"Anyone can be original," says Ollie Dabbous. "It's easy to be original. It's harder to be good than original."
Luckily, Dabbous, whose eponymous London restaurant has garnered acclaim for its approach to food, and a Michelin star, since it opened, can vouch for the fact that he's both. In an interview with PORT Magazine as part of the Levi's® Made & Crafted™ campaign, Dabbous gives an insight into how he came into the London restaurant scene and what he's learned about his customers' food taste.
He feels strongly about technique – specifically the craft behind making a balanced and delicious plate of food, rather than the wow-factor techniques that sometimes surround how that dish is served. "Yes it’s nice to be wowed," he says, "but equally I think people just want a tasty plate of food rather than a showcase of the chef's skills."
He also places huge emphasis on how food is sourced. "The more you process food, the more you can actually detract from it," he reasons. "If you get an amazing organic sand-grown carrot, and the flavour's phenomenal, or an amazing rib of beef – just put it on the barbecue. You don't need all this refining."
Read the interview in full at port-magazine.com
