“ It is heartwarming to see the support we have had ” Wine News

Many chefs and restaurateurs feared that a ‘new normal’ caused by Covid-19 and associated lockdowns could hurt Britons’ love for dining out.

But two chefs tell me on this week’s episode of the Biting Talk podcast that there is no sign of it; at least from their regular customers.

Steve Drake, head chef of Sorrel, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Surrey, reports that since it reopened in July, it’s “like Christmas every day; it’s been crazy, crazy, crazy months ”.

Likewise, the owner of 7 Saints in Notting Hill, London, James Gummer, says that while there can be a lot of unhappiness and sadness, “there have been some rays of light. I had wondered if would people change their ways and lose their urge to go out to dinner? ”“ But, ”he said,“ it’s heartwarming to see the support we’ve had.

Gummer also says that while there have been fewer tables, the demand is there and this is particularly evident for local restaurants. “I actually think the lockdown has strengthened the relationship between locals and neighborhood restaurants,” he says.

To hear the full interviews, listen to Biting Talk via the audio player above, which this week also includes a conversation with food writer Grace Dent discussing her moving new memoir, Hungry. Remy Martin’s Jack Charlton explains his mission: to dispel cognac’s reputation as an after-dinner sip for old tampons, and Biting Talk mixologist Farhad Heydari brews a sultry Fallen Leaves cocktail. Plus, you could win a small mountain of Belgian chocolate courtesy of Guylian …