Executive Chef Elliot Hill's Take on Seasonality

We take great pride in our curating of dishes for Arkle's menu. The design of the tasting menu allows us to create an experience of the highest quality. To do that we follow the seasons strictly. Holding ourselves to the discipline of seasonality allows us to change the guest experience dependent on time of year, place, availability, and of course quality.

With concentration on fresh produce, on the most part it is best to eat fruit and vegetables in particular as quickly as possible from field to fork. From taste to ethics, we need to look at food miles as a society and it has to start at the top. The idea of following the seasons is not a new thing, but imports and advancements in technology have made a lot of produce seemingly available all year round. However, if you eat a ripe strawberry shortly after being picked at the height of the British season and compare it to one that has been imported from far away, the British will taste far superior. That is the importance of seasonality and the essence of what we do in Arkle. 

Quite often in the kitchen the senior chefs and I are seen at our menu board where we discuss ideas, availability of ingredients and what we need to do to them to make them ‘sing.’ We could have a wonderful dish we’ve developed, but if it is not seasonal, or if it does not match the flow of the menu or enhance the experience of the restaurant, then it does not make it onto the menu.