Great British Menu chef Phil Howard: Where is his Elystan Street restaurant in London and what’s on the menu?

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Ailis Brennan21 May 2019

Great British Menu has taken us to all corners of the country over the last few weeks, celebrating culinary talent from all over the British Isles.

This week, the last regional heat will take us to Wales to meet three young chefs hoping to challenge for a spot in the kitchen at a prestigious banquet but not before they are tested by one of London’s finest chefs.

Legendary culinary figure Phil Howard will be at the pass this week, whose career has seen him preside over a two Michelin-starred kitchen for nearly two decades.

So, who is the acclaimed Great British Menu judge known to many as “the chef’s chef?”. From battling drug addiction to running marathons, this is everything you need to know about Phil Howard.

Who is Phil Howard?

Chef's chef: Phil Howard will be this week's guest judge on Great British Menu (BBC/Optomen TV/Barrie Foster )
BBC/Optomen TV/Barrie Foster

British chef Phil Howard – also known as Philip – is so revered among his peers he’s widely known in the restaurant industry as “the chef’s chef”. He is best known as the chef and co-owner of Mayfair restaurant The Square, which he opened when he was just 24, worked at for 25 years and held two Michelin stars for 17 of them.

Howard was born in South Africa before moving to the UK as a child, and began his career at Roux Restaurants, before training with both Marco Pierre White and Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum. Following on from his time at The Square, Howard opened Chelsea restaurant Elystan Street in 2016, which now also holds a Michelin star.

Howard has also spoken openly about how he struggled with cocaine addiction in the earlier years of his career. Since his recovery, he has gone on to partake in more than 25 marathons and many more triathlons. He also acts as a mentor and investor for restaurants run by young chefs, including Lorne in Pimlico and Perilla in Newington Green. Howard is also a restaurant partner in London restaurants The Ledbury, Kitchen W8, Sonny’s Kitchen and Gezellig.

Why is Phil Howard on Great British Menu?

Feeling the heat: Howard with Cindy Challoner, Tom Westerland and Andy Sheriden (BBC/Optomen TV/Barrie Foster )
BBC/Optomen TV/Barrie Foster

Howard has returned to Great British Menu to judge the Welsh heat of the competition. He will be tasting and scoring dishes presented by chefs Tom Westerland, Cindy Challoner and Andy Sheriden, all of whom are hoping to cook for a prestigious banquet celebrating 50 years of British pop music. Howard’s scores will ultimately send one chef home and two onwards in the competition to present their dishes to the main judging panel.

Where is his Elystan Street restaurant in London?

Streetwise: Howard outside Elystan Street restaurant in Chelsea

It’s not hard to guess which Chelsea avenue you’ll find Elystan Street on. Howard’s Michelin-starred London restaurant can be found at 43 Elystan Street, SW3 3NT.

What’s on the Elystan Street menu?

Constant change: Elystan Street focuses on celebrating seasonal ingredients

Elystan Street is Howard’s love letter to seasonal produce. “Anyone who doesn’t cook seasonal food, it is because they’re lazy or ignorant. Seasonal food requires constant change, constant progress,” he told the Standard.

The menu focuses on highlighting how ingredients that come into season at the same time also work together in terms of flavour. As such, the menu changes regularly, but often puts the focus on vegetables as much as it does fish and meat. Dishes on the current menu include a navarin of new season’s lamb with sweetbreads, creamed potato, grelot onions, asparagus and mint, and a fillet of Cornish cod with a garlic leaf and nettle pesto, creamed potato, buttered morels and spinach.

Chelsea area guide: the highlights

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