FOOD & DRINK 143 an experience for our guests that ’ s on a par with what they ’ d expect from a top restaurant . There ’ s a frustrating trend in the events world of people paying a similar price ( if not more ) for a lesser experience , so we wanted to fix that . It ’ s a key part of our business and one we ’ re really proud of .
Q . Have you got a dream Chef that you would like to take a residency at Carousel ?
Credit : Aleksandra Boruch
Absolutely . We were among the first but we ’ re by no means the only people doing the guest chef thing . As far as I am aware though , we are the only ones hosting back to back chefs , week after week . We ’ ve hosted 300 chefs and counting in our nearly nine years , working with some absolutely incredible people along the way . The mix of rising stars and more established names keep things fresh and it also creates a special bond with our diners . Our regulars trust us to bring exciting people to the table , even if they might not be house hold names ( yet ). It ’ s their chance to say that they were there at Ikoyi ’ s first ever dinner or when Santi Lastra debuted the ideas behind Kol , which is pretty cool .
Q . Carousel also offers a lot of other experiences for the customer to enjoy such as workshops , exhibitions and award-winning events making Carousel a very adaptable venue . Do you feel that offering such a variety is something you have had to do to survive in the hospitality sector or is it something that you always wanted to add ?
The multifaceted nature of Carousel has been there since day one . We always saw ourselves more as a gallery than a restaurant , where people can go beyond a conventional seated dinner and explore their passion for food and drink in different ways , whether that ’ s a food photography masterclass with David Loftus , miso making with Nancy Singleton Hachisu or a shojin ryori workshop with Toshio Tanahashi . With the events , we work with some fantastic brands . Our ethos for these is to create
Where do I start ? The beauty of having an international reach is that there ‘ s a never ending stream of exciting talent emerging . The landscape is constantly shifting so we ’ re never short of great people to invite . That said , top of our list right now has to be Josh Niland . Our dream is to host Josh for a week of dinners , with fish butchery masterclasses and other cool events happening around it . Josh , if you ’ re reading this …
Q . Have you seen a change in the type of cuisine or experience that guests are looking for more now than previously when you first opened ?
Yes and no . Japanese and Latin American residencies remain as popular as ever but I would say there ’ s been a shift away from the New Nordic obsession of our earlier years to more relaxed cross-over cuisines ( eg Korean street food meets French néo bistronomy ). Whereas a sustainable approach and reverence for provenance were a selling point in their own right four or five years ago , I would say they ’ re now seen as a given for the diners that we attract . Our guests are looking to be entertained as well as educated , which is only right .
Credit : Aleksandra Boruch
Q . What is the process around choosing the next Chef to take a residency and how long in advance do you plan this , It must be hard working with one chef to get the creative juices flowing and the hype of service but then also be planning the next .
Issue 58 2023 THE ART OF LUXURY