Former Terroirs chef joins Aqua Shard
Dale Osborne, previously head chef at Terroirs, has officially begun his role as executive chef of Aqua Shard in London.
Accompanied by head chef Pip Sandrey, Osborne brings with him experience working at Hix Soho and Chiltern Firehouse - where he oversaw the launch with Nuno Mendes - as well as time at restaurants including the Wolseley, Heston Blumenthal's Dinner, the Goring and Orrery.
Osborne and Sandrey, who has worked with Osborne at Dinner, Hix Soho and Terriors, have introduced a new menu at the restaurant, which sits at level 31 of Europe's tallest building, and launched in 2013.
Serving more than 700 covers a day, Osborne has had to consider the scale of the venue when creating the menu, allowing the best of British produce to speak for itself.
Starters on the menu include: a simple starter of ‘Jersey Royal potato salad', enlivened with morels, chickweed, wild garlic mayonnaise, a soft-boiled egg and bacon crumb; ‘Loch Etive hot and cold smoked trout', sourced from RR Spink and accompanied by trout roe, rock samphire, crispy skin and crème fraiche; a ‘spring leek soup' including nettle, goat's curd and crispy leeks.
Main courses are divided into ‘land' and ‘sea', with ‘market garden' side dishes. Dishes include: ‘Blythburgh pork belly and roasted fillet', accompanied by barley with apple sauce and miso, chopped crackling and baby turnips, sourced from True Baby - a Scottish producer specialising in hydroponically grown miniature vegetables; fillets of John Dory with St George's mushrooms, sea beet, pickled samphire and lentils; and ‘roasted West Country lamb loin' with a fresh minted yoghurt, spring onion, peas and shoots and puffed rice.
The dessert menu comprises British classics, such as: a cherry Bakewell and Cornish ice-cream; a traditional steamed chocolate sponge pudding with orange marmalade ice cream; rhubarb cheesecake with poached rhubarb and digestive crumbs.
Osborne said: "I'm very excited to join the team at aqua shard. We've been busy the last couple of months creating our spring menu. It's a big challenge considering the volume of covers we serve each day, and a fine balance to produce the food we want to along with the consistency and speed needed for such a busy restaurant. I believe the new menu showcases the best spring produce and my love for seasonality and British ingredients."
Dale Osborne leaves Terroirs >>Terroirs appoints Dale Osborne as new head chef >>