Acclaimed London Chef Larry Jayasekara to Collaborate with B.C.’s Baan Lao and Phantom Creek

After I try the standout dish at The Cocochine I ask chef Larry Jayasekara how many iterations it took before the version in front of me reached the menu.

The answer was three-and-a-half months of testing and a happy accident.

A frequent diner took a vessel containing jus of chicken broth and poured it onto a massive scallop that can only be had at The Cocochine. The result was the dish before me — a medium rare, 168-gram bivalve dotted with bacon and floating atop the chicken jus — which is made over a two-day process, with the broth from the wings boiled down into a subtle, savoury elegance that will enhance the sweetness of the scallop.

It’s the kind of ingenuity and effort that has made Jayasekara a star in London and The Cocochine a talk among knowledgeable foodies. Along with the chef’s skill, the ingredients are what set the restaurant apart. Now, Jayasekara is poised to bring his talents to Canada, teaming with highly regarded chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng of Baan Lao and the team at Phantom Creek Estates winery for a series of collaboration dinners in August.

“British Columbia looks amazing to me. I’m excited to see the producers and the ingredients they cultivate, and of course to cook at these incredible restaurants. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Baan Lao and Phantom Creek Estates,” Jayasekara said. “Canada also has a reputation for having some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and I can’t wait to explore it.”

Phanthoupheng and Jayasekara recently met in London and found instant commonality. A cancer nurse before turning to a career in culinary arts and rising to work alongside chefs of the Thai royal family, Phanthoupheng appreciates Jayasekara’s intense focus on ingredients that are high quality, healthy, and ethically sourced.

“I was so impressed by Chef Larry’s cooking when I visited The Cocochine. The quality of his ingredients, the elegance of his plating, and the care in his technique really stood out to me. We use many of the same ingredients — like makrut lime, mango, lemongrass, and chili at Baan Lao — and we both believe in sourcing the freshest local produce. His lobster grilled in banana leaf was especially memorable,” Phanthoupheng said. “Even though our backgrounds are different, I feel a strong connection to his cooking. I’m truly excited to collaborate with him.”

Both chefs are contributing to the movement toward uncompromisingly pristine ingredients and they have backers to assist them. In Jayasekara’s case, billionaire investor Ian Wace is the most notable of his supporters. Wace owns Tanera Mòr, a Scottish island where some of the seafood for The Cocochine is sourced. That includes the XXL Scallops whose magnificence in size is matched by the flavour and the story of how the restaurant receives them.

There’s a bit of poetry in how The Cocochine’s signature item rises, hand-plucked by divers, from the low depths to flourish in Mayfair. It’s an ascendance that matches the story of the chef. Jayasekara is one of the contemporary culinary world’s most remarkable success stories. Born in poverty in Sri Lanka, raised by a single mother; in some ways living aimlessly before meeting a British woman travelling to Southeast Asia on a beach holiday and then finding love. The serendipitous moment led to Jayasekara’s move to England, where he cleaned garbage bins before feeling inspired by an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” to pursue a career in the fine-dining world. Climbing through the ranks of esteemed restaurants, including at Ramsay’s three-Michelin-starred Pétrus, Jayasekara racked up accolades. In 2016, he was named the United Kingdom National Chef of the Year. Devotees followed his career. Among them was Wace and other magnates who would offer Jayasekara the culinary equivalent of a glass slipper — a spare-no-expense kitchen, a nearby 1,100-acre farm with the produce and animals to supply the restaurant, and that exclusive Scottish island where fish and seafood can be harvested.

“In my childhood I did not have much food. Some days I would go with drinking only a coconut, so I know the feeling of what it means to have some food in your tummy; how much that means,” he says. “Food for me is giving fuel to another human to live another day. I put all my love and care making each plate I serve because it is still very close to my heart, what my childhood growing up was like and how difficult it was to get food at all, let alone good food.”

Except for spices from Sri Lanka and some novel items, such as Norwegian king crab, the Rowler Farm in Northampton and Tanera Mòr provide The Cocochine with what it requires. Rowler Farm has primacy in The Cocochine experience. It is the source for the restaurant’s abundance: ramps and apples to lamb and beef, and the chickens that are the origin of that delectable broth.

Jayasekara beams when he discusses the property, a chef disbelieving in his good luck. He often visits in the mornings or on his days off, checking on the ripeness of ingredients, ruminating on ideas for new creations, thinking of ways to integrate the flavours of his adoptive country with those of his native land.

Of the ingredients flown in, tamarind and the spices of Sri Lanka are the most apparent on the menu. They are integral in some of the highlight dishes.

The tamarind is whipped into a curry that is spread beneath a lobster tail that has been grilled in a banana leaf to both keep the flavours inside and aesthetically to send the diner to the beaches of Southeast Asia in an instant, where lounging on chairs and dining on pungent grilled seafood is a routine pleasure. It’s the dish that Phanthoupheng singled out as a highlight for her. At first bite, I thought the pairing of the curry and the sweetness of the lobster was a mismatch but after thoroughly mixing in the ingredients on the plate — as you should do with curry — the flavours, like with every other dish at The Cocochine, blended in harmony and balance, leaving me amazed again at the skill of the chef in front of me. The sour tamarind mingled with the sweetness of the crustacean and the crème fraîche added a texture of creaminess.

