LB
Aug 30, 2023
By Mallory Legg
The first page of the Thomas Straker Google search is a compendium of gossip and controversy headlines. Tatler, The Tab, Daily Mail; they’re all talking about him and asking the question: who is he? Well, I’ve been following Thomas Straker on social media since around 2021, when he first started gaining traction. I liked his recipes and seemingly attractive lifestyle; plus, everyone must admit he's a heartthrob.
I’ll gossip about Thomas Straker in this article, but briefly, as many other magazines and editorials have already handled the job gloriously. I am more interested in the appeal of the young chef along with his exploits, his successes, and his food. I'm mainly wondering: is it the products and plates that he is producing that are so noteworthy? Or is it the name?
Photo: RCW Literary Agency
What I remember about Thomas Straker in the early days of his famed career was that he was an attractive guy who was decent at cooking. Not everyone initially sees that if they are a new member of the Thomas Straker bandwagon. Surrounded by controversies of affairs with Greek royal princess Maria-Olympia and Sophie Turner, plus the consequential boot from his then-wife's house, it’s not been an easy start for the chef's reputation as he fell from grace and earned the ‘party boy’ title. But it’s deserved; the chef has a penchant for nightlife and has said himself that it was that sort of crowd that pushed him toward a chef’s life anyway. He stated on a podcast that his military career didn’t work out because he ‘preferred playing sport, causing trouble, chasing women, and smoking cigarettes’.
His tabloid coverage is, after all, gossip, and who knows the real stories behind Straker's personal life. But if anyone were to open Kitchen Confidential, all this gossip could be boiled down to the fact that Straker is a Bourdanian chef: party all you want so long as you wake up to clock in. The controversy that struck me as truly troublesome, though, was a post that Straker put up of his staff for his young restaurant: all male, all white. I’m not entirely sure how Straker didn’t see this backlash coming judging from all the young and diverse talent that London has to offer on the culinary scape. Considering that occurrence, I hope he proves himself with a much-needed adjustment.
Photo: YouTube
If you weren’t aware of the above controversies that have earned Straker so much coverage, you’d see a pretty ambitious Chef with an incredibly stacked resume. Starting at 25, he was a head chef at Notting Hills exclusive Casa Cruz, leading 50 chefs below him. You have to know that he has talent, drive, and organisation, or he wouldn’t have lasted a week. In lockdown, while working as a private chef for a NYC billionaire, Straker began to make TikToks. From there he took off, and three years later, he is essentially a chef and business owner, having founded his restaurant, Straker’s; a smaller flagship, Flat Bread; a butter brand, All Things Butter; a knife line, Straker Knives; and most notably, a booming social media platform which racks millions of views every other post.
It seems that nearly every week Straker, as a creator, comes up with a new idea with a fantastic hook. In natural lighting, he is recording videos of home-cooked meals suitable for nearly anyone. Most notably, his series ‘All Things Butter’ (the series which precipitated the launch of his butter brand) sent him a new wave of followers looking to either drool over or attempt the recipes that he was sharing. Most recently, he’s been conducting a series called ‘Eat the Seasons’ which falls well in line with his ethos of seasonal, produce-driven, recipes performed with simple technique that does the job of not scaring followers away, but encouraging them. You’ve got to hand it to him; he’s got the business side of things under control. But I’m now interested in the food; is it the face and the name that keep people booking tables at Straker’s, or is this place seriously one of the best London has on offer?
Photo: The Times
The first stop is the website. It’s refined with pictures of the interiors of the joint: also refined with a more inclusive feel as the seating plan is intimate and familiar. Pictures of Straker and his name are plastered here and there, but you can't blame that. Then, the location, Golborne Road. I lived near Golborne Road for a few months; for the young crowd looking for interesting date spots, drinking spots, or food and music scenes, this is it. Straker couldn’t have set himself up better than in this location.
Now, the menu. What I do appreciate about Straker is that no matter how much chaos and fun surrounds his name, his food is simple and honest; uncomplicated in a technical way. It means that if the straightforward elements of each dish aren't hitting the mark, it would be incredibly obvious. Cornish Cod, Grilled Mallard, Crab Tagliolini; if sourced or prepared lazily, are deal breakers. But Straker flourishes, and I would order these courses off the menu. In fact, the flatbreads he serves, often with seasonal components, are so revered that he has completed the Arcade Battersea lineup with a small flagship and six specialty Flat Breads, one of which being confit duck leg and pickled onion (yum).
Photo: The FT
It is honestly safe to say that, though his restaurant may have opened its doors to lines around the block because of Thomas Straker's reputation, the doors have stayed open because he and his team are serving top-notch food in a city full of celebrity chefs who provide serious competition for the up-and-coming. His first flagship fits in well with The Cow (which you can read more about here) and, shockingly, is not smothered at all by its neighbour's glory. His consistent recipe sharing on his social medias of specials and menu items at the restaurant and behind-the-scenes looks at what goes into making them makes me trust his process even more. We see the quality, we see the mastery. He’s a smart guy for capitalizing on his media coverage, but he’s an even better chef.