Since winning Masterchef: The Professionals back in 2018, local food legend Laurence Henry has been blessing us with his culinary talent. With lockdown start-up Snobby Burger in full swing, and a secret new restaurant just around the corner, we find out more about the journey that brought him here and what’s in store for the road ahead...
What have you been up to since winning Masterchef in 2018? How did it change your career?
It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind really. I started off getting some really cool opportunities to go and cook in cool places for cool people. I’ve done a lot of private events and catering events, and I recently started The Snobby Burger with my friend Johnny Pusztai as a little lockdown project. But the main goal since winning has been to open my own restaurant. We were making some headway with that before COVID and then the plans had to get scrapped, unfortunately - but luckily the restaurant will be opening at the beginning of next year. It’s all been a really interesting journey.
Tell us more about The Snobby Burger...
It was born out of necessity during lockdown when we had no work on. I’ve always loved a takeaway burger so I spoke to Johnny who had a spare kitchen lying empty in what was formerly his bistro, so we saw the opportunity to do something. We get all our meat from within five or six miles from farms that Johnny uses. The butchers prepare it all and then my chefs and I make everything from scratch, from the bread to the cheese and sauces. It’s a different take on a takeaway burger - more of a restaurant style. They’re naughty burgers, but if you’re going to have a burger you might as well do it properly! It’s been a fun little lockdown project that we’re trying to keep going and build into a brand.
What more can you tell us about your shop that’s opening next year?
It’s going to be in Nottingham but I can’t tell you where it is yet - hopefully I can reveal it soon. It’s been the best part of two years trying to keep it a massive secret which is a tough task! It’s going to be a brand new build which is amazing. We’ve done everything from scratch, from looking at the building to designing all my own kitchens and planning the restaurant with the interior designers. It’s all been a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to just get open and get cooking.
I’ve always wanted to have my own restaurant in Nottingham. It’s been a goal since I was a little kid
You’ve decided to stick to your roots here in Notts. What does living and working in the city mean to you?
I love it here. It’s my home and it’s where my family and friends are. I worked in London for seven or eight years, I’ve worked abroad, but you can’t quite beat the feeling of coming home, building something within my own city and just continuing to put Nottingham on the map. I was inundated with offers to open restaurants here, there and everywhere - mainly down south around London - but I’ve always wanted to have my own restaurant in Nottingham. It’s been a goal since I was a little kid.
How do you feel about the lifting of restrictions and what it means for restaurants?
It’s been fantastic to see friends and colleagues and everyone back doing what they do. It’s been a weird year or so for hospitality. This is an industry where we don’t usually get a lot of time to ourselves but we’ve spent a lot of time at home. I know for a lot of my mates it’s been a massive adjustment and returning to work has actually been a godsend.
What challenges are facing the food industry at the moment?
Provided we don’t go into another lockdown we shouldn’t face too many problems. Hopefully the worst is done and we can just get on with it now. Since ‘freedom day’ a lot of restaurants, particularly high-end restaurants, are continuing with precautionary measures like asking people to wear masks. The biggest issue now is actually to do with staffing - not necessarily just with isolations but I think a lot of people went to different industries out of necessity and just haven’t come back to hospitality after lockdown.
They’re naughty burgers, but if you’re going to have a burger you might as well do it properly!
Do you think the pandemic has changed our approach to food?
I think the ‘do it yourself’ at home meals have probably been the biggest realisation throughout lockdown. I think the idea that you don’t have to go out to enjoy great food and you can just do it yourself with help from chefs is a completely new sector of hospitality that’s going to stick around for a long time. It’s actually saved a lot of chefs throughout the last year. Before opening the takeaway we started a little business using our industry contacts who’d lost all of their restaurant business, helping them to get food out to people at home who couldn’t get to the shops. We were delivering veg boxes and stuff like that which was really nice. But it was also great to see people utilising their local butchers, greengrocers and farm shops as opposed to supermarkets - hopefully that will stick around.
Any advice for budding chefs?
I’d say just do it. It’s a great industry to work in and you meet lots of amazing people. My advice would be to get yourself into a really high standard kitchen at an early age. It will be tough but it’s a better way to do it than working your way up. Jumping in at the deep end is always a good thing to do with this kind of career. My first job was in one of Ramsay’s kitchens. It was a baptism of fire but if I hadn’t done it then I might not be where I am at the moment. It gave me all the necessary skills to just crack on and learn very quickly. As for opening a restaurant, I’m still going through that process myself so I’m probably not in a position to offer advice on that until I’ve done it. Ask me again in a year’s time!
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