What does it really mean to welcome someone to your restaurant â and to do it every day for over four decades? ðœïžð€
We sit down with Sally Clarke inside her iconic Notting Hill restaurant, Clarke's (London) ð¡âš â a place now serving the grandchildren of its original customers ðšâð©âð§âðŠ. Sally takes us behind the scenes of a life built around seasonal menus that change every single service ðð, British-sourced ingredients ð¬ð§ð¥¬, and a philosophy of hospitality she first discovered while getting to know Alice Waters and Chez Panisse in California in the early 80's ðð·.
From sitting for Lucian Freud's last head and shoulder portrait ðšðïž, to the story of a proposal that had the whole dining room on its feet ðð, to why her 97-year-old mother's rosemary still appears on the menu ð¿ð â this is a conversation about the hidden details, the joy and the pain of running a deeply personal restaurant, and what it means to truly break bread together ðð«¶.
ðœïž Sally Clarke opened Clarke's in Notting Hill in 1984 â chef by day, maître d' by night ð â and 41 years later she's still there, writing a new menu for every service ðâïž. ð«ð·ð Trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and shaped while getting to know Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in California, she built a restaurant rooted in seasonality ðžð, simplicity and a deeply personal style of hospitality ð. âš Clarke's is now an institution, complete with a shop across the road ðïž, a team whose key members have been by her side for decades ð€, and a loyal following that spans generations ðµð¶.
ð§ð¥â€ïžâð¥FULL EPISODE LISTEN HEREâ€ïžâð¥ð¥ð§  https://linktr.ee/thekollectiveinstituteofideas
ð Listeners get 10% off using the code thekollective10 at audreyschocolates.co.uk ðïž
https://www.sallyclarke.com/restaurant/
ð¥ Fireside chatð¥:Â
ð« 3 things that bring you joy: Music â particularly the human voice, good food, and hugs.
ð§ A mantra you want to embrace now: Stop looking at the news.
ð³ Someone says they eat eggs every day â How do you make them unboring? . Cackle Bean eggs! (Sold in Sallyâs shop) are delicious. Sally hosted Alice Waters for 10 unexpected days who loves them!Â
ð¢ Someone is sad â what do you make them? A bowl of something warm and nourishing â soup, a stew â served with a smile. Because it costs nothing to smile.
ðž One thing that's IN for you right now: Hellebores on the table. Everything at Clarke's needs to be in season â including the flowers.
ð« One thing that's OUT: Raspberries on a dessert in February. Spotted in someone else's restaurant recently and couldn't believe it.
ð You can only serve one pasta dish forever â what is it? Cornish crab and chilli with hand-rolled tagliatini, a tiny bit of wild garlic leaf, and lots of egg yolks.
â€ïž A most moving memory with food: Cooking with my son during COVID â doors open, sunny weather, a different menu for every lunch and every dinner.
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Mentions:Â
Sally Clarke, Paul (restaurant manager), Alice Waters, Lucian Freud, Sheila (Sally's mother), Michele, Head Chef, Gab, Simon Rendall, Natalie Elliot, Bill Granger, Guy Kawasaki, Clarke's restaurant (Notting Hill, London), Chez Panisse (California), Paris, Cordon Bleu school, Cornwall, Scotland, California, Australia, the Middle East, Suffolk, the West Country, Florence, Italy, Corsica, the Venetian lagoon, France, Spain, Britain, The Felix Project, Edible Schoolyard Foundation, Bee Chocolates, Sea Sisters, Corsini (olive oil), Cackle Bean (eggs), Amy Poon's soy, Michele, Mouton Rothschild
