Roast Chicken and a Story
Lucy Ellwood photo Matthew Donaldson
Lucy Ellwood, continues the series of newsletters from the chefs in The River Cafe. Graduating with an Honours Degree from Durham University she has pursued a career as a chef, working at Brawn for two years and then joining us in 2020. She has chosen as her recipe Spatchcocked chicken, with a 'dollop' of aioli—and a glass of white wine—all available in Shop The River Cafe.
Spatchcocked Free Range Chicken
'A good cook can produce a good dish from any old scrawnbag of a chook’—one of my favourite quotes from one or my favourite cookbooks, Roast Chicken & Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson.
A roast chicken is one of the first dishes I ever wanted to learn to cook, long before I became a chef, and I’ve cooked it for many wonderful people in my life just as my mum used to cook it for me as a child. There are so many ways to prepare and serve a chicken. It’s beautiful simplicity—cooked to perfection—for me, is what cooking is all about.
The smell of a chicken cooking and the sight of it at the table will always bring a smile to my face, and it will be guaranteed to do the same to those you are cooking for. At this time of year, a fresh herby spatchcocked chicken, a dollop of aioli and a crisp glass of white wine, shared with people I love, is one of life’s great pleasures.
River Cafe Aioli Made with River Cafe Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
'Friends of the River Cafe' Case of Wine
The producers of these wines are not just friends of The River Cafe, they are family: Massolino, Isole e Olena, Sperino, Capezzana, Pieropan—included in this selection are some of our favourites.
We are sure they will become yours too.
Photography by Matthew Donaldson
Visit Shop The River Cafe to place your order.