It’s a magnificent serving among a series of brilliant tastes. The onion brioche floats in your hands and then your mouth, pillow soft and buttery, comforting each sense. The peppercorn sauce lathered on the beef filet feels like you’re drinking Bordeaux in gravy form. And there is a collection of fine wine to pair with it that would leave any oenophile eye-glazed with wonder and temptation. There are shelves of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti vintages and bottles from Douro Valley acclaimed boutique winery Vega-Sicilia dating to 1964 and each year since. With many of the wines sourced from Wace’s private stash, the bottles are sold at far cheaper prices than in most establishments. Jayasekara says some can even be had for cost.

Imagine all of that and then ordering as you please — which is what you find at The Cocochine’s 16-seat private dining room on the top floor, where business partner and art dealer Tim Jefferies has decorated it with contemporary works, creating a space that would be a fit for a modern mansion.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Adrian Brijbassi (@adrianbrijbassi)

Across the street on tiny Bruton Place there is more to savour. The Rex Deli, conceived by Jayasekara, is a gem of a lunch spot that serves big sandwiches and salads in a former stables with 300-year-old stone floors. Covers made of sheep’s fur from Rowler Farm adorn several chairs and refrigerators are filled with take-away favourites, including meat pies and traditionally prepared curries.

Soon diners in British Columbia will have a chance to sample Jayasekara’s cuisine. Baan Lao and The Cocochine will officially announce the collaboration in June and provide information on how reservations can be made.

Where Else to Dine in Mayfair

MiMi Mei Fair: Xiaolongbao is one of my favourite dishes in the world; I neither expected to find it in tony Mayfair nor to be bowing down at their worthiness in that district. Mimi Mei Fair refers to its version of the steamed dumplings that Shanghai made famous as Xiao Long Jewels. They appear in a wicker basket in five different colours, like the gems of a crown. Each also has a distinct flavour: chicken, chili crab, king prawn, purple yam, and, the original Xiaolongbao choice, pork soup dumplings.

Xiaolongbao feature a soup broth inside of a dumpling wrapper that’s also filled with a dollop of ground meat, seafood, or vegetables. The broth is most often a pork aspic or gelatin that’s been frozen and then spooned onto the wrapper before it’s steamed. Once heated, it forms the soup around the filling, or the “jewel” in the case of MiMi Mei Fair’s take.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Adrian Brijbassi (@adrianbrijbassi)

While the Xiao Long Jewels aren’t as soupy as the revered dumplings at Din Tai Fung and Joe’s Shanghai, the presentation, taste of the filling, and overall elegance makes them a new favourite for me. And they’re not at all the only reason to come to the restaurant. Housed in a Georgian era property that’s an attraction in itself, MiMi Mei Fair is serious about delivering casual fine-dining Chinese food that’s a standard above.

MORE U.K.: 4 Spontaneous Days in London

Peking duck, which comes in half or full orders, is roasted over applewood, carved tableside, and served with homemade pancakes and condiments — and caviar if you want to immerse even more deeply into the luxury of the neighbourhood. A variety of fried rices and noodle dishes, zesty wasabi prawns, and decadent seafood are also highlights. Both a la carte and tasting menu options are available.

Even though I live in Vancouver, home to tons of good Chinese restaurants, I wish we had more places that served creative dishes like the ones at MiMi. When you arrive, be sure to take a tour of the space. It’s one of those magical London spaces that makes you think a wizard or his tools might be within the walls or beneath a staircase. The second-floor halls are styled like a parlour while the first-floor dining room resembles an upscale diner with cozy four-person booths. The lower level has a speakeasy vibe ideal for cocktails and romance.

The Grill by Tom Booton: A one-Michelin-star restaurant in Mayfair’s most celebrated hotel, The Dorchester, The Grill is for aspirational diners who want a high level of sophistication with their experience. Everything about the restaurant is superb. Service, wine list, cocktails, and food are what you expect when you make a reservation at a location such as The Dorchester.

The only question is if you’re okay paying the prices. The 220-gram beef filet, served with delicious onion rings and probably the best béarnaise sauce I’ve ever had, sells for £80, or around $150 CAD ($110 USD). It’s quite a pricetag for most travellers.

Amazónico: The chic lounge is also a delight of South American-inspired flavours. The decor does a good job of transporting you from busy London to the shores of Iquitos with touches that evoke the Amazon forest. The food is authentic, even if the environment is artificial. The Chilean sea bass is served whole and perfectly grilled. The octopus is tender throughout with a delicate amount of char. Cocktails come in playful serving ware. Amazónico has grown rapidly, with four international locations now. The London one is accessible and worth a try.

Mercato Mayfair: A converted church in an opulent neighbourhood of London is home to an incredible food hall. Neapolitan pizza over here, ramen back there, Indian and tacos upstairs, a wine bar and German craft beer maker near where stained glass used to be. It’s a fantastic addition to the city and a traveller’s dream — you could fill all your meal times here if you’re seeking economical, diverse, and quality choices.