The Baker family are no strangers to great food served in excellent locations, with their beachside bistro Le Braye firmly established they have now joined forces with their son, Joseph, to open the doors of No.10 Restaurant & Bar on Bond Street, St Helier.
Joseph has recently returned from many well-spent years working around the world in some excellent restaurants, the influences of which can be clearly felt at No.10. A combination of great relationships with local suppliers and visits to the local market fuel and inspire the interesting, highly seasonal menus. Thanks to a printer tucked handily away under the counter, dishes can be added or taken away as soon as the availability of produce dictates. We caught up with Joseph to find out a little more about him and what he recommends you try this month when you visit No.10.
If No.10 had an online dating profile, how would it describe itself to would be suitors? Pretty, feminine, sensual, with plenty of gusto.
Tell us a little more about the culinary journey that has brought you back to Jersey. It started young -perhaps embryonic- I always loved food. But in reality it involved stints in Australia, Spain and France alongside solid experience in London. But it’s by no means a conventional chefs’ route and a lot of it is self-taught through an obsession with food and understanding it. I also read English at Durham and did a finance masters in London, which I think all contributes to my broader interest in ‘good eating’ and what that means and what it can make a person feel, rather than a pure chef’s focus on the plate.
And what was the inspiration behind No.10? Really, myself, Annie and Jo wanted to create somewhere we would want to go to eat & drink, which means uncompromising quality but relaxed- like dinner at home maybe. More specifically I wanted to cook food that was both evocative and honest. For instance we went for clean interiors that are beautiful but also let things speak for themselves: that’s something we all believe in. Quality, whether it’s a plate of food or a nice fork, stands out, and doesn’t need to be cluttered.
What’s your favourite dish on the menu at No.10? At the moment it’s the Iberico pork ‘secreto’, a wonderful and unusual cut of meat from the best quality beast, paired with beautiful violet artichokes, peach and artichoke crisps that resemble Autumn leaves, I like that it looks unashamedly monochrome.
It’s my first visit to No.10, what would you recommend I try? Have the tuna carpaccio with watermelon, then a piece of local brill with brown shrimps and samphire, then a chocolate St Emilion. Drink one of Marian’s vodka Martinis (great with the almost metallic raw tuna), then a bottle of our young Montrachet- its gentle buttery quality is great with white fish.
What does seasonality mean to you? Eating things when they were supposed to be eaten and embracing that annual cycle.
Anything we should be looking out for coming in to the autumn months? Wild mushrooms, there is just nothing like the aroma and impact of a cep or truffle- a treat worth paying for.
Local produce features throughout the menu at No.10, do you have any ingredients you’d like to see produced here in Jersey? I recognise it’s super hard for growers/suppliers- it’s supply and demand of course- but to be able to get hold of more quintessential English beans, berries and herbs in the summer would be great. I want local broad beans, gooseberries, lovage etc. (please be in touch if anyone can help me?!).
Do you have a favourite restaurant outside of Jersey? Artusi in Peckham, London. Amazing honest Italian food with flair and no gimmicks.
What would you choose as your final meal if you were on death row? I fear I would break bread with a holy man for the first time.
Sweet or savoury? Savoury.
Marmite, do you love it or hate it? Hate it.
