- 3 months ago
Chef Andy Beynon takes us on a tour inside the kitchen of his Michelin-star restaurant, Behind, in London.
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00:00Could you tell us about how you got a star after just 20 days of being open?
00:03I thought it was quite wise to open after lockdown number one.
00:06It wasn't. So we were only traded for 10 days.
00:09Then after lockdown two, we traded for 10 more days.
00:12But we were fortunate enough for Michelin to come in
00:15to see what we did within those 20 days, which was great.
00:21Hi, I'm Andy Bainan. We're in the heart of Hackney in Behind Restaurant
00:25and I'm going to give you a little tour of the kitchen.
00:27Come step into the walk-in fridge.
00:31So we're more focused on seafood.
00:33As soon as you walk in, we have our fish that are drying out.
00:37Some of the fish here has been brined or cured with salt.
00:41So with brine, we use like a light seawater and we tend to use that with more fatty fish.
00:46So the fatty fish are under here, which is freshwater trout.
00:50And you can see it's got this wonderful, like pure fat just there.
00:54Why seafood? Why was that for...
00:56I think especially like being in London, like people don't eat enough fish.
01:02And especially when you're going out to eat, like if you can imagine eating like multiple
01:06like fish dishes, you always think of like tapas.
01:09So I think being like really creative with dishes works really well.
01:13You can get a lot of flavor into it as well.
01:15So, oh, these are lovely.
01:17These are Sicilian prawns just here.
01:19They actually freeze them on the boats as well.
01:22So they freeze them at minus 25.
01:25So they instantly kill them.
01:26We dehydrate the heads to make our prawn on toast, which I'll show you.
01:30Prawns we buy per box and I mean, they do get quite pricey.
01:34Per prawn, we're probably paying around sort of six pounds, I'd say.
01:38So these, I mean, these are my favorite because they're deep ocean.
01:42They're in between Sicily and Morocco.
01:44They're a wonderful red color.
01:46Unlike sort of gambas tend to be super meaty.
01:48The Sicilian ones are really creamy, even perfect for like a carpaccio.
01:53These are kippers, so super, super British.
01:58Not even, not many people have heard of these really,
02:00because they used to be sort of like a classic like olden day like breakfast.
02:03And then what we're trying to do is bring it back.
02:05So around like the East End, this used to be like a really big like working man's breakfast.
02:09They used to have kippers on toast.
02:10And even like posh hotels used to serve kippers on toast.
02:13But now no one's really using them at all.
02:15Kipper itself is a smoked herring.
02:18So it's cured with lots of salt, heavily smoked as well.
02:24So for me, it makes a perfect like stock to make like a natural seasoning to it.
02:29But I'd say most British people over 35 have heard of it.
02:33Anyone younger has probably not really used these or had them at all on that side.
02:37So we have a, we've got a set menu.
02:39So everyone has the same menu.
02:41So we're never sitting on too much fish.
02:44And my ethos of that is so we're like working fresh on that side.
02:48I'd say different types of fish.
02:49You've probably got like seven to eight different styles of fish from like shellfish to like whole fish coming through.
02:55And then yeah, it's just constantly changing.
02:58I mean, shellfish wise, we've got these wonderful scallops.
03:00So these are, these are around like 100, 110 grams.
03:04Size of that, yeah.
03:05Yeah, it's massive.
03:06So these are Orkney scallops.
03:08We literally just sear them, serve them quite under and opaque.
03:12And then we carve it just down this side here and just completely open it up.
03:17But we like to work with big fish like this.
03:19So we almost rest it like a piece of meat on that side.
03:24Okay.
03:24So as you walk into behinds, you've got the kitchen here and everyone sits around the kitchen.
03:29So I, I think I designed it on like a back of an invoice actually.
03:31I mean, I've always, I've always had this like in mind.
03:34So it's all just like curved around so everyone's got like the best view into the kitchen.
03:37And also designing it where everything's built into the restaurant.
03:40So cutlery drawers built in, glasses, as you can see, they're easy, accessible.
03:46The way we, the way we work is a hot pass here.
03:50So most of the playing up happens here.
03:53Cooking happens all around here.
03:54So if you guys want to come in.
03:56So we're setting up, we're just using induction just here.
03:59So if you come around, we've got all the settings just here.
04:03And for us, it's super clean, really consistent as well.
04:06Why do you prefer induction to gas?
04:08I'd say it's more, more consistent along that side.
04:12We've also got a solid top here.
04:15So we use this for controlled cooking with the fish skin side down,
04:22or even just warming sauces as well.
04:26When we need kind of like smoky flavors, we use Robata Grill.
