration with Julia Stafford, an English wine specialist based in London.

There have been a few small challenges. Unfortunately the English climate does not lend itself well to producing red wines but Julia has found a couple that are truly outstanding. On the other hand, the range of sparkling and white wines is sensational, especially Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs and the Bacchus, Camel Valley 2011. Who would have thought that our damp English weather could contribute towards producing some of the most wonderfully delicate and aromatic wines? Obviously our coffee will be from Kenya, but we won’t be serving cappuccino!

And finally - what's your personal favourite British food?

George Hammer: That’s a tough question! It’s probably a really good Shepherd’s Pie, I love it with carrot in it and a crispy top, covered in lots of Worcestershire sauce. There’s a debate whether it should be all lamb or if beef should be added but I don’t want to be too purist about things, so both are good with me. Another favourite is really good bit of rare roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and crispy roast potatoes.

Tony Zoccola: I've got a weak spot for fish cakes!

The GrEAT British is open now at 14 North Audley Street. To book, call 020 7741 2233.

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