Shop like a chef: Where London's top chefs go for their groceries

Cooking is one of life’s great pleasures — but even the best recipes are let down by plastic-tasting veggies and sub-standard fish and meat from the supermarket.

To combat the tide of anaemic asparagus, out-of-season gourds and bland beef, we’ve called on the best culinary talent from across the capital to share their secrets on where they shop for their restaurants — and to give a few tips for using specific ingredients at home along the way. 

Once the reserve of wholesale customers or straight-to-restaurant trade, a growing number of food businesses have grown to supply the same high quality produce to consumers. This means home cooks can now buy from this goldmine of food based-businesses to get those restaurant-calibre ingredients in their own kitchens.

From apothecary-style herb-and-spice slingers in Elephant and Castle to the finest west London butchers, this is where chefs shop for their favourite produce, and where you can too. 

“For me, HG Walter (51 Palliser Road, W14 9EB, hgwalter.com) is the best. It’s a legendary family-run butcher and I use them at the Dorchester, as well as in my own kitchen at home. They deliver straight to your door and in my experience, have some of the highest quality meat on the market. We use their ribeye for the restaurant but when I’m at home, I go for their homemade kebabs. They’re properly tasty!”

“When trying to recreate dishes that rely on ingredients from a land one can’t visit, it means finding the closest alternatives. One supplier I highly recommend is the Turkish Food Centre, known as TFC, in Dalston (89 Ridley Road, E8 2NH, tfcsupermarkets.com), as well as the Ridley Road Market (Ridley Road, E8 2NP, hackney.gov.uk). Supporting this area and keeping it fiscally alive is important, as Ridley Road is a core historical food centre for local east Londoners. Growing up, Hackney was still recognised as a safe hub for immigrants and recently displaced refugees, and shops like TFC were the only places to source ingredients for traditional recipes — especially when one needs to find spices, the correct brand of yoghurt or the rice needed for that perfect kabuli pilau.

TFC is frequented by multiple ethnic groups across east London (from Turkish, Afghan and Nigerian to Moroccan, Kurdish, Lebanese and Yemeni), as it stocks specific global brands and suppliers that help us recreate and maintain our dishes and recipes. Despite gentrification, Hackney's diverse food culture must never be forgotten, as the origins of why this area of east London is so popular among foodies originates from its historical context.”

Masaki Sugisaki buys his seafood directly from day-boat fishermen with whom he’s spent time on board and while traipsing down to Cornwall or Devon might be a trip too far for home cooks, for sushi-quality scallops, Sugisaki buys from Frazer Scallops (online only, facebook.com). These hand-dived Devon king scallops are, simply put, the finest British bivalves money can buy, but you don’t need to be a chef to get your hands on them. Keep this under wraps, but each month Frazer hosts an online auction for these highly prized scallops, which are then delivered in less than 48 hours. In Frazer’s own words: “Our mission is to supply the most delicious scallops whilst leaving as little footprint as possible. Hand-picking each scallop ensures we cause no damage to the sea bed, and means we can leave the little ones to grow to full size. The Devon King Scallop is truly a hidden treasure”. Sign up to their not-so-secret mailing list for access to the online auctions. 

“I don't think BiBi would function without Quality Foods (QF) in Southall (47, 61 South Road, UB1 1SQ, qualityfoodsonline.com). We source almost all fresh produce from the UK, working mainly with a few select farms in Cambridge and Sussex, and our spices from small-scale artisans in India. But for exotic fruits, nothing replaces a proper Indian cash and carry for quality control. Now, in mango season, I can go to the shop, feel, smell and touch every mango we use in the restaurant, with two or three trips QF. Thank god for the Lizzy line!”

“We’ve had the scotch bonnet pork fat on toast dish at the top of our menu since day one. It’s a moreish little snack which balances salt, acid, fat and heat that’s easy to recreate at home. We use Brindisa’s (Floral Hall, Borough Market, SE1 9AF, brindisa.com) Ibérico pork fat from the jar, melted with some scotch bonnets and seasoned with smoked paprika and a nice vinegar. We've long been fans of Brindisa, whose warehouses in Balham are close to the Camberwell Arms. While they’re best known for their deli in Borough Market, you can also buy their exceptional produce online. At home, I use this ingredient to enhance simple pork chops, leaving the cooked pork to rest, smothered in Ibérico pork fat, and then using those infused juices to dress the meat once carved. Alternatively, you could use the pork fat as a substitute for butter in recipes, such as cornbread, or anywhere you need a rich, meaty boost.”

