Bread and dripping isn’t something you’d expect to see on the menu of a Michelin-starred restaurant, but Tom Sellers isn’t one to follow the crowd.
The chef behind London eatery Story creates his menu largely from instinct, ignoring passing culinary trends around him.
“Being over-influenced is really easy, so I actually try to shut myself off from what other people are doing,” he says.
“At Story, our focus for the first two years was really ‘who are we as a restaurant?’”
In the latest episode of ‘The Chefs’ Chefs’, HuffPost UK’s original video series, Sellers welcomes fellow chef Michael O’Hare into his kitchen to discuss creating award-winning cuisine that appeals to a new generation of foodies.
According to Sellers, Michelin-starred restaurants are no longer reserved for the rich and famous, with ever-growing younger crowds descending on his restaurant for special occasions.
“If you look back 10 years ago, people that went to Michelin star restaurants...it was a society thing. Now that’s changed,” he says.
“Younger people are engaging with food. I wanted people to come in here and go ‘yeah it’s not pompous, I don’t feel uncomfortable in this restaurant’.”
Sellers’ signature dish of bread and dripping is inspired by his father’s love of mopping up the leftovers after a Sunday roast.
“I’ve always said the two biggest things that influence your life are the two things you can’t choose: who brought you up and where you’re brought up,” Sellers says.
The starter consists of beef dripping rendered into a candle, served with fresh bread and relishes. It couldn’t be further from pretentious.
“Food is so subjective, it’s like buying a car,” says Sellers. “Some people want a Ferrari, some people are happy with a Volvo. It doesn’t mean that either are a bad car, they’re just very different.”