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Pastry cylinder of south coast crab, Granny Smith and sorrel


Chamomile parfait, poached rhubarb, marigold ice


Turnip ‘linguini’ with Brighton salami, raw turnip, glazed spider crab, fermented turnip emulsion


Fig leaf set cream, fermented cherry, meringue


he changes his menus on a weekly basis to keep them “super seasonal”, either creating a new dish or evolving existing dishes to incor- porate ingredients as they come into season. “We’ve been using whole grocers Shrub Provisions in Brighton, which has an amaz- ing array of local farmers and growers and it sources some absolutely amazing stuff. We’re in contact with them a lot and they tell us what’s coming in and what’s great.” With autumn in full swing, Stephens is


using game as the main protein in a num- ber of dishes, including a complex prepara- tion of partridge. The breasts are cooked on the crown and then glazed in a homemade ‘Marmite’ made from the reduced liquid pro- duced from fermenting waste bread. Salsify is poached and crumbed with a “dry bread sauce mix”, spiced with cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns and onion powder and fried in rendered par- tridge fat. It’s also served as a caramelised purée that’s topped with freshly sliced truffle from the South Downs. The dish is finished with a Scarvita red cab- bage purée spiced with cloves, juniper, fennel


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Orkney scallop, Curing Rebels coppa, cucumber, melon, ham fat dashi


From the menu


●Orkney Scallop, beetroot, smoked roe, ham broth ●South Coast monkfish, patty pan, dumpling, cheek fritter, prawn head


hollandaise ●Fox Acres chicken, barbecue lettuce,


Culver corn, cep, caramelised whey ●Quinton’s lamb, girolles, kale, yogurt ●Plum, sake, Earl Grey ●Apple and celeriac tatin, sorrel, cobnut ●Sussex Tenor chocolate, crème fraîche, smoked rapeseed oil, barley miso


seeds, star anise and allspice berries and a car- amelised cream, partridge stock, cep mush- room, Sarawak pepper and truffle sauce. The legs are confited and crumbed in the same way as the salsify and then deep-fried and served on a separate plate with an emulsified celeriac leaf oil. It’s a dish that typifies Stephens’s detailed and sophisticated approach to cooking.


Tom Stephens


“It’s super simple to look at but there’s a lot of work that goes into it. It's all about just getting the best flavour out of the ingredients.” Stephens has just introduced a six course


‘Festive Menu’ (£65) that includes Sussex tur- key with bacon, apricot and sage and a confit leg and potato terrine. He’s also putting the finishing touches to a private dining room that will add a further 12 covers, but says his main concern is to build on what he has achieved. “We’ve got a great basis to expand on in


terms of really pushing the food and build- ing awareness. Next year we’re going to look at acquiring a bit of land where we can start growing a lot more of our own produce, which will be really key to upping the food level. “Obviously the Michelin Guide thing is


great and to get more recognition from them one day would be amazing, but who knows how these things work. It’s a mysterious realm at Michelin.”


44 Marine Parade, Kemptown, Brighton BN2 1PE www.dilsk.co.uk


10 November 2023 | The Caterer | 35


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