“For great Jamaican ingredients, it has to be Esme’s in Brixton (Unit 16A, Market Row, SW9 8LD, brixtonvillage.com). She ships the best of Jamaican produce and has been in the market for years, she’s my go-to for speciality herbs and ingredients. Esme is a lady of a certain generation who has the knowledge — and island charm — that she is proud to share with her customers: she is a joy to visit. I never leave her without smiling, because she reminds me so much of home. From Esme, I get the unique Jamaican ingredients that elevate my dishes, including the breadfruit we have just added to our spring menu.”

“As a plant-based restaurant, we use a lot of potatoes, and purple potatoes are a go-to ingredient for me. They’re available for a lot of the year and we use them throughout the week at Tendril. They’re packed with antioxidants and are really versatile. I think they are at their best when simply roasted in a soy marinade, as the natural sweetness of the potato really compliments the salt, and served with a fresh, citrusy Asian-style salad. We source ours from Ted’s Veg (8 Stoney Street, SE1 1TL, and across London at farmers markets, tedsveg.co.uk), a great supplier that I’ve been going to for over five years now, since we set up Tendril.”

“We use Natoora (245 Pavilion Road, SW1X 0BP and across London, natoora.com) at Pizzeria Mozza for their Italian fresh fruit and vegetables. They do wholesale and retail, plus they have shops in London that are open to the public, perfect for the home cook. Their pumpkins in the autumn for example are outstanding and we’re currently using them for their rocket, which we use on the prosciutto pizza. I particularly like the strong peppery notes that their rocket has.”

It was at a tasting of the new menu at Lyaness, currently serving some of London’s best cocktails, that a guest asked bartender extraordinaire Ryan Chetiyawardana where he buys his ingredients. “G Baldwin & Co., in Elephant and Castle (171-173 Walworth Road, SE17 1RW, baldwins.co.uk)” was the reply. A flurry of notepads and pens ensued. He continued: “In addition to Baldwins — where we get things like mallow root for our royal old fashioned — some great suppliers to flag would be Bermondsey Street Bees (Roundbush Farm, Great Totham, Essex CM9 8BZ, bermondseystreetbees.co.uk), Rare Tea Company (online only, rareteacompany.com) and Sous Chef (online only, souschef.co.uk), but I also wholeheartedly recommend All Greens (109 Newington Green Road, N1 4QY, and across London, allgreens.co.uk). I use the one in Newington Green for all my fresh ingredients and they eclipse what you'd get from a supermarket, plus you get the added benefit of no packaging, and you can buy in the exact quantities you need”. 

“Fish can be daunting to a lot of people cooking at home and for this reason, some of the finest British ingredients can be overlooked. East London has one of the best fishmongers going, Fin and Flounder (71 Broadway Market, E8 4PH, finandflounder.com), which not only supply some of the best restaurants, including Faber, but also have a shop on Broadway Market selling the very same stock. Sam, Brendon and the whole team at Fin and Flounder are so approachable, you’re not only buying the best fish, but you can also get some solid advice on how to cook it too. We highly recommend the John Dory and, if they have it in stock, the turbot. We also use Portland Shellfish (online only, shop.portlandshellfish.co.uk), which has been a consistent and trustworthy partner to us providing incredible ingredients sourced both locally in the Portland estuary and around the UK. The online shop means you are getting A-grade shellfish that’s used in some of the best restaurants and their website has compiled recipes from some of the best seafood chefs out there. Try the fantastic Orkney langoustines, the best around!”

“At the restaurants, we source all our beef shin and many other meats from Swaledale (online only, swaledale.co.uk), a supplier I also rely on in my personal cooking endeavours. Our partnership with them spans a significant duration, dating back to the beginnings of Trullo. We place immense trust in the origins of their meat and it always tastes delicious. Swaledale provides a variety of cuts, from unique breeds to traditional favourites, all while supporting small farms in and around Yorkshire, ensuring top-notch quality that rivals the best high-end butchers.”

“One of my favourite suppliers is Dorset Snails (48 Uddens Trading Estate, Wimborne BH21 7NL, dorsetsnails.co.uk) – they’re a wonderful family-run snail farm in the heart of the Dorset countryside, and when we had our snail flatbread on the menu, it was so popular that I was always doubling up my order! They have a webshop where they sell raw and cooked snails, as well as escargot ready for the oven in their homemade garlic butter, which would be perfect for a dinner party at home. Or, if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, their blanched snails are perfect for braising in a ragu.”