The Modern Menu: chef Merlin Labron-Johnson cooks hay baked chicken and vegetable gratin at Osip in Bruton, Somerset
Merlin: “I grew up in Devon, not that far from here. I wouldn’t say I grew up in a real foodie family, but my parents always had quite a strong idea of how we should eat. We never ate junk food – it just wasn’t an option.
“We had a mainly vegetarian diet because they weren’t prepared to buy cheap, bad quality meat. I suppose the biggest influence of me growing up was that we used to get veg boxes from Riverford Farm, which happened to be in the town over from us. We were some of their first customers.
“Every week we’d get a box of seasonal, locally-grown and organic produce, and we got accustomed to eating that way, which was about healthy, nutritious food. Sometimes my Dad would buy some pheasants, and he would make crumble for afterwards using apples from our apple tree. Those are my memories of home cooking.
“There isn’t a single moment I can pinpoint getting into cooking. I was quite a naughty kid and got kicked out of a lot of schools until I ended up in a very creative, alternative school. It was democratic, run by the students and lessons weren’t compulsory, so I found myself helping the school cook prepare food in exchange for meals, instead of going to lessons.
“They eventually just encouraged me to focus on it, and I think they were relieved that I had found something I liked and was good at. I started going to the local library to get cookbooks and I got a part-time assistant job in a cookery school. As soon as I left school I started working in restaurants.
“I worked in Switzerland, France and Belgium before moving to London, where I helped with the opening of three restaurants – pretty insane. But I’ve always lived in the countryside, even when I was abroad.
“As I learned to cook and develop my ideas about food, it was always very closely connected with farming, the countryside, being outdoors, nature, and the seasons. In London, I opened some really nice restaurants but I’d completely disconnected from where the produce was coming from.
“It was exciting and hedonistic, living in London, but I found myself leaving more and more, just to get away. Every time I left London and went to the countryside, I was like, “This is so perfect.”
“I felt ready to open my own restaurant and I wanted to do it in the countryside, away from London where you need big investors and there’s lots of risk. I was introduced to people renovating this building and came down to see it.
“I was very impatient and just said, ‘I’ll do this’ – I didn’t even know how amazing Bruton was. I knew it was cool, but I wasn’t exactly sure how this kind of restaurant would be perceived. As it turns out, people are very open and clued-up about food here, which is great.
“The approach I take at Osip is letting myself be guided by what we’re growing and what is growing around us, limiting myself to working only that – not because of some grand concept, but just because that’s what inspires me.
“It’s the opposite way around approach: most chefs will imagine a dish that they want to create, and then they will work out a way to track down those ingredients. But I start by holding Swiss chard or radicchio in my hand and working out what I’m going to make from that.
“If you want lobster or foie gras or caviar as a chef, you can get it somehow. Whereas I find I have to be extra creative because chard, for example, is fine if you’re cooking dinner at home, but to serve it in the context of a restaurant like this and make it exciting or sophisticated enough for people to be like, “Wow, I didn’t know Swiss chard could taste this good,” is a lot more challenging.
“The way that I imagined the restaurant before we opened was like a provincial French bistro you’d find when you were travelling in the countryside there maybe 20 years ago. You’d find a restaurant, and you stop. Maybe they’ve got rooms and you’d stay the night. But there’s no menu and you’d just say, “I’m hungry,” and they’d feed you. That’s what I wanted this place to be.
“And I really wanted to do my best to create a space where people would feel like, as much as possible, they were at home, in my home, which isn’t easy. But I worked with the same designers who did the hotel next door, and I gave them the brief: dried flowers, herbs and old mirrors.
“I think that they did a really good job and people seem relaxed here, which is key. It’s really important that they feel at home, comfortable and relaxed, and they need to know that they’re going to be taken care of and looked after.
“Looking back, I think I found it really difficult to think creatively in London because I was so absorbed in the day-to-day running of the restaurant and getting on the Tube, and all the noise and everything that’s happening there. I find that now if I go for a walk, ideas just come because I’ve got the space and the peace of mind to think.
“And that 45 minutes I would have spent on the tube is now dedicated to going to the allotment. Every morning, my routine is to go to the allotment or go up to the land where we grow the vegetables and bring stuff into the kitchen. It’s exactly how I imagined my restaurant to be, so I’m super happy. Moving here has had the desired effect.”
“This is something we might cook for a staff meal. The food we serve guests in the restaurant is a lot more refined, but this is good home cooking, and representative of our seasonal, sustainable approach.”
Serves 4
1 large chicken crown or one small whole chicken
Olive oil
1 bunch of meadow hay (from an unsprayed field, not a pet shop!)
4 large sweet onions
1 bunch of chard
1 knob of butter
250g double cream
200ml whole milk
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced.
1 nutmeg
1 handful breadcrumbs, made from a loaf of old bread
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Find a casserole pot big enough to accommodate the whole chicken with a lid.
Season the chicken all over with a generous amount of sea salt.
Heat some olive oil in the pot and start to brown the chicken on all sides, over a medium heat. Take your time to get a nice even golden colour on the chicken, adding a bit more oil if necessary.
Once you are happy with the colour, place the chicken in the middle of the pot with the breasts facing upwards and surround it with the meadow hay. Put a few glugs of water or white wine in the pan to create some moisture and place in the oven with the lid on.
Allow 30 minutes for just the crown or 50 minutes for a whole chicken. Once cooked, leave to rest for 15-20 minutes.
Whilst the chicken is cooking, make the gratin. Fry the breadcrumbs in a frying pan with a little oil until golden. Cut the onion into quarters and roast in the oven for 10 minutes with a little olive oil.
Separate the chard leaves from the stems and chop both roughly. Sweat the stems over a low heat in a saucepan with a knob of butter without any colour. After 10 minutes, add the leaves and cook for a further 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Put the milk, cream and sliced garlic in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low, cooking until it has reduced by half and looks slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper and a little nutmeg.
Place the chard mixture and onions in the gratin dish and pour the garlic cream on top. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and place in the oven for 20 minutes. It should be thick, golden and bubbling.
Carve the chicken and serve it on the table with the gratin, a salad of bitter leaves and a nice fruity Beaujolais.
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