Cook it!: Culinary Capital
The changing food scene of Brighton & Hove and across the county
It’s thirty years since I first came to live in Brighton & Hove. Back then I was a commuter and much as I loved living here I found that the culinary scene was somewhat wanting. Okay, I know there were a few gems dotted about, but amongst the over 300 restaurants they were fairly sparse. That said, in comparison to the retail food scene back then the restaurant was positively marvellous. I remember well lumbering my groceries back from Soho on an almost daily basis.
How times change, now Brighton is one of the most happening places on the UK food scene and, given the size of the city, we are lucky to have a remarkable number of first class places to eat, at almost every level and of course price point.
This was certainly highlighted a few weeks back when the results were published for Britain’s Top 100 Restaurants. The National Restaurant Awards are the results of the votes of 150 industry experts, spread across all regions of the UK. You cannot, therefore, enter the awards. The academy of voters is made up of chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and critics and other food experts and gastronomes.
Each voter casts seven votes, based on their best restaurant experiences over the previous 12 months. They must vote for some restaurants outside of their ‘home’ region, as well as a number within it and they list their votes in order of preference. Other than that, there are no set criteria – aside from the proviso that they have eaten in the restaurants for which they vote during the period in question.
Therefore, any type of restaurant in any UK location, serving any cuisine in any style is potentially eligible for inclusion in the list. Restaurant magazine simply add up the votes to create the list. In the event of a tied number of votes, the preference ‘weighting’ comes into play.
Given these criteria the following restaurants should be extremely proud of their achievements this year.
Michael Bremner and his amazing team at 64 Degrees came in at number 24, a brilliant result for this astonishing venue that continues to delight and surprise guests with their inventive dishes and the simplicity of the concept. To come in the top 25 of this 100 strong list is tribute to the hard work that they put in keeping the restaurant at the top of a very tough game.
In at number 37 is The Salt Room. Only a few moths old The Salt Room is already creating waves with their beautiful venue and inventive fish and seafood based menu. There are of course meat dishes for those who do not like fish, but it is the fish offering that really counts and this classy restaurant, with perhaps the most fun dessert to be had in Sussex, has been honoured whilst still in early days. We can expect more and better from this excellent team.
Close behind comes Chilli Pickle, and there is little surprise in this as Alun and Dawn Sperring have worked very hard to raise the profile of regional Indian cuisine in the UK for ten years now. Chilli Pickle goes from strength to strength and not only have they won this accolade but they have raised their game by leaping up the chart from 55 in 2014 to 42 this year. They add this to a fine list of awards and trophies that also saw them crowned top take-away at the National Curry Awards.
It would be mean spirited not to raise a hat to chef Matt Gillan and his team at The Pass at South Lodge Hotel in Lower Beeding. Matt is an extraordinary talent, his menus exciting, presentation exquisite and the whole experience one that has to be seen and tasted to be believed. Congratulations to them all and to everyone in East Sussex who is working so hard to raise the profile of the county and make it the food lover’s top destination.
Sixtyfour Degrees, 53 Meeting House Lane, Brighton BN1 1HB 01273 770115
The Salt Room, 106 King’s Rd, Brighton BN1 2FA 01273 929488
The Chilli Pickle, 17 Jubilee St, Brighton BN1 1GE, 01273 900383
The Pass, South Lodge, Brighton Road, Nr. Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 6PS 01403 892235
