The Guest Series, hosted by Lyle’s restaurant in Shoreditch in collaboration with Veuve Clicquot, looks to showcase a number of the world's most talented chefs by way of a monthly tasting menu – so there's no longer a need to rack up those travel miles just to test the globe's cutting edge cuisine.
This year, James Lowe and John Ogier's lauded restaurant has seen some great chefs set up temporary base in its impressive open-plan kitchen. From Jeremy Charles of Canada’s Raymonds – who served a menu featuring cloudberries he picked personally in Newfoundland and maple syrup so precious he packed it in his own suitcase for the journey over – to Olle Celton of Babette in Stockholm, a neighbourhood joint located in a previously run down pizzeria that produces carefully curated small innovative plates, whilst making use of their inherited oven by serving their signature, daily changing pizzas. And it’s not just male 'guests' that are taking over the kitchen – Elena Reygadas, whose Mexico City restaurant Rosetta is ranked number 33 in the list of San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna's 50 best Latin American restaurants, served her specialities back in May, experimenting with edible flowers, cuttlefish, octopus and even insects.
The celebrated Swedish chef Daniel Berlin took charge in December to end this year’s Guest Series season, but fear not – the line up for next year is equally exciting. The first dinners of 2016, on the 1 and 2 February, will see Bertrand Grébaut bring his creative and progressive cooking style to Lyle’s. Grébaut was widely applauded for breaking the boundaries between fine dining and casual bistros when he opened his restaurant Septime in Paris in 2011. Septime found itself quickly listed in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and received a Michelin star in 2014. At Lyle's, Grébaut's £59-a-head set menu it still beats the fare (and effort) of crossing the channel.
There are many more exciting appearances planned for the year: Pam Yung and José Ramírez-Ruiz of Brooklyn's Semilla, Brooklyn will appear in March; April sees Tatiana Levha of Le Servan, Paris; Mitch Orr of ACME, Sydney in June; Daniel Burns of Brooklyn's Luksus plays host in July; and Morgan McGlone of Belles Hot Chicken and Bar Clarine, Melbourne, will be briefly in residence in August.
Not only does the Guest Series allow diners the chance to sample such varied, acclaimed fare, but the scheme equally benefits the team at Lyle’s, afforded the chance to observe and work with some of the finest chefs currently operating.
'I believe that a restaurant should never stand still. We are looking to constantly evolve. The Guest Series gives us an opportunity to see British produce in a new light,' explains Lowe, Lyle's' head chef. Whilst remaining British at heart and celebrating British produce, the collaboration allows a glimpse into what’s going on elsewhere in the world. We all want to experience the world’s best restaurants – and what better (and easier) way to do so?
