Minute on the clock: Marguerite Keogh, head chef, Five Fields
The head chef of the Michelin-starred Five Fields in London's Chelsea talks to Jungmin Seo about strict seasonality and creating a kinder kitchen
You grew up on a farm. How has that impacted your cooking over the years?
When I was younger, I helped my father plant vegetables in April and then harvested them in September. I also helped my mum to make lots of jams, jellies and elderflower cordial. When I fell into this career, I saw how much I had learned without realising it. It taught me an awful lot about seasonality.
What was it like to open the Five Fields in 2013?
After three years at Gordon Ramsay Group, I went onto work at the Berkeley, where I met Taylor [Bonnyman, chef patron of the Five Fields]. Taylor worked there for a year and we became friends. It was a great family kitchen and we stayed in contact. Every time he came back to London, I saw him, and one time he came back and said, "I'm going to open this restaurant, do you want to be my head chef?" The rest is kind of history.
How did the Michelin star impact your restaurant?
We're not massively into the PR part of the restaurant, so a Michelin star puts you on the map. It was nice for the team to get it too, because it's recognition for all their hard work. It's a really proud moment every year when we retain it.
Do you bring produce from Ireland into your dishes?
We always offer four to five different cheeses and at the moment we have three Irish cheeses on our menu. I always have a cheese made in my county, and at the moment it's an amazing goats' cheese. As much as I would love to bring more Irish influence in, we are a British restaurant and we are trying to be more sustainable.
Everyone is talking about British seasonality, but you started the restaurant a decade ago. How has the scene changed?
We were doing it from day one, because it was always our vision. We've honed in on it a lot more in the past two years to the extent that we don't use chocolate because it's not British. We also don't use citrus in thea kitchen – just in the bar. Instead, we season using our own fermentations or our own vinegars.
Do you have tips on fermentation?
You can ferment anything; put salt to anything. We use 2% salt. The more natural and organic, the more skins that are on something, the better, because you've got natural yeasts on the outside of the vegetable.
How do you get sustainability right?
We're in the process of cutting back on our blue roll and we're going to start using brown roll, as it's biodegradable. We also use compostable parchment paper as it's non-bleached, and we have three or four massive compost heaps in our garden. I'm also looking at our chemical usage – such as our handwash and our floor cleaners – and I'm looking for more eco-friendly ones.
How do you inspire the next generation of chefs – especially young female chefs?
I think the apprenticeship programme is very good. I am all for the university programmes – I did a culinary arts diploma myself – but I think it needs a little bit of fixing. I'm not sure how in touch the colleges are with what actually goes on in kitchens. I think women enjoy cooking just as much as the men but the environment can be an issue – it can be quite boisterous and that needs to be stopped. I try to make my guys in the kitchen more aware of that.
Marguerite's restaurant, The Five Fields, is available to book here. You can visit online or download TheFork app from the Apple and Google app stores now to discover and book great restaurants.
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