Welcome to the 2016
insideKENT Restaurant
Guide 2016
Foreword by Dev Biswal
It’s a real honour to have been asked to open the 2016
insideKENT Restaurant Guide. With two restaurants located at
either side of Kent, I feel well and truly rooted in the rich and
diverse food scene that is mapped across the following pages.
After an exciting end to 2015 for The Ambrette, with all three
restaurants now Michelin listed and my reception of the Kent Life
and Kent on Sunday Chef of the Year award, it’s time to consider
what next year holds.
2016 is set to be another fantastic year for Kent’s restaurants, and
a fast-moving one at that! During 2015, I’ve started to observe
a change in the way top-class kitchens are working: as our
customers’ pace of life continues to speed up, so too must the
food we serve them.
And as the pace increases, so does the quality. The best chefs in
Kent are producing award-winning dishes using new methods and
techniques: a flash in the pan rather than a long stew, or blanched
vegetables rather than roasted, for example. Our diners can now
browse the menu, enjoy multiple courses and settle up in under
two hours – fine dining need no longer be a lengthy affair.
At The Ambrette restaurants in Canterbury and Margate, we’re
developing new ways to serve menus of award-winning cuisine
in real time; our kitchens will kick off 2016 with a detox tasting
menu; you can’t get fresher, or quicker, than that!
Fast and no-fuss cooking techniques will also showcase the
incredible produce of the Kentish landscape; our seasonal tasting
menu will serve fruits and vegetables at their brightest and
crispest, the herbs at their most fragrant.
As a chef and restaurant owner, I couldn’t ask for a greater
‘inspiration board’ than the countryside of Kent – the fields are
full of leaves, roots and fruits just waiting to be fused with exotic,
aromatic spices; the farms and coastal areas provide access to
dramatic centre pieces or the perfect finishing touch, such as the
lesser known cuttlefish or foraged sea samphire.
So, what are you waiting for? Turn the page, choose an
address and get out there to get a taste of the county that
surrounds you.
Cheers!
Dev Biswal, The Ambrette
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insideKENT restaurant guide 2016