Chef Brett Redman on the brilliance of simple food made for sharing at Elliot’s in Hackney, east London
Just like his cooking, Brett is laid-back and unfussy – a product of his upbringing in a small town in New South Wales, Australia. It was here that he learned to appreciate simplicity, casual dining and community, something that comes to the fore at Elliot’s. As he shows us around his Hackney restaurant, Brett tells us of his early experiences of home cooking and how that translates to his produce-led menu – plus, he shares his recipe for potato flatbread.
Brett: “My upbringing and experience of food growing up in Australia means I don’t like pretentiousness or restaurants with an ego. I was brought up with casual food – we would go to relaxed restaurants and it didn’t have to be a big experience. That easy going nature is what we bring to Elliot’s.
“I’m from a small town called Gloucester in New South Wales, which is about three or four hours north-west of Sydney. It had a lovely small-town mentality, everybody knew everybody. We went to school with all our cousins, and our parents were high-school sweethearts.
“I have two brothers – one older, one younger – and we always sat at the table with my parents for dinner. We were never allowed to eat food in front of the TV or on the couch. We thought it was quite strict at the time but in hindsight it was a really nice thing to do. Every mealtime you eat together as a family – you might not talk to your brothers, but they’re there.
“My parents both love food. My grandparents had their own gardens and grew potatoes, beans, tomatoes and things like that. We were eating nice simple food at home – things like lasagnes. When we got a bit older, we became interested in different cultures and cuisines and we’d have Thai mango chicken curries. My dad loves being creative and making lots of weird things with what’s in the fridge, but they always come out tasting pretty good.
“I became interested in food while at university studying physiotherapy and I had to learn to cook for myself. At that time, I wanted to eat better, which is why I started cooking – and the more I cooked, the more interested in it I became. Next thing, I left university and enrolled in a cooking class at a community college.
“Once I got into it, that was it. I got so wrapped up in the world of cooking. I wasn’t thinking of anything else. I would get home and scribble recipe ideas down – I always had a notepad next to my bed so I’d wake up and sketch dishes. When you’re training, you don’t get much opportunity to make dishes – you’re always doing the prep for your chef. All my crazy ideas were always just on a notepad.
“I got an apprentice job in my local neighbourhood bistro. We would do pie nights on a Monday, roasts on a Sunday. It was a simple bistro, but that’s the food that I’ve always enjoyed cooking. People would come several times a week; it wasn’t a special-occasion restaurant that you would save up for. It was great.
“I like community focused restaurants that make guests feel comfortable. I’ve had places in central London where you don’t know what’s going on – you have no idea what’s happening at the tables or how the staff are feeling. You don’t have that emotional and physical contact with the business.
“Sam and I do the restaurants because we love it. We like having a team. We like having customers. We like working nights. We like working weekends. People always say, ‘Oh, don’t you get tired, or don’t you want to change jobs and work Monday to Friday?’ Absolutely not. I would hate that. That is not how I function. I function on my own weird cycle.
“The food at Elliot’s always start with the produce. Then it’s what can we do with it based around the wood and charcoal? Should it be char-grilled, slow-roasted, or wood-roasted? We started getting into charcoal cooking nine years ago. It was definitely inspired by home – in Australia we’ll just light a big barbecue in the backyard and make a really simple dish. It’s the perfect way to bring out the best flavours of an ingredient. Then we add a little unexpected touch.
“We serve the food here family style, which means everything goes in the middle of the table to share. It’s better for interaction – when people are passing plates around, you’re not focusing so much on the food, you’re focusing on your guests as well. It’s about creating an experience rather than just a menu.
“Seasonal produce is a big deal now because it’s such an important thing. If you stick to local, in-season produce, you’re on the way to creating a better food system. It has less impact on the environment and is a healthier way to eat. People are much more aware and conscious of what they eat today.
“When we get nights off at home, they’re not driven around making amazing meals. We would have something like pasta or an omelette. If Sam and I are at home together, I would be in charge of cooking no matter what – that doesn’t change. It’s always good to chuck a chicken in the oven. I love a roast chook with a nice big salad. Sam’s obsessed with caesar salad, so a chicken schnitzel with a caesar salad on the side would make her happy. Otherwise, we have simple, one-pot curry dishes.
“Generally, whenever I’m cooking, I try to make it as simple as possible, but there has to be something interesting about the dish. I break it down to the bare basics and then build it up bit by bit. I’m not a recipe follower – I’m a taste guy. I like to taste and then think about what is needed.
“At home, you’re not learning to be a chef, you’re learning to be a cook and to trust your instincts. When food is in the pan and it makes certain noises, you begin to tap this instinctive nature. Experience helps too – the more you taste and the more things you cook and try, the better you’re going to get.”
Makes eight flatbreads
For the potato flatbread
Flatbread dough
500g strong flour
40g semolina
5g dried yeast
15g salt
50ml olive oil
335g water
To serve
240g crème fraiche
240g trout roe
4 waxy potatoes
Sea salt
Olive oil
Salted butter
Chives
Shallots
Place all the flatbread ingredients except the salt into a mixer and mix for about three minutes until well combined, then set aside and allow it to rest for an hour. Add the salt and mix again for four minutes, then rest for a further five minutes. Continue to mix for two minutes and then rest for two minutes until the dough is fully developed and it passes windowpane test – a trick in which you stretch the dough until it’s thin enough for light to pass through without tearing.
Divide the dough equally into eight and roll each piece into a tight ball. Cover with a cloth and allow to prove for a further hour.
Lightly flour a work surface and gently stretch the doughs balls until each is about 15cm in diameter. Thinly slice the waxy potatoes and arrange on top of the flatbreads with some sea salt and olive oil. Cook in the very hot (hot as you can go) oven for four minutes until puffy. Serve with a slice of salted butter and some chopped chives and shallots on top. Plate a generous amount of trout roe and crème fraiche on the side and tear and eat with your hands.
RELATED ON THE MODERN HOUSE
For itinerant chef and musical therapist Marie Cassis, home is where the feast is
From Bath bakery and restaurant to Bruton mill: the evolution of Landrace in Somerset
Crocadon in Cornwall is a farm and restaurant with organic agriculture, good cooking and great people at its heart
It’s all love at Matthew Scott and Charlie Carr’s new restaurant, Papi
Edit is the hyper-seasonal Hackney restaurant making the case for low waste
Why deli and wine bar Lulu’s is winning the hearts of locals in Herne Hill
How Alex Reynolds and Maria Viviani are paying homage to their heritages at Eline in Hoxton
Akwasi Brenya-Mensa on the future of Pan-African cuisine at Tatale in Southwark
Suea is the cook and creative playing with her food in Brooklyn, New York
Sustainability is a way of life for Pamela Brunton at Inver on the west coast of Scotland