Firestarter Daniel Watkins is extracting intense flavours from vegetables as well as creating treasure from trash discarded by his neighbours
Daniel Watkins loves waste. Not only does he find worthwhile uses for most of his own, he even makes it his business to turn byproducts from other local operators into new products.
The menu he has devised with Andrew Clarke at Acme Fire Cult, a collaboration with 40FT Brewery in Dalston, London, not only delivers on flavour thanks to the fire cooking the pair have mastered on the custom-made grill that takes centre stage on the restaurant's covered terrace, but also ensures absolutely nothing is wasted.
In fact, Watkins is so keen on waste that he's even taking it from nearby operators, where he sees an opportunity to turn their discards into income.
"From start to finish – from where it is sourced to the waste product, we give it all great thought," he explains. "In a moment I'm going next door where they're doing fresh orange juice, and I'm taking the waste from their oranges and making an ancho chilli caramelised orange marmalade for Christmas."
He also takes leftover dough from local bakery Dusty Knuckle and turns it into fermented bread, while their Parmesan rinds are frozen and barbecued before being made into a stock that feeds into his ‘marmite' butter – which is also made using yeast slurry from the 40FT brewery.
"I'm basically a food bin diver," he admits. "Once the Parmesan rinds are done they're good for eating as snacks. There's a great circle with it all."
If this all sounds very frugal, it is. But it's not to the detriment of flavour. The menu at the 110-cover restaurant (50 inside and 60 outside in the courtyard overlooking 40FT brewery) is packed with punchy veg-forward dishes, most of which have been elevated through skilful use of fire and smoke. The menu is split into snacks, smalls, large, limited and desserts, all of which are designed for sharing.
From the small plates coal roast leeks with pistachio romesco takes the lead in setting the elements for a series of dishes. The sweet charred leeks are paired with a pistachio and green pepper ‘romesco' sauce and a silky whip of tofu and lemon juice. "It's the closest you'll get to something creamy on a plant-based dish," Watkins says.
The trim from the leeks, which are cooked over the embers at the end of service to make the most of the fuel, is used in kimchi that is then served with buratta and bottarga.
"We're buying the best ingredients which we can offset by using the leek tops in our low-waste kimchi," Watkins adds. "It means we've bought produce for a dish that's already been sold, like the buratta. It evens things out. So we balance the menu, the cost and the flavour profile. It's a little circle."
One of the most popular dishes, and one which really turns up the taste on the humble squash, is fermented squash hummus served with flatbread from nearby Ararat Bread.
"The core to the dish is fermented garlic. I keep a lot of it as not only is the garlic delicious, but the juice keeps forever. It lends itself to most things too. We take barbecued squash, peel it (saving the peelings to make a molasses as a glaze for other dishes), blend it, and hang it with fermented garlic. Squash as a fermented product doesn't have a big window so we have to nail it. It's served with all of its friends: tahini and lots of olive oil."
From the large plates, trombetta courgettes with chickpeas and Vadouvan butter is one of Watkin's favourites. The courgettes are braised and finished over fire to caramelise for service, served with a chickpea purée and spiced butter.
"We cook a load of shallots slowly with spices, then add the butter blend," he says. "Then that is put over the grilled trombetta. They have a great texture."
Meat does feature too, with a Highland bavette served with some of Watkins' pickles and ancho butter as well as a Tamworth pork chop and Mojo Rogo, but it's the concentration of flavour in the treatment of vegetables that really captures attention and inspires both guests and chef.
"Since opening, it's been incredible," Watkins confirms. "You go to work and you're happy as it's that kind of environment. It's our rules and we're cooking great food in a great environment with great people. After spending so long in dungeons and conforming to what you feel you have to do in this industry, this is cool."
From the menu
- Ararat flatbread, Acme marmite butter, pecorino £5
- Hispi cabbage, pumpkin seed pistou £7
- Sprouting broccoli, burnt orange soubise, ancho oil £8
- Smoked potatoes, tahini mayo, seed rayu £8
- Aubergine steak, sourdough mole, hazelnut £17
- Mutton merguez ragu, lamb fat toast, pecorino £19
- Cauliflower ‘Aslam's butter' style, guindillas, pink onions, lentils £17
- Buttermilk pudding, gooseberries £8
- Hazelnut chocolate ganache, beer molasses, crème fraîche £8
The Bootyard, Abbot Street, London E8 3DP
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