How delivery-only restaurant brands became a legacy of the pandemic.
Korean chicken wings have long been a favourite at Bone Daddies. Marinated in a mix of mirin, sake, ginger and salt, deep fried, smothered in a sticky gochujang sauce, and topped with sesame seeds, the signature side has been a staple of the ramen group’s menu since it launched back in 2012.
So popular is the dish, in fact, it appears on the menus across the Bone Daddies London estate, which also includes the two-strong Japanese izakaya concept Flesh & Buns, with restaurants in Covent Garden and Oxford Circus; and Shackfuyu in Soho, which is inspired by the Western-influenced Japanese yoshoku cooking style. In May last year – as the country found itself locked down for the first time – the group even released the recipe online, giving loyal customers the chance to recreate the wings at home.
The Christmas feast stands or falls on its roast potatoes. If the turkey is a bit dry, you can slosh extra gravy on, and soggy sprouts are the sort of thing generations bond over. But potatoes that are anything other than cracklingly crisp, hot and golden, are a dinner disaster.
Ashley Palmer-Watts well understands the power of the roastie. The chef worked for 20 years under Heston Blumenthal, launched his two-Michelin-star restaurant Dinner, in London, in 2011, and oversaw the kitchen at Blumenthalâs Michelin-starred Hindâs Head in Bray.
But Sundays are spent cooking lunch (nine times out of 10 a roast chicken), for his wife, Emma, and children, Max and Sophia â and Palmer-Watts will be at the stove on Christmas Day as well.