We quiz Michael Facey, Head Chef at The Laughing Gravy, plus pinch a Halloween-inspired recipe!

The Laughing Gravy is a vibrant independently owned restaurant located in the heart of SE1, close to the Southbank, Tate Modern and Old and Young Vic theatres.

The menu features modern British cuisine with European influences. Head Chef Michael has worked at The Laughing Gravy since its inception. He has more than 20 years experience working in some of the top kitchens across the Capital.

Will you be out trick or treating this year and if so what is your costume of choice?!
I have two young children so I will definitely be taking them out and I have been known to put on a Dracula outfit for the occasion!

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Still with The Laughing Gravy - we hope over the coming years to expand to other sites and keep on producing top quality, interesting dishes.

What's your own favourite dish to eat and why?
That's a tough one. I enjoy food so much. As the seasons are changing at the moment, I am really warming to a nice stew with dumplings. The key is always the use of fresh and seasonal produce.

British-inspired cuisine is your speciality, but do you see yourself ever branching out significantly and trying something completely different?
I am always looking to other cuisines for inspiration and seeing how I can blend them and use their techniques to bring a new twist to some of our favourite British dishes. While most of what we do is British-inspired, we definitely draw on flavours from all over the world.

I think it is really imperative to learn from other cultures to keep on evolving as a chef and to stay ahead of the game.

Do you have any good celebrity gossip you can share from your time at your previous employers (The Pineapple, The Ivy) which are all well known celeb hang-outs?
I did often hear stories from the front of house team but I have always promised to stay the soul of discretion when it comes to these things so mum's the word I am afraid.

One celebrity diner demanded that we only served them Scottish Langoustine for their lunch on a bed of steamed organic kale. The kale wasn't such an issue, but langoustine were not even on our menu.

I can't say who it was but they had flown over from Hollywood for a meeting. I managed to beg one of my suppliers to send some over (although the diner in question wasn't particularly happy at having to wait).

The most significant impact on our food carbon footprint is that created by food waste. What do you do to minimise waste in the Laughing Gravy kitchen in order to minimise it's carbon footprint?
For a start we recycle all of our food waste. We source and forage locally, getting our herbs and many of our vegetable from a local inner-city garden scheme.

I also go out into the countryside where I live to find produce growing in the wild. We also work really hard to use every part of the produce that we are using - for example we will use the leaves of cabbage for our greens and the roots to infuse our cauliflower milk so very little goes to waste.

We are also in talks with our manager's brother who owns a farm so that we can do our own butchery on site and reduce waste even further. It is something that we are very passionate about.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions Michael, and even bigger thanks for sharing your amazing Halloween Pumpkin Pie recipe with us here :-)

THE LAUGHING GRAVY - TOFFEE AND PUMPKIN PIE

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
280g plain four
105g caster sugar
130g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
10ml full fat milk

For the filling:
450g pumpkin
10g butter
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/4tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of ground nutmeg
100g caramalised condensed milk
75g double cream
4 large eggs (yolks only) – whisked together
50g light brown muscovado sugar
Pinch of salt

To serve:
Crème Fraiche

FOR THE CANDIED PECANS
250g pecans
250g caster sugar
75ml water
10g Caster Sugar for dusting

Method

To make the pastry
1. Mix sugar, vanilla and butter in a blender until smooth and white in colour
2. Add the flour a tablespoon at a time, when the mix starts to come together pour the milk in slowly until it forms a ball and you have a dough like consistency
3. Flatten into a rectangle using your hands, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge to rest for 2-3 hours

For the filling
1. Mix all the spices together with the butter with a spoon until incorporated
2. Cut the pumpkin into wedges, leaving the skin on and smear the butter spice over the top in a roasting tin. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes (180 conventional oven/160 fan oven)
3. After 20 minutes remove the foil and check that the pumpkin is cooked to slightly firm. Then roast without the lid on for a further 10minutes, or until soft.
4. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool. Then scrap the flesh of the pumpkin into a food processor.
5. In a saucepan add the double cream and caramalised condensed milk and whisk continuously until nearly at the boil.
6. Pour the hot toffee mix onto the eggs slowly – whisking as you go.
7. Add the mix to the pumpkin along with the muscovado sugar and salt and blend until smooth and creamy.
8. Once the pastry has rested, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to the size of your tin and put into the tin. Put back into the fridge to rest for 20 minutes.
9. Remove the tin from the fridge, cover the base with parchment paper and bake blind with baking beans (rice will do the same job). Bake the pastry case in the oven for approx. 20mins (150 conventional oven/140 fan oven).
10. When the pastry is cooked it should feel biscuit like to the touch. If not then allow another 7minutes in the oven without the beans and parchment.
11. Once cooked, remove from the oven (the middle should feel dry) and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour in your pumpkin mixture and return to the oven for 18-20minutes (150 conventional oven/140 fan oven).
12. After 18-20 minutes check the pie – it should wobble like a stiff jelly – remove from the oven and allow to cool in it’s tin for 5 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely on a rack and move to the fridge to set.
13. Serve with maple syrup, crème fraiche and candied pecans.

FOR THE CANDIED PECANS

1. Boil together the water and sugar. When they become syrup like add the nuts.
2. Cook for 3 minutes and then empty onto parchment paper and dust with caster sugar
3. Bake in the oven on a flat tray for 10-15 minutes (160 conventional oven/150 fan oven)
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Bash with a rolling pin to crunch up and sprinkle on the crème fraiche to serve