Renowned chef Adam Handling has revealed plans for his menus at the Belmond Cadogan Hotel, formerly The Cadogan, opening December 2018.
Adam Handling Chelsea, his restaurant in the hotel, will be a standalone dining room with its own entrance on 21 Pont Street. The menus, designed with destination diners, hotel guests, and locals in mind, will be larger than any at Handling ’s other venues and maintain his commitment to promoting the very best British produce. The dishes on offer will be true to Handling’s distinctive style, offering seeming simplicity yet packing bags of flavour.
Whilst the entire menu remains a secret for now, guests will be able to choose from an a la carte, lunch and dinner menu, as well as a tasting menu that will give a true interpretation of the cuisine Adam has become known for and feature some of his most-loved signature dishes.
Beyond the restaurant, Handling is also creating menus for the tea room, bar, and banqueting offerings. From breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, to bar snacks, he will be focusing on a sustainable approach to ‘Best of British’, taking inspiration from the building’s illustrious cultural history, in tandem with his existing emphasis on Modern British dining and sustainable, zero-waste ethos.
Handling commented, ‘It’s a very luxurious and intimate hotel that offers a unique British experience. I know whether guests are coming to stay or dine, they want to embrace the hotel’s history and that ties in perfectly with my cooking. I want to draw on the heritage of the building and reinterpret it in my own way.'
The Cadogan Tea Lounge will offer what Handling believes will be up there with some of London’s best afternoon teas – and is inspired by childhood memories of plentiful, delicious feeding at his grandmother’s house.
He said, “My Dad used to say, “kiddy on, you’re at your grandma’s,” to me and my brother and sisters, and we always knew that meant we were going to be fed dramatically. That’s the idea I had when I thought of afternoon tea – when you walk in, I want it to feel like there’s food in abundance so there will be cakes and chocolates and cookies everywhere. It’s that childhood feeling that most of us will remember, and that experience and sense of nostalgia I want to recreate.'
Every item in the afternoon tea will be individually made with intricate detail on a daily basis in the 24-hour, in-house bakery. Designed to create a memorable experience, the afternoon tea will be quintessentially British with a particularly luxurious touch.
For many people, a hotel breakfast is an intrinsic part of the hotel experience – for Handling, this means the breakfast offering is a huge priority, and will be something truly special. With that in mind, alongside a varied and decadent breakfast offering, guests will be presented with a box filled with freshly made croissants, pastries, bread, and crumpets as soon as they sit down at their table. Adam and the team are currently working hard to master the best croissant in London!
As well as the food offering throughout Belmond Cadogan Hotel, Handling will also be looking after the drinks, from the bar through to the wine lists and in-room minibars. The main bar will be an extension of the restaurant, serving classic cocktails using British ingredients with minimal fuss alongside a British cheese and charcuterie selection.
Doing away with standard, uninspiring minibar offerings, guests will find bottled classic cocktails exclusively made for Belmond Cadogan Hotel in all of the hotel’s rooms and suites. All of these individual bottles will be themed on British history, with each having its own bespoke artwork, and will be created at Adam’s bar lab in Hoxton.