The Builders Arms, our beloved local pub in Chelsea, is getting a brand new seasonal menu just in time for summer. Launching mid-July, new dishes on offer will include Chicken Chasseur, Mussels a la Grecque, Roscoff Onion Tarte Tatin, Buttermilk & Vanilla Pudding with Strawberries, Champagne and Mint and Steamed Honey Pudding with Whisky Poached Peaches, Jersey Cream.
The mastermind behind the new menu is none other than Chris Fordham-Smith, the Head Chef at The Barley Mow and now the Head of Food at The Builders Arms. A veteran of the London restaurant scene, he cut his teeth working at Paternoster Chophouse, Newman Street Tavern and the Great Northern Hotel. Now, he is bringing his quintessential flair and love of British cuisine to The Builders Arms, promising theatrical dishes that make you want to come back again and again.
To celebrate Chris’s new gig and the new menus, we sat down with him to talk about his career at Cubitt House so far, what to expect from the new summer menus and his perfect London day.
Chris, you’ve been part of the Cubitt House family for over three years. What excites you most about bringing your style to The Builders Arms?
It’s amazing to be able to expand what I’m already doing at The Barley Mow and bring that to The Builders Arms, to bring a little flavour of that here and to offer something more consistent across both restaurants. They’ve got a great team over there and I’m really excited about the mentoring element of the new role, and giving people the space to grow, too.
Today, not everyone who works in a kitchen has a grounding in the classics, so it’ll be great to introduce them to those, and give them a little bit of the history behind certain dishes. I’m really proud of what we’ve created at The Barley Mow, so I’m thrilled to be bringing that to The Builders Arms: the simplicity and the focus on the produce and the provenance.
You’re known for classic British cooking with flair. What’s a dish you’re especially proud to bring to The Builders Arms and why?
Obviously it depends on the time of the year, for summer I’m excited about keeping things really simple: lovely fresh fish, ratatouille and salads. I really like putting twists on the classics, so, for example, doing a Chicken Chasseur, but putting pheasant in it instead. It’s about having dishes that come out of the kitchen and make you think, ‘wow, I can’t wait to tuck in.’
What role does the guest experience play in how you shape a menu, especially in a lively local like The Builders Arms?
The Builders is a real neighbourhood pub, it’s tucked away on a side street, so it gets less tourists. So we’re aware of that when shaping the menu. Where The Barley Mow gets a lot of tourists, who might want to share big plates and bottles of wine, The Builders might be a bit more accessible.It’s somewhere you might go for your dinner on a Wednesday night. So that’s why we want to bring a bit of theatre into the experience, so that it’s still elevating, even if you’re not putting it all on expenses on the company card. So things like making a Crepe Suzette and flambeeing it at the table, or filleting a fish, or prepping a Steak Tartare. We want people to feel like this isn’t just like going to any other dining room.
Your influences include culinary legends like Fergus Henderson and Pierre Koffmann. How do their philosophies show up in your cooking?
When I worked at Paternoster Chophouse, I learned that you should look after everything that comes through the door. They worked with small scale suppliers and all the recipes were written down in a way that could be understood. It was beautiful food cooked simply, without too much fuss. And I just like that. I want my staff to feel inspired and energised and happy to go to work like we did there. It’s about appreciating those first tomatoes, or wild garlic, and knowing what tastes good and why. And you have to be consistent so that people keep wanting to come back!
You’ve mentioned your love for London’s food scene. How does the city’s culinary diversity inspire what you create in the kitchen?
I just love going out to eat. I take inspiration from everywhere. I’ll think, ‘oh, that’s interesting, what they did with the butter’, or ‘how did they make just a piece of cheese dressed with some salad leaves taste that good?’ Often it’s the simplicity of the composition.
There are so many amazing restaurants in London that do food to a great level, but I rarely get to go to them, and in a way I don’t need to – that’s not what I’m aspiring to be. London’s scene is evolving all the time, but that’s why it’s great that we’re doing what we’re doing at Cubitt House, an honest, simple plate that’s just about the core elements.
You’ve shaped the food offering at The Barley Mow. How will the Builders Arms menu differ? Any twists we should look out for that are special for The Builders Arms?
We’re seeing The Builders Arms as our little sister pub to The Barley Mow. So it will be the same sorts of things, but pared down. There will be less intricacies to some of the dishes. So we’re doing Rabbit Schnitzel at The Barley Mow, but that might not work over there, we might do it with pork instead. Later in the summer we’ll be doing a Gazpacho and Baked Alaska, there’s loads for people to get excited about.
When you’re not in the kitchen, what’s your idea of the perfect London food day off?
I love wandering around food markets – there’s a great one in Stoke Newington, and I used to love going to Borough Market when I worked in that part of London. I met a lot of my suppliers there. And then just visiting places in my neck of the woods in Hackney, maybe going to a pub, getting a Negroni and some chicken wings – my first ever cooking job was in an American sports bar in Sheffield, so I still love them. I also love introducing my two kids to different food, they love dim sum and sushi, or just cooking with them at home.
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