A gourmet green feast

The Michelin-star Elystan Street creates a one-off menu for those with cultivated tastes using seasonal selections from the greengrocer that London’s top chefs have on speed dial

For anyone who has spent the summer marvelling at the quality of vegetables found abroad it’s worth noting that many of London’s best chefs have a go-to grocer in the city – Andreas of Chelsea Green. Phil Howard, Michelin-starred chef-proprietor of Elystan Street, is one such devotee, and to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the greengrocer, his restaurant will host a one-off vegetarian feast using produce sourced from the store on August 7 (7pm, priced £75 plus £45 for wine pairing).

A snapshot of the produce on display at the greengrocer Andreas of Chelsea Green

Guests will be greeted with a welcome drink, before taking their seats for dishes showcasing Andreas’s seasonal approach to sourcing and supplying ingredients. The seven-course tasting menu will include new season celeriac slaw with lovage and apple; burrata with Provençal black figs, Capezzana olive oil and balsamic vinegar; a salad of superfine Loire Valley beans and Castel artichokes with white corn and porcini mushrooms, and slow-roasted Reine tomatoes with cocoa beans, courgettes, Scottish girolles and wild leaves. For dessert, Howard will bake a greengage and almond tart, before serving a simple bowl of chilled cherries to finish. “There really is no other time quite like August for the sheer abundance of staggeringly delicious produce coming from the UK and Europe,” he says.

The greengrocer is a store beloved by some of London’s top chefs

Andreas has supplied many city venues, including The River Cafe and Petersham Nurseries, and has received accolades from star chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Gizzi Erskine and Nigella Lawson, who refers to the store as “my wonderful greengrocer”.