04:34We start it off very slowly.
04:36We use bitter jank, which is a Japanese charcoal.
04:40And what's so special about it is the hole right down in the middle,
04:44because it essentially acts like as a jet engine, where it just shoots air through.
04:50And it really retains its heat.
04:52Once we've used it, we actually dip it straight into water, which I'll show you later.
04:56Cools it right down, and then we dehydrate it in our dehydrator.
05:00And then we can reuse it as well.
05:02Have you ever smuggled at home to barbecue over the weekend or anything?
05:06Yeah, do you know what? I've actually got one of these at home.
05:09They're brilliant.
05:10I use it so much.
05:12I even barbecue in the rain.
05:13I f***ing love it.
05:14A little umbrella.
05:16Quite a heavy duty blowtorch, is that?
05:18Yeah, so a lot of kitchen blowtorches are tiny, but these are from a plumber's store.
05:23They're incredible.
05:25So yeah, they literally just last forever.
05:27We just change the gas on that.
05:29There's a few things I actually get from plumbing shops as well.
05:32There's a plumbing store around the corner, and I think I'm their weirdest customer.
05:38What we do is we use pipes.
05:41And these are just copper pipes, so they really retain the heat.
05:46So what I do is I get them cut down to certain lengths and even sizes as well.
05:52And we use these as molds.
05:54So when we're developing dishes or working on twills,
05:58normally I'll run to the plumber's shop and we can work out different stencils
06:02we can get through on that side.
06:03Probably a lot cheaper than going to someone to custom make a mold for you, isn't it?
06:06Yeah, technically he's custom making them.
06:09So, I mean, I've always loved madeleines and we serve them at the end of a meal.
06:14But what we do is we stick back to madeleines being traditional.
06:20So when you buy madeleine molds now, you'll buy madeleine molds with already a shellfish
06:25shell inside it.
06:27So what we do is we get these wonderful clam shells.
06:31And this is going to be the base to our madeleines.
06:34So what we do is as a customer starts finishing their last dish,
06:39we start baking these, but we actually bake them right inside of the shells.
06:42Is it always done in clam shells? Have you experimented with other shells?
06:45No, well, yeah, we don't want anything too big.
06:48I used to find scallop shells, they just soufflate so much and they're massive.
06:52So we just gently just grease the shells.
06:56And this mix here is a tonka bean mix, but it's still like a classic madeleine base.
07:07Obviously not a British dish, are these just on the menu because you like them,
07:11or is there like a particular maybe part of France?
07:12Yeah, I just think it's a really good way to finish a meal.
07:15We always keep fish shells back for us to reuse.
07:20Something really random we do as well is we keep – you're not allowed to borrow you.
07:26My bad.
07:27Rewind.
07:29Something really random we do is we use fish scales as well,
07:33and we recycle them by using them as breadcrumbs.
07:36So we boil them for seven to eight times.
07:39We dehydrate and then what we do is when it's dehydrated, as soon as they hit hot oil,
07:46they just puff up because there's so much like liquid gelatinous inside it.
07:50So that's what's a bonus with having a fishmonger so close to us is.
07:55Okay, so these madeleines straight out and what we do is we just pop them around just like so.
08:00Like you're turning an oyster.
08:02Exactly.
08:03We've not tried them in an oyster shell yet, so you give me a little idea.
08:08So this here is a jewellery stand.
08:11I think it cost me two pounds.
08:15Do you remember where it was from?
08:17I can't tell you, it's giving it away, you know.
08:19Tricks of the trade.
08:20There you go, try one.
08:22Don't mind if I do.
08:24Cheers.
08:28That's beautiful.
08:29Everywhere I travel or go, I like finding niche little items I can use in a restaurant.
08:35Obviously, like, this is my cheapest sort of plate, say.
08:40This is a delivery we just had.
08:43So it's here in Berlin.
08:45What's great about this lady is the way she works with her plates.
08:51She can see how wonderful and unique they are.
08:55But she'll create plates that essentially will have its own place like that.
09:00And we can also use them as a separate plate as well.
09:04So we can essentially get two wares out of one.
09:09A lot of our plates we get from around different suppliers.
09:14A lot of them are bespoke as well.
09:16So these bowls are from an amazing woman called Bryony.
09:21And all of the work here is hand piped on.
09:23And this was actually a gift from her.
09:25So she gave me 24.
09:29And what I did in return was I did a day's work for her, like an exhibition in a gallery,
09:35where I was just plating up dishes all day on her work.
09:37So her payment was actually making me this.
09:41I think we smashed three of them now.
09:43So it's pretty heartbreaking, especially about all the work that's kind of like gone into it.
