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Heading to London? This Restaurant Lets You Be a Chef for the Day

Alyssa Cerchiai
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Alyssa Cerchiai rounds up the top travel stories each week and covers news on the weekends. If you catch her at the airport, she’d happily guest you into the lounge as a proud authorized user of her dad’s Platinum Card by American Express.
Feb. 23, 2019
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2 min read
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Heading to London? This Restaurant Lets You Be a Chef for the Day
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Have you ever had a meal so divine that you were left wondering what kind of magic was occurring in the kitchen when it was made? At Scully St James's, a restaurant located near Piccadilly Circus in London, you can ruin the mystery. Every Tuesday, the restaurant brings two people into the kitchen to help prepare and cook. In return for the session, helpers get to enjoy a lunch on the house.

The chef behind it all, Ramael Scully, was born in Malaysia to a Chinese and Indian mother and an Irish and Malay father. He moved to Australia at age 8, and made his way to London in recent years. Without a doubt, Scully pulls influences from across the globe, crafting unparalleled dishes that have been praised by critics. (Before opening the restaurant, Scully served as head chef of the widely adored NOPI restaurant.)

Fiona Duncan of The Telegraph got to experience the inter-workings of Scully's kitchen with her friend Henrietta, who discovered the opportunity. As an early customer of the restaurant, Henrietta was quick to applaud its culinary work, once even sending her compliments to Chef Scully himself while seated at the bar overlooking the kitchen. To that, he replied, "Come and join us."

On their designated Tuesday, the two women spent four hours preparing food with chef Ramiro Gasparotto in the storerooms below the restaurant. While preparing meats, vegetables and sauces, the team of three covered the bases of food in conversation, talking about everything from logistics to philosophy. Scully's philosophy on food? According to Gasparotto, it's simple: "Tasty."

Following the day's work, helpers like Fiona and Henrietta get to indulge in the meals they helped to prepare. Their meal was four courses, including — but nowhere near limited to — puff beef tendons, chargrilled broccoli, forbidden rice, barbecued Galician octopus and beef short rib pastrami. All of that with a side of wine, plus the satisfaction of knowing that you took part in it? Count us in.

H/T: The Telegraph