- 13 minutes ago
Bon Appétit spends a day on the line with head chef Anthony Knott at The Culpeper, a bustling three-story pub in East London. Using fresh ingredients from its own farm and rooftop garden, The Culpeper puts a modern twist on British pub favorites, serving everything from classic fish and chips and triple-cooked fries to Comté cheese croquettes and grilled chicken. Follow Anthony and his team as they navigate a busy day of cooking across three floors.
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00:00At the Culpepper, we have a pub, we have a restaurant, and we have a rooftop all to
00:04provide for.
00:05In the summer, especially when all three floors are sort of booming, we can serve over 200
00:10people.
00:11Most of our regulars are coming in for really, really crisp pints, really clean lines, the
00:17fish and chips, the cheese croquettes.
00:19And the Culpepper is almost a second home for people, somewhere the community meets.
00:23They come together, they drink, and where friendships are built, you can come to the
00:27pub and be part of that, but you can also come to the farm and enjoy that space.
00:31Definitely not the usual for a pub to have a farm in central London.
00:35My role as head chef is to make sure communication is running as smooth as possible between the
00:40three floors, with three different teams running at the same time.
00:43Every space has its own cuisine, but also has its own identity.
00:53Hello, I'm Anthony, head chef of the Culpepper in East London.
00:55Today we've got a busy day ahead of us, it's 10am, we're going to help the guys get ready
00:59for lunch service.
01:01First thing we're going to do is a British pub classic, fish and chips.
01:05I'm going to start on the triple cooked chips.
01:06These are caroless potatoes, an organic potato we get from the south.
01:11We always triple cook them.
01:12The starch content can change, the sweetness can change, but the triple cooked, it does
01:16take a little bit of that guesswork out, especially in a British pub, I think it's sort
01:20of traditional.
01:21Everyone talks about Friday, fish and chips, it's the law.
01:23I'm just sort of trimming them, making them as chip-like as possible.
01:27They are quite short, traditionally chips would be a lot longer.
01:30You have to have thicker chips for fish and chips.
01:32I'm probably in my fat era at the moment.
01:34After trimming them, I'm going to wash the starch off.
01:37It's a similar concept with rice.
01:39If you're washing this starch off, you won't end up with like a stodgy product at the end.
01:43Crispiness is king.
01:45We're just going to leave that for about five minutes, and then we're going to steam them.
01:48We go through at least 100 a week, it can be a lot of fish.
01:52Honestly, the fryer does have its work cut out for it, but it does a good job.
01:56So now we're just going to steam these for 25 minutes, that's the first cook, it helps
02:00remove moisture.
02:01We are now just going to make our fish and chip batter.
02:04We picked this lemon verbena on the farm this morning, and that is actually something
02:08we're putting now into our batter, so it gives a really nice lemony fragrance.
02:11Then we have a mixture of corn flour, plain flour, baking powder, and then most importantly,
02:15we have a really cold crisp lager, and then we just give this a light whisk, and then
02:19this will easily do 20 fish and chips.
02:21The lager is perfect.
02:22You can use soda water, but we use lager because it gives a nice like yellow crisp, and also
02:27gives a tiny bit of depth of flavor as well.
02:29What I find is really important in a fish batter is having sort of carbon dioxide.
02:33So what we do is we keep it in the fridge as well.
02:36We try not to upset it too much, because those bubbles is what's creating that like crispiness.
02:40So that's then going to my chef, and we're going to keep that in the fridge, keep it
02:44nice and cool.
02:44Thank you chef.
02:45And that will keep it aerated.
02:46The fish that we use is place.
02:48Traditionally, a lot of people are using like haddock and cod, maybe pollock.
02:52We keep the skin on because it kind of gives it a bit of structure.
02:55Place fillets are naturally quite thin.
02:57Our idea was to fry it quite a high temperature and quite quick, so it's really nice and crisp,
03:01but also because we cure it, it kind of gives a really nice texture and flavor.
03:06We are putting a little bit of flour that helps the batter stick to it.
03:09It's really important to knock off the excess, and then it goes straight in.
03:13And then we want the oil at around 180, 190, and you can see the batter is quite thin.
03:18And then I'm just quite patient, not to be too scared.
03:21I like lay it away from me.
03:23And then what I always like to do is pour tiny bits of batter on top, and that kind of
03:27creates
03:27a little bit extra craggly bits.
03:29Four minutes and then it's going to be done.
03:31So I can sort of kind of tell it's ready because it's almost floating, and the color is
03:35there.
03:35It's looking really nice.
03:36It's sort of like curled up.
03:37We can charge still a fair price, and they get a big portion.
03:41Sort of win-win.
03:42It's all about value for money.
03:43And I think when you're in a pub, you kind of want to indulge.
03:46You can sort of see the lemon verbena going through it.
03:49It gives a really, really nice contrast, and that adds a really nice fragrance to it.
03:53And this is one of the most traditional British dishes.
03:56So we've steamed these.
03:58We've chilled them.
03:58They've sort of like started breaking down a little bit.
04:01The second fry is going to then ensure that when we cook it for service, it's going to
04:04be as crispy as possible.
