Luxury hotel The Langham has revealed its newest restaurant, a modern Caribbean concept from the winner of Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef.
The Good Front Room, housed in the West End hotel’s Palm Court space, is the work of chef Dom Taylor, who wowed judges on the show with his upscale versions of jerk chicken, curry goat, and ackee and salt fish.
The cooking competition was filmed at The Langham and judged by the hotel’s culinary director Michel Roux Jr. alongside chefs Ravneet Gill and Mike Reid.
The winner, announced on July 14, was awarded their own restaurant, and The Good Front Room opened the next day.
In it, Taylor, born to a Jamaican mother and Saint-Lucian father, combines influences from his Caribbean heritage and south London upbringing. He said he plays with classic Caribbean dishes, using ingredients such as plantain, rum and sorrel to rework tradition as “fine dining”.
Starters include jerk chicken with plantain jam and sweetcorn, and ackee and saltfish cakes with confit garlic and scotch bonnet aioli, while main courses might be sea bream baked in a banana leaf with pimento and ginger, and rum-glazed pork belly with pickled raisins and cho cho.
Taylor’s menu also features a take on the traditional Jamaican bun and cheese, and there is also a coconut soft serve — this year’s dessert of the moment — with pineapple compote.
The chef said the name for the restaurant, meanwhile, is inspired by his great aunt, Myrtle, who lived in a house “filled with trinkets and keepsakes,” leaving one room immaculate and totally off limits unless guests were coming over.
“It is a dream come true to open a restaurant at such a prestigious address as The Langham,” said Taylor.
“The modern Caribbean menu we are serving at The Good Front Room brings something totally new to the world of five-star hotel dining in London.”
Drinks are lagers and IPAs, global wines, and cocktails prominent in Caribbean culture. Guests should expect plenty of rums, with Ron Zacapa and Wray & Nephew both involved.
And on the walls are pieces by the Nigerian-born, London-based artist Carolien Chinakew, who merges pop culture images with contemporary Afrofuturism.
Roux Jr. said: “With Five Star Kitchen,â¯we set out to find a hidden gem of a chef with an original vision to revolutionise five-star dining and to launch an exciting new restaurant at The Langham.
“Dom’s concept is personal, it’s what makes it unique, and after many months of planning and getting everything ready for the launch, I can’t wait for the first guests to try The Good Front Room.”