09:48But yeah, I'm obsessed with these bowls.
09:49I think they're great.
09:50Because we just do one sitting, we need exactly 18 plates.
09:54So we start off with around 24.
09:57When we get into like the 2019 mark, it's a little bit scary on that side.
10:01One item in my restaurant, couldn't live without.
10:05Let me, I need to be quicker.
10:08Giorgio, can I say Giorgio?
10:09Giorgio.
10:10Giorgio the head chef.
10:11Hello.
10:12Can't live without him.
10:12Nice to meet you.
10:14Does that work?
10:15Well, that's fine.
10:16I was going to say, the next one is, what's the most expensive item in your restaurant?
10:21And you can't say Giorgio again.
10:22Oh f***ing hell.
10:25Most expensive item.
10:26I'd say what?
10:27Yeah, I'd say the rationale oven.
10:28It's probably the most expensive item.
10:29Ballpark figure.
10:30What?
10:32Eight, nine grand.
10:33So this is your combi oven?
10:35Yeah, so combi oven here.
10:38Essentially it's like roast as well as steam.
10:42I think these, I think these are brilliant.
10:44It's been with me for six years now.
10:46So this was actually second hand when I bought it.
10:49Consistent control.
10:50We can make soufflés in here as well with controlling a fan.
10:53So it's just a consistent heat going around.
10:55Never let me down, so.
10:57So as you can see here, and as I mentioned, we use a whole prawn or utilize a whole prawn.
11:06So what we do to the heads is we first take all the brown meat out, just there.
11:13So this is like a really unami, salty, like seafood flavor.
11:17We mix it with olive oil to use as a seasoning or natural seasoning.
11:22The head itself, we just take out the ice, just there, and any sort of anything bitter
11:29inside like the gills.
11:32And then from that point, it's boiled for six minutes.
11:36And then we dehydrate it in here.
11:38So the reason we dry these out, have you had prawns on toast before?
11:42Of course.
11:43Of course.
11:43One of my favorite things in like a Chinese takeaway.
11:46And what we do is we make a prawn mousse with like shrimp powder,
11:51fish sauce, and lots of spices running through it.
11:54And then we pipe it just like so, so just to the top.
11:58And then just do a little line as well, just running down here.
12:04And then we dip the little head just here.
12:08Behind steak on a sort of Chinese prawn seasoning.
12:13Exactly, exactly.
12:14But obviously we need to fry it, so come around it.
12:22We use these to sort of essentially just angle everything we want to go.
12:27So we always use the same brand, which is WeChef.
12:32And we've got our logo as well.
12:34But as you can see what Giorgio's doing, he's just,
12:35he can just perfectly put every sort of lining into it.
12:38Is there a reason why you would use the straight tweezers versus the ones with the kind of
12:42the scoop on them?
12:43I always prefer these.
12:45Yeah.
12:45I think for me the scoop is just not as, you can't get as precise.
12:51So this is a knife we all use during service.
12:54Japanese steel.
12:54Kato is a company as well that we use for these.
12:57Most important knife you use during service or?
12:59Yeah, I'd say during service is the most important knife.
13:01We always have it set up just where Giorgio is, just over there.
13:04They're great because you can just do one straight line to cut it.
13:07So this is a prawn that's been fried and super, super crispy.
13:12You can eat the whole head.
13:14And what we're going to do is just cut,
13:19just cut like a little base, just so it stands up like that.
13:22We've got the tail just here.
13:27This is served like just really natural.
13:29Peel the shell off and taken the intestines out.
13:33And we're just going to dress it gently with some olive oil.
13:40Just like so.
13:43And the tail just, just goes on top like so.
13:46And then to finish the dish with all the head meat.
13:51We just pour it into the middle.
13:52And what the head meat does is it acts as like a really kind of unami,
13:56earthy like seasoning to it.
13:58And then this is a consomme that we pour on our sides.
14:01So the consomme is made with whole prawns and wine.
14:05And the idea is to essentially drink this because it's super fresh.
14:08And then this is like a really kind of intense dish where you've got the prawns on toast,
14:14the brown head meat, and then the delicate tail that's just dipped inside it.
14:17And actually in the restaurant, the only bit of cutlery we give the customers are these tweezers.
14:23Because we literally want everyone to eat it with their hands and like get messy with it as well.
14:28And you save on washing up.
14:29Save on washing up.
14:31Cool.
14:32I think that's pretty much all I had.
14:34Yeah.
14:34Are we good?
14:34Are we happy?
14:35Yeah, yeah, definitely.
14:36Cut.
14:36Good job done.
14:38Thank you very much.
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