04:06They're ready now.
04:07Really, really nice and crisp.
04:08You can see they've got a sort of glassy-like texture.
04:11As soon as it comes out, we just hit it with a bit of herb salt, a bit of an
04:14umami boost.
04:15You can see those craggly parts.
04:17That gives us a really, really nice texture.
04:19And then we have our place from earlier.
04:22And these are our crushed peas.
04:24It's so nice, I think, to have something sweet and fresh that goes with it.
04:27And then the last one is a homemade tartar sauce.
04:30It includes the parsley and the tarragon that we picked this morning.
04:34Really packs a punch.
04:35Just a really perfect marriage.
04:38It's 11.30 right now.
04:39We are going to go down for our team briefing and get ready for our pub lunch service.
04:43Morning all.
04:44How is everyone?
04:45You've got the iPad.
04:46You've got the power.
04:46I feel like if we don't have these meetings, we're sort of going in
04:49a bit blind.
04:50It's great to all get on the same page.
04:52No allergies or preferences at the moment.
04:54Most of them are repeat guests.
04:56Most of the time, we probably have four menus really over the years.
05:00We're obviously running three floors.
05:02We don't want to confuse ourselves too much.
05:03They can quickly start adding up.
05:05We try and keep it simple for us.
05:06We've got a tomato salad for us to try.
05:09I picked these this morning, actually.
05:11I think this dish will be around for the next three weeks to one month.
05:14We've got the whipped ricotta at the bottom.
05:16That is actually a mixture of sheep's and cow's milk.
05:18The tomatoes are really simply dressed in olive oil, and then these nasturtiums we picked
05:23this morning as well.
05:24Let's dig in.
05:25You need a long-range fork.
05:27I think it's good.
05:28There's a lot of different flavor profiles to it, and there's a nice creaminess that can
05:32counteract with the sweetness of the tomato.
05:35Yeah.
05:35A little bit of acid as well.
05:36Perfect.
05:37Are we ready?
05:38We've got to go.
05:38Let's go.
05:39We're opening.
05:42Thank you, everybody.
05:43Cheers.
05:45It's about 12 o'clock now, and we just need to go get the stuff to pané the cheese croquettes,
05:49while the guys are going to look after lunch service downstairs in the pub.
05:57We're going to make a small batch today.
05:58We're normally making a lot bigger batches than this.
06:01We actually go through about 500 a week of the cheese croquettes.
06:04They're definitely our most popular bar snack.
06:06Who doesn't like deep-fried cheese?
06:08We're using 100% Comte from the Dura region.
06:10It's an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese.
06:13The way the lactic acid reacts with the milk, it makes a really stringy texture, so you have
06:18that famous pull when you're eating them.
06:21They also have a really nice acidic flavor, a bit of nuttiness, but it's not too overpowering
06:25as well.
06:25We're just going to put a tiny bit of milk in.
06:27This is also something that goes across both menus.
06:30We do find with some popular dishes, they just have to be on every single menu, and it's
06:35quite a labor of love.
06:35I think we're glad for it this summer because we did hundreds and hundreds of customers.
06:39If the cheese croquettes were at the top, that's all we'd be doing is rolling cheese croquettes.
06:45These have been in the glass freezer.
06:47They can be really, really soft, so it's so important to have them sort of like pliable.
06:51What we're going to do is go flour, egg, breadcrumbs, and then back into the egg, then back into
06:56the breadcrumbs, what we call like a double pane.
06:58Because the cheese is not like liquidy, but once you fry it, it does need that initial
07:03extra protection or else it's going to collapse into the fryer.
07:06It's really, really important to get that excess egg off because that is what's going
07:09to mess your breadcrumb mixture up.
07:12Once they're in here, we're just going to fold them through.
07:14We use plenty of breadcrumbs because they can get quite wet quite fast, and that's just not
07:19what you want when you want a crispy croquette.
07:21So that's the first layer that's done.
07:22Back in.
07:34Final roll is one to seal them a little bit.
07:37I've been tossing them in the bowl so they do like lose their shape a little bit.
07:40This re-uniforms them and just gives them a really nice clean look.
07:44Between the XPN Helles, we're selling like 3,000 pints a week.
07:47This is definitely a lager.
07:49Again, who doesn't love deep fried cheese and beer?
07:52From start to finish, this probably takes two to three hours.
07:56We are making over 100 at a time.
08:04They take around two minutes, and then we finish off in the oven.
08:07We try and get the golden color on the outside, and then the center, we just need to take a
08:11little bit further.
08:12So when it starts making that noise, that's a really good indicator of it's ready.
08:16That comes up.
08:17We drain.
08:18You can almost see little bits of the cheese coming out already.
08:21It's very hot.
08:23And then they're going to go in the oven for two minutes just to finish the center.
08:26We really simply serve this with Dijon mayonnaise, so it's like a little bit hot, a little bit
08:31of a heat to it.
08:32Then we just top it off with an extra lump of comp-tay.
08:35Now the cheese croquettes are all tried and tested to get some staff food.
08:38Andre, it's half three.
08:40Do you want to get some food?
08:41Yeah, of course.
08:42Yeah, nice.
