Spring, and so much newness

A new menu for Spring

I eat everything. I am greedy and I’ll try almost anything - I mean that without caveat. This turns out to be useful, because a big part of my job is tasting. New dishes, tweaked dishes, the same dish seven times in a row.

With Melissa, Head Pastry Chef at Ottolenghi Chelsea

Four times a year, just ahead of each seasonal menu change, we gather all the chefs and managers from our London delis into one room for a big tasting. Everyone eating everything at once. It’s chaotic and loud and I look forward to it every single time - partly because it means a new season has properly arrived, and partly because, as established, I am very greedy.

Of the four, spring is often my favourite. There’s a particular kind of relief in it - putting away the roots and the braises and feeling the counter want to become brighter and a little more alive.

Some of my top picks from the latest tasting, ready to hit the counters this March: the Coronation chicken with lime mayo and vadouvan chilli oil, Roasted aubergine with feta cream, za’atar tomatoes and oregano, and the Green bean “Caesar” with radish, capers and mint.

Coronation chicken with lime mayo and vadouvan chilli oil

Roasted aubergine with feta cream, roasted cherry tomatoes, za’atar oil & carob molasses

For those of you reading outside the UK, or who can’t make it into the delis this season, quite a few of these dishes will already feel familiar. Some are deli versions of recipes from our website - the salmon puttanesca, za’atar salmon with tahini, preserved lemon chicken. Others started life right here on this Substack: the black bean burger, beetroot and black bean dip, last month’s lemon pickle rice. It’s always a lovely thing, watching a recipe travel from a newsletter to counter.

Lemon pickle rice

And the pastry counter - Boston cream buns with burnt custard and caramelised Rice Krispies, a pandan chiffon with mango and passionfruit, a kalamansi kumquat drizzle cake. My colleagues have been very patient with me around the cake shelf.

Raspberry iced buns, yuzu iced buns, and Boston cream buns

So much newness! Come in and eat something. I’ll probably be there already…