Credit : Joe Okpako
We ’ re working about six months out which means we can programme the line-up on the front foot . It took us a while to get here post-Covid , when travel restrictions would come and go with little to no warning , so it ’ s great to have a bit more control ( even if things can - and do - change , often with very little notice ). The process is pretty simple as we all know the criteria . Is it the kind of place that we ’ d take friends to if we were living in that city ? Will our guests be as excited as we are about the chef ? Is the menu going to bring something different to the table ? The chefs that we talk to are a mix of people that we approach ( because we love the sound of what they ’ re doing ), recommendations from our existing community and people who approach us , although we are quite selective about who we say yes to . In terms of keeping the energy high , we rotate the Carousel chefs that the guest chef will be working with so it ’ s not always the same team planning every menu and making sure that we bring our A-game to every service . That said , people choose to work at Carousel because of what we do , so it ’ s self-selecting . The motivation to work with different people each week is high .
Q . Do you see anything changing for Carousel this year or is there anything you would like to see happening at the venue ?
We are looking for more opportunities where we can use the building to its full potential . We have five different spaces which are each operating more or less independently on any given day ( the guest chef restaurant , the wine bar , our pop-up incubator No . 23 and the two event spaces upstairs ). We love the idea of one-off concepts and collaborations where we can have different connected experiences happening all at the same time . We ’ re actually working on a series of events with the organisers of the AVA dance music festival that brings together top chefs and DJs . Each { PAIRED } takes place across the whole of Carousel , with simultaneous chef x DJ collaborations happening on different floors . The two artists work together to create a unique menu and soundtrack that weave together each other ’ s influences . Each pairing is a one-off , never to be repeated . There ’ s then a big party downstairs after the dinners with the DJs playing back to back sets , so it ’ s a kind of turbo version of what we do here normally . We ’ d love to create more multidisciplinary experiences like that , combining food and drink with music , art , technology - you name it - to keep pushing the boundaries .
Q . Do you have any ideas on any new expansions for the brand ?
We ’ ve been approached over the years by operators in other countries who would like us to do something similar to what we do here in their venues . Provided the opportunity is right , that really excites me . I ’ d love the Carousel model to become a blueprint for chef collaborations in cities around the world and for our community to keep growing . Why not come and cook with us in Tokyo or Los Angeles as well as London ? That would be a great conversation to have with our guest chefs .
carousel-london . com
THE ART OF LUXURY Issue 58 2023