Chef Q&A: Jacob Kenedy On Pro Pitt Cue, McDonald's and More

By Claire Coleman

Jacob Kenedy, chef-patron of Soho's Bocca di Lupo and the more recently opened ice cream joint Gelupo is the next in our series of interviews with London's culinary movers and shakers. It's all in honor of our current London survey (go vote here!).We discover the new cocktail that's rocking his world and hear his views on the world's biggest McDonald's opening up in London...

What has been your favourite opening of the last 12 months and why? If Russell hadn’t nominated Jeremy Lee at Quo Vadis already I’d say the same - one of the loveliest people, and one of my very favourite chefs, now on my very own doorstep - and quite a coup for the Brothers Hart! Aside from him, it has to be Pitt Cue Co. - even though it only opened about a week ago, and it is the last meal I have eaten out. Simple, cheap, honest, fun, unpretentious and delicious. What more could you ask for?

When was the last time you ate out at a restaurant that wasn't yours, and what did you think of it? Can you give it a Zagat score? It was, in fact, at Pitt Cue Co. We arrived just early enough to avoid the cue (sorry, couldn’t resist), and sat in immensely cramped surroundings. Service was casual, charming and attentive. A New York Sour (whiskey sour floated with red wine) was epiphanous and now my new favourite drink. Food was stonking value (£9-£9.50 for meat and side, £5 for an extra meat) and stonking cooking. Even desert knocked me for six - sticky toffee pudding by far the best I’ve ever had. Score: Food-26, Decor-17, Service-21.

What do you think is the best thing about the London restaurant scene at the moment? And the worst? The best thing is, and always has been the variety. The worst things are pretension, faddism and cost. Maybe cost is the overall worst thing - we restaurants charge what we have to charge to make a slim profit margin if things go well, but the lion’s share of your bill always goes to the government. Between VAT, duty, employer’s and employees’ NICs, business rates, PAYE and companies taxes, quite a shocking proportion of each pound you pay goes to the taxman. I think it should be cheap enough to eat out – and eat out well – most days of the week as you can in more civilised countries.

Which new opening of 2012 are you most excited about? The world’s biggest McDonald's for the Olympics. C'mon London, give me a break - we could do so much better than that! Now, Cinnamon Soho..that’s more like it...