For my last supper, nostalgic comfort food would be a priority. So I’d pick something that reminded me of my childhood.
It would be three courses: a mixed green salad with avocado, lovage, spring onions, lemon and mint, followed by shepherd’s pie with hispi cabbage and carrots. I have less and less room for dessert as I get older, but I always like traditional British puddings and the like, so I’d finish things off with profiteroles.
Shepherd’s pie was a staple dish growing up. Both my grandmother and my mum made it for me and my brother when we were kids. Unfortunately, nowadays I don’t get to eat it as often as I would like.
Given that I live and work in the middle of London, eating in a garden in the summer always feels like a real luxury, so anywhere in the countryside, early evening, with a nice view would be just fine as a location.
Would I make it? No. In all seriousness, the only home cooking I get these days is Christmas dinner. So I’d ask my head chef, Ross Gibbens, to cook it, though I would feel bad asking him to work on a precious day off.
It is a simple prerequisite that every ingredient is the best available. I’m obviously massively exigent when it comes to sourcing ingredients, but I find that chefs talking endlessly about provenance can become rather tiresome.
I’d have my business partner, Oskar, knocking up cocktails throughout: Aviations, Old Fashioneds, and a few of his creations. Some posh wine too. I find big wine lists quite tedious, so Charles Pashby-Taylor, the Dabbous sommelier, could pick me something. He knows my tastes. There’s nothing more hedonistic than throwing up really expensive wine!
The best times are always the most organic. I’d share it with friends and family, of course, but I have a “more the merrier” attitude. If this is my last meal, go out with a bang, eh? I’d bring along the night-time playlist from Dabbous. It’s eclectic, uptempo and conducive to a fun night out.
Green salad with lemon, mint, lovage & spring onions
Serves 2
Two handfuls mixed salad leaves, including frisee, watercress and mustard leaf
2 avocados, sliced
¼ bunch of mint, picked
¼ bunch lovage, cut into needles
¼ bunch chives, finely chopped
8 spring onions, thinly sliced on the angle
1 lemon
For the lemon dressing
30ml lemon juice
2 tbsp chardonnay vinegar
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
120ml extra virgin olive oil – fruity, not peppery
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
- Mix everything together with enough lemon dressing to lightly coat and grate over the lemon zest just before serving.
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