Behind the scenes at Sparrow restaurant
Former lawyer Yohini Nandakumar and then head pastry chef Terry Blake met in the kitchen of London’s St John.
Their relationship took a romantic turn, and before long Terry and Yohini opened their first supper club.
From there they took the leap and opened Sparrow, in South London. Take a long look at the back-of-house activity of this fledgling restaurant, in photos taken by Mike English.
A blackboard is propped against the wall, on top of the radiator. Specials have been written and erased and written again – they’ve been at this for a while.
Terry chops parsley and chilli to add flavour and kick to the crab linguine. Fresh, light and flavoursome – it’s a crowd favourite.
The finishing flavours of parsley and lemon zest have been added to the crab linguine. A momentary stop before it’s served into bowls and devoured by waiting customers.
Yohini deep in concentration as she ever-so carefully slices lotus root.
Green with envy, the envy of those not eating this risotto. It’s topped with a dollop of gooey goat’s cheese, hazelnut pesto and a drizzle of olive oil – a dreamy dish.
Yohini deep in concentration as she ever-so carefully slices lotus root. This will then be fried and placed on top of the comforting massaman curry.
A cleared table, a lone napkin and a blue business card. Another day at the office done.
Yohini places a bowl of rich, fragrant massaman beef curry on a woven tablecloth. A smaller bowl of rice is served alongside. The blue table runner offers a nice contrast against the otherwise neutral colours.
Light, creamy and wobbly, the pannacotta is carefully turned over into a dainty eggshell-blue bowl.