Noble Rot #32

How can you not love a chef who says one of the reasons they gave up architecture was that they “didn’t like sitting in an office eating sandwiches and drinking coffee at a desk”? Talk about priorities. Because there’ll always be some Gaudí or other designing fabulous apartments, but nothing should stand in the way of a good lunch. Besides, it’s not as if Fergus Henderson – the chef in question, and also this issue’s special guest – hasn’t had a similarly outsized influence on food, restaurants and culture. Whether reintroducing ‘nose-to-tail eating’, influencing fashion, or training a generation of chefs who’ve since gone on to captain their own kitchens – thank goodness that al desko butties got the boot. On the cusp of his 60th birthday, Noble Rot profiles Henderson as you’ve never seen him before.