Head chef at Parisian bistro, Blanchette, Tam Storrar’s enthusiasm for cooking began at a young age.
Having been brought up in a family passionate about cookery, Tam went onto study Hospitality and Catering Management as well as Professional Cookery, Pastry and Confectionary before taking on a number of roles which led him to a position at the restaurant Bibendum.
You grew up in a family passionate about food – foraging with your father, making chutney with your mother – do you think this homegrown nature has had an influence in the recipes you develop as head chef at blanchette?
Growing up around food of course has had an influence on me, my mum grew a lot of her own veg, and my dad made all manner of pickles, chutneys, jams and wine foraged from the local countryside, this has made me very keen on the more retro side of cooking. At Blanchette we use a lot of classical methods, it’s not uncommon to see books by Elisabeth David or Constance Spry being used.
Has food always been a family affair for you?
Food has always been important in my family. I don’t want to give the impression of my life being a fairy tale, my mum and dad split up early in my life so while my mum was growing veg in a council house in Worcestershire my dad’s foraging was in Surrey, I think it’s important that even without much money my parents grew and cooked healthy food.
When developing a new dish, where do you gather your inspiration from?
I gather influence from mixing classical dishes with a touch of modern – you can’t go too heavy working in Soho, the generally younger crowd won’t go for it and so we need to make the dishes have an element of fun.
You have extensive studies in the food industry, do you think these qualifications are important for budding chefs to get to the top of their game or would you say it’s more about the passion to create really good food?
I think training is important, not necessarily essential but doing for example NVQ level 3 in professional cookery gives a good standard knowledge across the board. If I take an untrained chef he will gain good knowledge in French cooking but will miss a lot of other cuisines which would not be the case if they went to college, to be honest the management course I did was too distant from the time I actually needed it and so I had to relearn most of the things.
What are the key things that make a top-notch restaurant?
The biggest task is maintaining consistency
How would you describe Blanchette? What makes it different from other French bistro’s in the city?
I think what separates us is a higher level of complexity in some of the dishes than you would get at other Bistros and Tapas style restaurants, and of course that we are serving smaller sharing plates but just French food.
What’s your favourite food? Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Out of work I love chillies, Asian food, at home I use a lot of pulses and grains like wild rice, quinoa and lentils.
Working in a restaurant entails a very busy, hectic lifestyle – what to do you do to unwind?
To unwind I like Gin and Gym but not at the same time.
Do you have any time-saving tips you can share for our busy mum readers?
When cooking at home I try to keep to one pot dishes, or healthy filling salads. Try cooking or even buying some pre-cooked pulses, stick them in a big bowl and then I just mix through lots of different veg like fresh tomatoes, blanched broccoli, some grilled meat or fish, some French or Asian dressing, maybe some nuts or seeds and you’ve a big nutritious meal in no time and what you don’t use can go in the fridge for another time.
Can you share some of your favourite places in London to eat and drink?
A great place to eat at the moment in London is The Manor in Clapham, Salt Yard Group (there are some really great drinks now at Ember Yard for example – home-made tonic water, smoked Campari and so on. I’m always a fan of St. Johns, Bentleys, The Palmerston in Dulwich, and when I’m too lazy to cook at home I head down the road to “Le Coq”.
Any tips for those wanting to try out cooking French food in the home?
Don’t bother just come to Blanchette! But start with something simple – a nice braised lamb or beef, something fresh and summery from the South? See if you can find French Provincial cooking by Elisabeth David, or anything by Simon Hopkinson, Anthony Bourdan these are nice and simple without getting too cheffy – you won’t need to write off a whole day or hire a kitchen porter.
What’s next for you? Do you have any exciting projects you can share with us in the pipeline?
Something’s exciting in the pipeline, I cant say anymore you’ll just have to wait and see.
Are there any chefs in particular whom you admire?
When I was very young I loved Keith Floyd as he always looked like he was having such a great time. At age 10 I didn’t realise he was hammered but he’s one of the reasons I started cooking. When I first started cooking professionally my two favourites were Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White. Nowadays you’ve got to respect the empire Jason Atherton is building.
In a few sentences, can you tell our readers what an average day is like?
My average day consists of keeping an eye on the team, they are mostly quite young so they need plenty of training but they are all great, and then of course making and developing new dishes. And then these days there’s a good few hours to be spent on the computer, with costings, HACCAP, P&L etc. etc. (All the fun stuff )
As a chef you spend hours in the kitchen, do you still get pleasure cooking at home or would you prefer to go out to dinner?
I do cook at home, I generally keep it simple, but cooking at home for my girlfriend or some friends with a few glasses of wine and I’m happy. Keith would be proud !
Do you have a motto in life?
I don’t really have a motto in life, I try to have some balance. I eat what I want when I’m going out, but try to keep it healthy at home, get some time in the gym and on my bicycle to help balance the late nights. As for all things in moderation, I‘ve tried moderation and wasn’t that impressed with it. Happy cooking!