The Galvins bring homegrown produce to The Athenaeum

Chef-restaurateur Chris Galvin on stepping up to the plate and putting native fare on the menu at Mayfair's family-owned five-star hotel

resized.jpg
Michelin-starred chefs Chris Galvin (right) and Jeff Galvin (left) 

British food has always had a bit of a bad reputation. Traditionally, we Brits ate to live whereas on the Continent, they live to eat. I wrote a dissertation on the history of our national fare for my degree and discovered that because we were always fighting off invaders, we had to produce food to feed our armies rather than to give ourselves pleasure. Jeff [Galvin's brother and fellow chef] and I did tons of research on native cooking before launching our first Galvin Hop pub and restaurant in Spitalfields, London, earlier this year so we were well primed for The Athenaeum.

I was always aware of the hotel – I did my apprenticeship at the Ritz on Piccadilly in the 1980s and then, in the early 1990s, moved to the newly opened Lanesborough, which is just down the road. It's not as big as other establishments in the area, but that's what I like about it. It's a family-run business and that means a lot to us. Family businesses really care about what they do and it shows. The collaboration has been good fun so far.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us