Antique refrigerators, Elizabeth David’s pestle and mortar, and the quirkiest objets d’art fascinate chef Mark Hix
Until last December, I’d always lived in Shoreditch in London. Moving to Bermondsey was my first foray south of the Thames. When I bought this place there were lots of new brick partitions and a giant jacuzzi in the middle of one of the rooms. I gutted it, opening it up into an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space. I took all the false walls back to bare brick, pulled up the cracked resin floor and replaced it with the floorboards and tiles you see here now.
The wooden piece of furniture behind me is a French fridge of sorts from the 19th century. My restaurant refrigeration guy found it in a flea market in Paris. The central compartment would originally have held a big block of ice, which would chill the rest of the cabinet ... now it’s my negroni cupboard. We’ve converted it into compartmentalised refrigeration with lots of cubby holes for, variously, glassware, spirits, dairy and condiments.
The central compartment of the French fridge would have held a big block of ice – now it’s my negroni cupboard
Continue reading...