Minute on the clock: Michael Yates, executive chef, NoMad London

The executive chef of NoMad London is bringing his love of the British roast dinner all the way from Belgium to the Covent Garden hotel. He talks to Alice Peacock

 

Your recent move back to the UK is something of a homecoming. What have you been up to abroad?

 

I left England 13 years ago, in 2010, and I went to work in Holland. I spent three years there at a really great restaurant called Oud Sluis, a three-Michelin-star spot in a tiny little village. It was a very special place and it’s what really got me over there. I met a lot of people and hit it off and then didn’t end up coming back. Next I opened my own restaurant, the Sail & Anchor in Antwerp, which was very much a kind of farm-to-table concept.

 

What prompted your move back to the UK?

 

I really enjoyed my time in Holland and in Belgium and closing my restaurant was a big thing for me, because it was really fantastic. However, it was always my intention to come back. The dining scene is constantly evolving and growing here in the UK and I want to be a part of that. NoMad really stuck out for me, as well.

 

Tell me about your approach when it came to reinventing NoMad’s menu.

 

I didn’t want it to feel like a totally different restaurant. I looked at the previous menu and its dishes and there were a couple of NoMad signatures that I wanted to put my own spin on. In those cases we did things like switch the garnish up. A large majority of the menu is made up of things I’ve done before, such as dishes that I wanted to bring back to the UK from my own restaurant. Then there are certain things that have been specifically designed for NoMad with its New York heritage, such as the pastrami short rib.

 

What is one dish from NoMad’s à la carte menu that really champions British produce?

 

The dish I would say champions British produce the most is the lamb shoulder. I think it’s kind of an iconic dish in the UK, but you don’t really find it in so many places because it’s such a big piece of meat. But here we’ve got the opportunity to use the grill and we’ve got a really nice way of cooking it – it’s a two-day process. We get the lamb from a small farm in Devon, and it’s delicious. We shred it at the table, with pickled mint leaves, which is effectively just a nice take on a mint sauce. We also serve it with an aïoli with anchovies and garlic.

 

You’ve brought the Sunday roast menu to NoMad – how did you develop that?

 

NoMad has been famous for its brunch, but bringing in the roast menu was giving a little nod to the heritage of the building and acknowledging the fact that this NoMad is on British soil. That was something I was very keen on, because I think everyone loves a good Sunday roast. I did it at the Sail & Anchor too.

 

How did the Belgians respond to the Sunday roast?

 

Everyone thought it was crazy. A little restaurant doing a Sunday roast which no one had ever heard of. We were empty for about six months on Sundays – people would come in, look at the menu and leave. Then a certain moment came and it flipped and it was fully booked for months in advance.

 

How have you found it moving from running a small restaurant to overseeing NoMad’s main restaurant, as well as its Side Hustle restaurant, the Library and cocktail bar Common Decency?

 

On the one hand, it’s totally different because of the size, the different outlets and the fact that this kitchen is open 24/7 with room service available right through the night.

 

It doesn’t feel like your standard hotel as it’s very F&B-focused, so the fact it’s all based on food and drink and the experience here makes it very appealing to me. In that regard, it’s very much what I enjoyed in the small restaurant just on a bigger scale. Of course it also comes with a bigger team, with people to inspire, to lead, and to push you, as well as to push back. I think with a bigger team you can make something truly spectacular.