From Heston Blumenthal’s sweet shop to the policeman turned pie-maker, here (in no particular order) are 50 of Observer Food Monthly’s favourite things
With rock god hair, skintight jeans and leopardskin boots, Michael O’Hare looks more like an extra from Spinal Tap than one of the UK’s hottest chefs, but appearances aren’t everything. O’Hare’s The Man Behind the Curtain, atop a flash Leeds clothing emporium is equally idiosyncratic, a graffiti’d gallery space masquerading as one-star Michelin dining destination: the superannuated tyre-pushers were unusually on the ball, recognising it as something special in its first year. But this is not so much refined posh tea as full-on sensory assault, with ingredient combos and presentation that may give even Ferran Adrià pause for thought (smoked mackerel parfait in a coffee-dusted bonbon served in a cup of coffee beans, anyone?). Yet it works – mostly – not least because O’Hare’s cooking is informed by an outrageously infectious wit. In 2015, he even took a step towards celeb chef status with a winning turn on the BBC’s Great British Menu with a dish of pork, salt-baked purple potatoes, frozen flowers and anchovies. He called it My Mother is Single and Looking for a Well-Dressed Man. BG
Top Floor, Flannels, 68-78 Vicar Lane, Leeds LS1 7JH
