Anna Tobias joins us at Café Deco with a rollicking origin story: letters to Jeremy Lee straight out of Oxford, a crash-course at Blueprint Café (including emergency ice-cream runs mid-service), and the Garden Museum saga that sparked an industry-wide outpouring of support. From Hong Kong lettuce-wrap memories to Lower Saxony kale festivals, Anna’s food map is as eclectic as her menu—anchored by that now-iconic egg mayonnaise (halved, dolloped, criss-crossed with anchovy) that made the New York Times list of must-eat London dishes.
We get under the hood of Café Deco’s quietly fanatical seasonal rhythm—veg first, always—then the “wet meat/dry meat” dance, beany stews that show off the market, and why the late-summer-into-autumn handover is peak cooking season. Anna talks River Café discipline, becoming head chef at Rochelle under Margot Henderson’s watchful, open mind, and the P. Franco stint that sharpened her own voice. She’s candid on staying relevant once the new-opening glow fades, the realities of PR, and why trends (hi, crudo) can flatten a city’s food culture.
There are stories galore: floods as true kitchen nightmares, the one thing that makes a customer instantly “worst,” and the trust Café Deco builds with regulars who come for comfort done properly. We finish with travel and nostalgia—Madrid’s surprise-hit cod tripe rice, and the all-time Hall of Fame dish: her mum’s broth with semolina dumplings—before Anna cues up our outro with Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” If you care about London cooking with backbone, this one’s essential listening.
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