08:44Little dal.
08:47It's so good, Tyrone.
08:48Yeah, thanks, Tyrone.
08:49No problem, guys.
08:50It's a lentil dal that we use organic butternut squash.
08:54I think it's a delicious squash that's in season, and then I just made like a flatbread
08:58and a rita.
08:59Can't handle the heat.
09:00I knew it, guys.
09:02Don't give him no spice.
09:03Please give him more rita, yeah?
09:05And it's like nice to change cuisine up a little bit.
09:07You know, we're always cooking like British ingredients or French food.
09:10It's nice to get a bit experimental.
09:12Normally we aim to feed around 20 staff who sort of come in and eat throughout the day.
09:17It's good, isn't it?
09:18It's a bit spicy.
09:19Yeah, for you, 100%.
09:21It's about four o'clock now, and we're going to go up to the rooftop and finish the chicken
09:26on the grill.
09:27Oh, it smells good.
09:29This is where the magic happens.
09:34We have the grill up here so we can do an extra service, really.
09:37There is obviously a different identity on each floor.
09:40How the rooftop sort of compares, it's maybe a balance between the restaurant and the pub,
09:46but with really nice views.
09:47But the food that we're trying to do up here is a tiny bit more upscaled.
09:50This is quite a long process.
09:52This is a Soen's chicken.
09:53We get them quite young, so they are under a year old.
09:56It's just such a really, really nice flavour.
09:58Again, it sounds quite silly, but it really, really tastes like chicken.
10:01Just going to simply put a tiny amount of oil on, just so it doesn't flame too much.
10:05When you're grilling half a chicken, especially on its spine, you still have the bone with it to sort of
10:09protect the meat.
10:10So it's not going to dry out.
10:11It comes in, in half.
10:13We then brine it for 12 hours.
10:15It's a mixture of salt and sugar and water.
10:17We also put those herbs that we get from the farms and that really injects a lot of flavour into
10:21it.
10:21We slow cook it at like 150, braise and chicken stock.
10:24And it allows us to semi cook it before it goes onto the grill.
10:27It's probably our biggest dish, but it still comes out under 15 minutes.
10:31This is looking really nice now.
10:32We've got a good colour on the leg, good colour on the wing.
10:34So we're now ready to plate.
10:36Really, really straightforward.
10:38A really nice aioli.
10:39A really, really simple salad.
10:41Tiny, tiny bit of salt just to finish.
10:43Give that a little toss and then that's it.
10:45It's really simple and it's really sort of soft to eat.
10:48Really, really tender.
10:50It's just got to five o'clock.
10:52I have to go downstairs and get ready for dinner service as we're opening all three floors.
10:56Service piece.
10:58Table 30s, two burgers for the pub.
11:05Hey guys, check on.
11:06We've got a Bavette medium rare.
11:08Half stone's chicken, burrata, cheese croquettes and a house bread please.
11:13Service is in full swing.
11:15It's just hit six o'clock.
11:16First tickets are coming through.
11:17We have a couple on each floor, so it's all starting.
11:20Bavette.
11:21Probably our most popular dish.
11:23Everyone loves steak and chips.
11:24We have a really simple peppercorn sauce.
11:26We have different table numbers.
11:28All the ones in the restaurant are 30 and above.
11:30The ones in the pub are 20 and below.
11:31So we sort of know which floor is which.
11:33And then I organize the tickets.
11:35So the pub ones will go to the left.
11:37The restaurant will go to the right.
11:38And the rooftop sort of is its own service.
11:40And then this is just some really, really nice watercrisp.
11:43It has a peppery bite to it.
11:44It goes really, really well with steak.
11:46Service piece.
11:47Table 41, two medium bavettes.
11:50The way the tickets come in, the writing is in black which dishes it is.
11:55So this is the starters and then this is the main courses.
11:57Any dietary requirements will be in red.
11:59So that's when we can sort of amend it, clean down and then reset.
12:03Or change the dishes if we need to.
12:04You guys check on.
12:05This is two burgers for the pub.
12:07Each ticket is slightly different.
12:08We will be cooking and sort of communicating as a team to try and get the best timing possible.
12:13It's up to me I think to communicate that with everyone when we're sort of ready to send.
12:18Service please.
12:19The main job for the pass I think is just sort of keeping everyone singing.
12:23Potatoes for the place.
12:24Chips for the bavette.
12:26Maybe one of the sections is struggling a little bit or they could do an assistance.
12:29I can sort of jump in there.
12:30But mostly it's the plating of the food.
12:32Making sure the temperatures are correct.
12:34The flavour is fine.
12:35And then just having that sort of last say before it goes to the customers.
12:38Service please.
12:40We're coming up on table 31.
12:42One place.
12:42One bavette medium rare.
12:45Yeah sure.
12:46It is around 6.45.
12:48It's about to get busy.
12:49Thank you so much for joining us at the Culpepper in East London.
12:52Next time you're in town come drop by.
12:54Pay us a visit.
12:55Thank you so much.
12:55Decor.
12:56One house bread.
12:56Two cheese crackers.
12:57One tomato salad.
12:58Followed by one bavette medium.