St. John celebrates a quarter century

If you utter the phrase ‘nose-to-tail eating’ these days almost anyone with even a passing interest in food will know what you mean. Back in the mid-1990s, when Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver founded their iconic London restaurant St. John, the concept was definitely not in vogue. The pair’s eccentric eatery almost single-handedly forged a path for ‘nose to tail’ cooking. Over at the Great British Chefs website, you can read a charming interview with Henderson and Gulliver that dives into the history of St. John and its founders.

When asked for their thoughts on what the legacy of the restaurant will be, Trevor explains that ‘It’s not about legacy at all, it’s about now…As Fergus says, nature writes the menu. As long as the earth continues spinning, we will continue doing what we’re doing.’ He continues, discussing the pair’s latest cookbook, The Book of St. John: Over 100 Brand New Recipes from London’s Iconic Restaurant: ‘We didn’t want this book to be an epitaph or a pat on the back. It’s a cookbook first and foremost, with some insight into how St John works.’

While the menu at the restaurant has evolved and the area in which it is located has become almost unrecognizable from what it looked like twenty five years ago, much about the interior of St. John remains unchanged. The whitewashed walls, the wooden tables, and even the stemware have endured for the entirety of the restaurant’s existence. ‘We had an unfortunate incident when Jonathan [Woolway, St John’s executive chef] decided to varnish all the tables,’ says Fergus. ‘We didn’t much like it, so he had to go round and sand them all down again.’