Mel Meets.....Urban Cookhouse Head Chef Justin

Last week I popped in to the Urban Cookhouse to check out their new menu. While I was there I caught up with Justin who heads the impressive open plan kitchen at this popular destination restaurant and bar.

Hi Justin, I’m Mel. Are you the head chef here at the Urban Cookhouse? Yes, that’s right. Hi Mel.

And how long have you been cooking for? 27 years. And here since it opened in March? Yes - flown by!

What is your background with regards to training to be a chef? Urm, started off training at The Midland Hotel (day release from college), worked at Piccadilly Hotel, Brasserie St. Pierre when it was around (quite a long time ago!) - quite an establishment at the time.

Was there one person in particular who inspired you to pursue a career in catering? Well my Mum originally, she used to cook a lot when I was younger and she actually went to college to learn how to cook (she couldn’t initially!) so she’d come home from college and practise - so I was a kind of guinea pig pretty much. Remember she used to make fresh bread quite a lot and I just got interested in it like that really. As for inspiration, I used to work with Marco Pierre White while I worked at Brasserie St. Pierre. We had a lot of other famous chefs who came there too, but he stood out as the one who got stuck in - one of the team.

Is there a section of the kitchen you prefer to work in; pastry for example? I enjoy it all to be honest and am constantly learning. Always reading, looking at different chefs and what they have done. Like to eat out a lot so take my inspiration from that too.

Having worked with the likes of MPW and Raymond Blanc, do you think Michelin stars make or break a chef? No, I don’t. Too much pressure on the kitchen, too much emphasis. Also I’d imagine that if you were to work towards a star you wouldn’t have much time to yourself. As much as I enjoy working, I also enjoy my time away from the kitchen. Got to have a balance otherwise you’ll wear yourself out. Think you can produce good quality food without having to work 18-20 hours a day!

I saw the menu changed in line with the summer and with a clearer focus of what Urban Cookhouse wants to be. Tell me a bit more about the menu you have just launched. Originally Tim wanted it to be quite an eclectic mix of international dishes from around the world, the feedback we got was that there were too many dishes! Not enough focus on what we were. Figured that the restaurant is based on a New York loft house space, so we needed to brand the food with the same theme. Obviously New York’s cuisine is made up of multi-cultural dishes, but we’d focus on high end American food. Having travelled around America myself, I knew what would work with this concept and having picked up some recipes from my travels, we’re using these too.

And does the menu focus on one of the boroughs of New York City or is it a combination of them? From Little Italy to Little Korean, we’ve taken influences from each area to create a good mix of dishes from the city. For instance, having been to Harlem, I knew that 125th Street runs right through it. Pigs cheeks come up a lot there from the Afro-Caribbean cuisine and they have a thick tomato sauce called Grandpa’s Gravy so I figured, why don’t we do a meatball sub style dish but substitute the meatballs for pigs cheeks, use the Grandpa’s Gravy and call it 125th Street Subway!

So it is still an international menu, but heavily influenced by the New York boroughs origins and then you've raising the bar to high end dining? Yeah exactly! The cocktail menu is also being redone to incorporate these boroughs - maybe Manchester can be the sixth!

So nice to see an American restaurant that isn’t solely focused on the Deep South and BBQ! Having said that, you do have a stunning burger on your menu! We had some friends from Chicago over and they said it really felt like a US restaurant bar.

What is your most popular dish? It was the Whiskey Chicken, but the 125th Street Subway is taking over. I love the Big Apple dessert myself which consists of four elements of apple; a cider doughnut, an apple sphere which bursts when you put it in your mouth, some apple pie candy and an apple & calvados sorbet. It looks really good on the plate and people really enjoy the different textures and tastes. Yes, dare say that they can clearly see the time you've put into it. Hope so! We’ve also got a strawberry soup on the menu which takes 48 hours to make. We steam the strawberries so you don’t lose the flavour and juice, then slowly press them in a muslin cloth and let it drip over two days. It is finished with some strawberry croutons and a spreadable cream - really nice! Been compared to Willy Wonka - soup but its strawberry flavour!

Do you use local suppliers? Cheshire Produce and Frosts for meat, his meat is fantastic! We use Manchester Veg People who work with local growers for salad leaves, micro herbs, carrots etc who pick their crop that morning and we have it that day for the menu. Nice and fresh - brilliant produce.

Have you a meal which you’ve had that stands out? Having travelled a lot, I do feel like I’ve been spoilt so it’s hard to pick one, but I did have an amazing meal at Alinea in Chicago a few years ago. Mind blowingly good and we had about 20 courses; a real experience. At one point they brought in a helium balloon and you just pulled it down and ate it! This was when it was America’s number one restaurant, number three in the world so you can see why it is by far the best meal I’ve ever had.

You mentioned that you enjoy your time out of the kitchen too, how do you relax? Well I used to play five-a-side but have just become a father so spend my time off with him relaxing, gardening too. Think I’ll eventually get back into football but once things settle down! How old? Four months, just a fortnight before we opened! Chaos here, chaos at home!

Do you have a favourite drink? Love a margarita having been to Mexico last year. Frozen? No, no, no, no! I love tequila, could drink it all day - love it! Got to be decent though, found El Capo in the Northern Quarter has a great selection of good tequila.

Who does the cooking at home? Well by the time I get in, it’s quite late so don’t do much. We pretty much eat out all the time, or at family for a roast so the grandparents can see my son - from house to house basically - our gas and electric bills are great!

Any guilty pleasures which a chef shouldn’t really be seen eating? Takeaways? Doughnuts I suppose. Dunkin Donuts would be my preferred choice but we don’t have them - but I do believe they’re coming here soon. As soon as they do, I’ll have a problem - definitely have to go back to football then!! Not really a big takeaway fan, much prefer to eat in a good Indian restaurant.

Any tips for budding chefs? Don’t do it! Ha ha ha!!

What about you - 10 years, where will you be? Hopefully still here, maybe pushing out a few more for Tim. That’s the plan.

Any chef you’d like to work for? Wouldn’t mind having a go at Manchester House - just for a few weeks as they seem to be doing some great food there.

Finally you are in an all you can eat - what you going for first? It’s been a while since I was in one - doughnut I guess! Like the American breakfast buffet though, sweet choices; waffles, pastries.....

Nice one Justin, will leave you to your 125th!

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Posted: Monday 7th September 2015
ID: 11048 - 1348