FERGUS & MARGOT HENDERSON
ALCHEMIST | Chefs
The chefs have helped transform London into a culinary destination by turning overlooked ingredients (turnips and gizzards, anyone?) into modern meals at St. John and Rochelle Canteen.
WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR? Fergus Henderson: My passion for food, a healthy appetite, and cowboys. I wore a gun holster for quite a few years. Margot Henderson: Gymnastics, high jumping, general hyper energy, and my signature dish— snails cooked with garlic, parsley, and bread crumbs. At 10 I thought it was the coolest dish.
WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE? Fergus: My thoughts turn to the greatest food film ever, La Grande Bouffe, the first meal in the film being a heavy-set roasting tray full of roast marrow bones. This is the first eating, together. Marcello Mastroianni and Philippe Noiret and their companions go around sucking on the bones, and they’re still looking bonny! Not the liverish, bloated gentleman they become on their fatal culinary adventure. That was a “do you see the light” kind of moment for me, a matter of weeks before St. John opened. I went to see this film and it became our signature dish!
“My passion for food, a healthy appetite, and cowboys.I wore a gun holster for quite a few years.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE? Fergus: [My books] The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating and Beyond Nose to Tail are my proudest moments. I love the way that chefs and folks at home have both enjoyed these books. And St. John. It’s my life’s work.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SURPRISED YOURSELF IN YOUR PRACTICE? Margot: Recently cooking in South Africa at the beautiful Twee Jonge Gezellen estate where they make beautifully crafted wines. It was a three-day gig and thankfully I was joined by Rose Chalalai Singh, Hector Henderson, and Fergus at the helm. It was a little nerve-racking cooking in uncharted lands, but it all came together—not only the produce, but also the most beautiful sea bass from Mauritius that Hector made into a dreamy platter. We were a team, and there was a beautiful gelling. A real joy when that happens. Maybe the beautiful wines helped as well.
in your life?
