AIL talks to Mitch Tonks

Our annual Ultimate Restaurant Guide is almost here. This year Hawksmoor Air Street is a new entry on our definitive list of London’s top 100 restaurants. For their fourth establishment opened in 2012, the steakhouse group teamed up with chef Mitch Tonks to put together a menu that’s equally split between meat and fish.

After founding the the Fishworks chain, Tonks opened award-winning restaurants The Seahorse in Dartmouth and Rockfish Grill & Seafood Market in Bristol. Here we catch up with Britain’s best seafood chef.

What does Hawksmoor Air Street do that nowhere else does?
Obviously they specialise in steaks but they have a mixed seafood menu that I have sourced. It comes from the market every morning and it’s with them within 24 hours of being landed. It comes up by van and as soon as it comes off the market it’s delivered to the site. It’s very simply grilled over charcoal which nobody is really doing in London. It’s certainly the freshest fish in London.

How did you get involved with them?
I’ve known Will and Huw for a number of years, from when I had restaurants in London. They came down to my restaurant The Seahorse in Dartmouth and thought that what we were doing was akin to what they were doing. They are experts in steak but they knew very little about fish so they asked me to come on board.

Do you have any basic tips for preparing fish?
Keep it very simple, buy as fresh as you possibly can, and do as little as you can to it. A good piece of fish needs very little doing to it. Good olive oil, a few herbs, a bit of dressing, some salt. Think about the accompaniments, get adventurous with vegetables like asparagus and salads. Those sorts of things tossed in a nice dressing are always a great accompaniment to a piece of fish.

What countries do fish really well?
Spain and Italy are absolutely at the top, they’re the guys who do it really well. But I do believe we have the best fish in the world here in the UK, all along the south coast.

Who or what have you learnt the most from in your career?
I’m self-taught really, so I learnt everything the hard way, but I learnt most about food from going out and eating it, so when I want to make good risotto I go to Italy first and then I can translate that experience into cooking.

What’s the toughest job you’ve had?
Probably starting up my first restaurant. Getting to know and understand how a restaurant works, that’s pretty tough going. I was an accountant before I got into restaurants so I knew about the business side, but it’s working out how you arrange a dining room to serve people, how you design a kitchen, how you balance the daily chaos of a restaurant, the things that break down, the suppliers that arrive late, the guests that arrive early, the guests that cancel, the staff that phone in sick, all of that stuff.

Which is your signature dish?
One of the things I love to cook is spaghetti with seafood, it’s a dish that I love to eat when I’m in Italy. Done badly it’s awful, done well it’s a joy. It’s seafood with a lovely saffron-enriched tomato sauce, with mussels, clams, fresh prawns and squid, really wonderful.


For more info, visit: www.mitchtonks.co.uk


Keep your eyes peeled for our All In One Ultimate Restaurant Guide, coming soon.