GASTRO NEIL RANKIN
W
ith Low and Slow, Neil Rankin has redefined the way we look at, think about and cook our meat. Published by Ebury Press, the chef’s debut cookbook is far more than just your average collection of recipes. While there are plenty of mouth-watering dishes to choose from (over 100), it’s also, as the subtitle suggests, a definitive guide on ‘how to cook meat’, rather than ‘what meat to cook’. “It’s very much the way I’ve been cooking meat for quite a while,” says Neil. “What I wanted to do was a bit more of an instructional book on how to cook certain cuts. It’s not necessarily recipes, but more the reasons why we do things, and cooking not necessarily for convenience, but cooking perfectly.” Spanning the best part of 300 pages, the hefty tome helps the more carnivorous cook perfect steaks, roasts and barbecue by way of Neil’s ultimate party trick: turning the temperature down, cooking slowly and getting the best results without stress. It might be more time-consuming, but the results are well worth the wait, accompanied by a selection of salads and sides to complete each meal. “I wanted it to be very much for home cooks, so it’s for everybody, but a lot of the recipes will take quite a while – it’s not a convenience thing,” Neil continues. “It’s come from cooking in so many meat restaurants over the years. I don’t really see that restaurants and homes are that different; we use different equipment, but the same ideas and timings are there, and we’re doing the same thing.” Of course, this isn’t Neil’s first foray into mastering meat in the kitchen; far from it, in fact, even if he did come into the game a little later than most. Born in Edinburgh, he later studied physics at Salford University, before working as a sound engineer and opening up a chain of sandwich bars. But things only got serious when, at the age of 29, he retrained as a chef at a Cordon Bleu culinary school. Since then, he’s had a hand in numerous culinary ventures across London with critical acclaim. He opened Barbecoa,
behind St Paul’s Cathedral, with Jamie Oliver and barbecue and grilling expert Andrew Perry Lang; was head chef of Pitt Cue Co in Devonshire Square; and launched John Salt in Islington as a fusion barbecue restaurant. In addition, he spearheaded Smokehouse, also in Islington, in 2013 – the only barbecue joint in the UK to boast two AA rosettes and be featured in the Good Food Guide – pioneered Bad Egg Diner in Moorgate in 2014, and orchestrated a second Smokehouse in Chiswick in 2015. He’s certainly come a long way, becoming one of the capital’s most exciting, prolific and innovative restaurateurs. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, and had an opportunity for a career change, so just decided to take it,” he explains. “Andrew Perry Lang really got me into barbecue, taught me a lot and took me under his wing. I’ve picked up a lot from other chefs, but the way I cook is taken from him. He’s been a really big inspiration.” Covered in tattoos and invariably sporting his trademark baseball cap, Neil takes something of a guerrilla approach to his profession. He doesn’t even have a website – just a Twitter and Instagram account, with the handle @frontlinechef – and is also part of the London Union movement, which transforms the city’s underused, derelict corners by turning them into vibrant street food markets. “It’s been a learning curve of trying new food,” he reveals. “Doing Pitt Cue initially was just trying to get out of the whole American barbecue thing and start doing something a bit different. That elevated at John Salt, where I had free rein to do whatever I wanted. Smokehouse was a pub menu that changed a little bit, but in general I don’t tend to have a style – I just pinch stuff from everywhere!” For his equally fruitful media career, Neil has cooked on BBC Two’s Great British Menu and been a guest chef on ITV’s This Morning, as well as writing for The Guardian’s ‘Word of Mouth’ blog. But it’s at the stove in his restaurants where he feels truly at home, making the most of the best meat he can get his hands on
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