She’s progressed from being a 15-year-old dishwasher in her native Northern Ireland to working under Gordon Ramsay to the opening of her triple Michelin-star restaurant, Core. Clare Smyth opens up about this most tasteful evolution of dining excellence and explains why simplicity is making a comeback.
The suggestion that being the most decorated female chef in the world is probably achievement enough is met with the sort of scornful look you’d expect of one of her rather more aggressive peers like Gordon Ramsay. Clare, who worked under the fiery Scot as chef patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay for four years from 2012, takes a wider view of food. “It’s not that I feel the kitchen and the industry is genderless – it’s clearly not,” she begins. “But rather than dwell on my own achievements, I’d prefer to kickstart potential in others. Surely that’s what cuisine is about – not just fulfilling people, but inspiring them too?”
The chef says that while skill, craft and originality in the kitchen have proven vital, research in the early days was a key factor: “I looked at all of the great chefs and decided who I wanted to emulate. I put my head down and worked really hard – putting myself in all the best positions to become the best chef that I could be.
“By the time I had my first interview as a chef I’d been reading up on the likes of Auguste Escoffier and Anton Mosimann – real leaders in their craft. I’d researched classical sauces, and could make veal stocks, glace de viande. I had memorised every herb and could reel them off in the sort of way my school friends were reciting pop lyrics.”
Clare also credits her inability to recognise the prospect of failure as being a major part of how she moved her progressive, non-confrontational brand forward so quickly.
“I never used to understand the idea that I might fall short or not achieve what I set out to. That level of ignorance is fantastic to have, but it does change over time! Gordon always taught me you need to stand behind everything you do and believe in it, otherwise you shouldn’t be there; and that’s very true. When people tell you there’s a problem, you must listen.”
Gordon Ramsay may be confrontational on TV, but Clare insists that he’s tremendously supportive, and fine manager of people.
“I understand many people obviously don’t get to see that, but the best quality Gordon has is his ability to inspire That positivity is where real culinary craft comes from – being brave!”
As for the future, Clare is hungry to move forward. Core, located in London’s swanky Notting Hill, has charmed a mixed crowd in offering up an elegant and informal dining experience with an emphasis on sustainable food, sourced from the UK’s most dedicated farmers and food producers.
“Core has given me the chance to take the simple ideas from my past projects,” she says – something that, no doubt, also helped it become the first new restaurant to score a perfect 10 in the decade-long history of The Good Food Guide. “The menu follows that trend of flavour, precision, and sustainability, where the elegance of the dining experience needs to reflect the food. Where special attention is paid to the balance of guests – from connoisseurs to casual diners, from locals to people travelling halfway across the world. We try to have the same appeal to everyone, and that sense of inclusivity is the future of food.”
