Delicious UK - (02)February 2020

H

e’sthechefofthetwo-

Michelin-starLondon

institutionBibendum,but

ClaudeBosi’skitchendebut

wasfarfromsuccessful.

“ThefirstdishI triedtocookwasa

friedegg– I was12,”herecalls.“The

pancaughtfire,soI threwwater

onit – that’swhenI learned:oil

andwaterdonotgowelltogether!

I nearlyburnedthekitchendown.”

GrowingupinLyon,wherehis

Italianparentsrana bistro,Bosi

recallshowluckyhewastobeable

toniphomefromschoolfortheplat

dujour.“Mummadefantastic

dishes,suchasquenellesdebrochet

(pikedumplings),”hereminisces.

Withsucha food-focused

upbringingBosi’spathtochefdom

seemsunsurprising,buthesaysit

tooka stintina brasserieearlyin

hiscareertosealthedeal.“Iloved

theteamworkofthekitchen– it was

a familythatwouldlookafterand

supporteachother.Apartfromthat,

I lovedcreatingsomethingfromraw

ingredients.Andpeoplecomingto

eatit:it’ssucha privilege.”

Followinga movetoParisinthe

1990s,Bosiworkedundertwochefs

whobecamehisbiggestinspirations:

firstAlainPassardatL’Arpège,who

taughtBosihowtoruna first-class

restaurant,thenAlainDucasse.

Thelatter’scommitmenttobuying

onlythebestproduceatthebest

timeofyearhadanindelibleeffect

PhoebeStonefindsoutwhatdrewtheFrenchchef

tocooking despiteanearlydisasterinthekitchen

ontheyoung,ambitiouschef.

“Alltheseasonshavea favourite

ingredient.It’shardtopickone–

butEnglishasparagusandpeasare

someofmyfavourites.”Travelalso

fuelshiscreativity,butBosiis frank

aboutthedominanceofhisculinary

roots.“I’mFrench– youcan’ttake

thataway,”hesays.“Myfoodis

basedona Frenchfoundation–

classicdisheswitha moderntouch.”

BosiopenedHibiscusinLudlow,

Shropshire,in2000,whichwontwo

Michelinstars,thenrelocatedthe

restauranttoLondonin 2007 –

regainingitsstars– beforetaking

thewheelatBibendumin2016.

LaunchedbySirTerenceConran

inthelate1980swithSimon

Hopkinsoninthekitchen,the

restaurantintheartdecoMichelin

TyreCompanybuildingquickly

becametheplacetobe.It hasfinally

beenawardedtwoMichelinstars.

Bosi’shecticschedulemeans

it’srareforhimtocreateculinary

fireworksathome.“Whenyoucook

allweek,youjustwanta quickbite

somewhererelaxed,”heexplains.

Doeshehavea recommendation?

“NearClaphaminsouthLondon

there’sa localbistrocalledSoifwith

a goodwinelistandcheese.”It’snot

allaboutthetastesofhome,though.

“Sometimesit’sChineseorIndian

food:a differentstyleofrestaurant

whereyoucanbea bitchallenged.”

Familylifeis full-on,too,asBosi

andhiswifeLucyhavea youngson.

“Ilovegoingfora walkwithhimor

playingfootball– spendingquality

timewithfamilyis importanttome.”

A goodwork/lifebalanceis hard

• Michelinstarsbringprestigebut
  theyalsobringpressure:“Idon’t
  takesuccessforgranted,”saysBosi.
  “Youhavetorealiseeverydayis a
  newday,whathappenedtheday
  beforeis thedaybefore,andtoday
  is a newcustomer.That’swhat
  I loveabouttherestaurantlife.”
  ClaudeBosiat Bibendumis inLondon’s
  SouthKensington;claudebosi.com

GO-TO SNACK?

Mars Bar

DESERT ISLAND DISH?

Mash and caviar

BEST KITCHEN KIT

Well, he’s not a piece

of kit but we couldn’t

function without Danny,

our kitchen porter!

FAVOURITE MUSIC

WHILE COOKING? It

has to be James Brown

WHAT’S YOUR...

PORTRAIT: PATRICIA NIVEN

people.

“I DON’T TAKE

SUCCESS

FOR GRANTED”

THE INTERVIEW: CLAUDE BOSI

I loved the teamwork of the

kitchen – the way it’s a family that

looks after one another

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