It's the night of the Supper Club menu, and the room is buzzing at the launch of the latest opening of the Three Darlings, Jason Atherton. Among the guests, the restaurant is named after: the actual dear person named Atherton's daughter. His two youngest, five and 13, were sitting on the table closest to the open kitchen pass with his wife Irha, who was at the show. Instead of spending a lot of nights on three babies, he alternated his time between 5 o'clock in the other restaurants (5 o'clock), but the British chef was always in the kitchen somewhere.
“I really don't know much,” Atherton told Observer that it was an optimistic, happy experience, as much as food, a few days after I had my meal at my three darlings. He shrugged. “The chef I was born [and] I'll die a chef. This is part of my favorite business. ”
He added: “Of course, I like to grow the business, I like to watch new projects come to life and create new concepts. But in the end, I like to cook. People call me a chef a restaurant, but I prefer to be called a chef and a restaurateur because the restaurateur is not involved in the kitchen than in the service.
Originally from Sheffield, England, Atherton has worked with chefs like Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay for decades. He opened Ramsay’s affluent restaurant maze in 2005, but left in 2010 to start his own hotel business. Pollen Street Social made its debut the following year and almost immediately won a Michelin star. He has since established an impressive empire with many restaurants in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and St. Moritz. “Every six weeks, I'll jump on the plane to Dubai,” he said. “I'll stay in Dubai for 10 or two weeks, and have a new menu on the new menu. It's like our second home.”
Last year, Atherton shocked London restaurants by announcing that he would close Pollen Street Social, as well as his beloved Soho Spot Social Eath House. The decision was partly economical – it was hard to fill the room with a high-paying diner – partly because Atherton wanted to go out at the high point. He has been developing Row in November at a fine restaurant on Saville Row, which launched in November and has chosen to shift the focus to new vacancies.
“It’s 14 years of a restaurant that has given us a wonderful life,” he said of Pollen Street Social. “It turned into an iconic restaurant. It lived better in the memory of people as an idol than a faded restaurant. It was a really clumsy decision, but I think it was the right decision. It made the right decision. Until the day it stopped, many of my chef friends loved it, 'You frantically closed a money-making restaurant.''' But I was entering Row as a 5 and becoming our new flagship.”
He compared it to the end of “Game of Thrones,” which may have “extended for a longer time” but came to a conclusion before it was off track (some fans might argue). With only 28 guests in 5 seats, it's easier to fill than Pollen Street Social, which is 60 years old in the main restaurant. Sael opened in September and three darlings made their debut in October, more casual and cheaper. “The new generation of diners has changed and they are looking for something different,” Atherton noted. “Providing this is our job. We want to move further towards the low end but still compete at the elite level, which is Row on 5 on 5.”
Atherton runs his restaurant empire with Irha, and all their decisions revolve around their family. On average, Atherton exercises before feeding the kids for breakfast and getting them to school. He spent the mornings at meetings or did the news and then cooked lunch service at a restaurant in his London (on the day of conversation in early March, it was Sele). There are more meetings in the afternoon, and then he always has to have a gym break for strength training. He works at a restaurant Monday to Friday and on Saturday 5. But Sunday is away from his restaurant.
“Sunday is family time,” he said. “We are a narrow family unit. We make sure we have four family holidays a year. I think I earned after working in the kitchen for 37 years. We always leave during Easter, summer, October and Christmas, during Easter. My wife is very strict with it. I love that because it gives us time to relax and understand and understand that family unit.”
Atherton not only values his family time, but also incorporates them into his career. His 19-year-old daughter Keziah's work moved the receptionist as three darlings, and he accepted advice when conceptualizing the Chelsea restaurant. It started with chic neighborhood breakfast and brunch attractions and has since been enjoying dinner on the new Supper Club menu.
“We pass by Chelsea every day,” Atherton said. “We do a lot of shopping in Chelsea. The girls go to school there, and the girls are born at Chelsea Westminster Hospital. The area has been a big part of my life. We decided to do that when the Cadogan estate approached us a restaurant on a typical British street.
The three darling dishes range from skateboard wing Schnitzel with Katsu Curry (personal favorite) to the giant wagyu sausage rolls that best suit both diners. Lamb, steak and fish are all grilled into orders, even side dishes that are served with black garlic roasted cabbage, which will be considered and memorable. This is a shared style menu and is supported by a visible kitchen and a buzzy atmosphere.
“It's really fun to create a brand, identity, the type of drinks we're going to offer. I don't want jinx, but it's a big blow,” Atherton said.
Atherton even invested in a software machine to enhance the dessert menu. The chef changes the flavors every once in a while to embrace the season. During the holidays, there is a split Christmas pudding version. When I visited in March, the soft milk attack was accompanied by a rich cooking rhubarb.
“The whole London is crazy,” Atherton laughed, “It feels like almost all the chefs are, 'Who can do the craziest softness?' We have both restaurants. Sael and three darlings, it's all great. The last one I bought was about £11,000, so they're expensive. You have to sell ice cream to get your money back!”
The three darlings Atherton described and Sael both provide a balance for the modern British Bistro. Chefs love the dual experience, but admitting that lack of stress in more casual restaurants can sometimes feel relieved.
“Now, we're about to enter asparagus season,” he said. “I can put the asparagus on the menu without thinking about it. It gets along well with the blood-orange Dutch fuel, and doesn't think much about it. Although, when you run a restaurant like Row on the 5th, we're perfecting the backend of the spring menu, and we're perfecting the three-month journey of these dishes. These dishes are the same. Unless there are so many.
Despite this, Atherton enjoys the challenge of achievement. Opening a new restaurant, especially a place like Saville Row, is a huge investment and he wants to meet expectations.
“If it fails, it's a huge dent in the company, so you certainly feel stressed,” he admitted. “But you have to put your energy into everything you do, don't be afraid. It's like [how] There is never a time to have a baby, there is never a time to start a relationship, and there is never a time to buy a new house. Well, there's never been a good time to open a new restaurant. You have to grab the horn and ride it. ”
He added: “I want to give up on this pressure over the next 10 years. If my wife and I want to travel to Australia now, it could take two months, and that's impossible. That's impossible. In time, this has to happen, right?
It took the Michelin Stars away after the final service on July 31, 2024. Atherton has won new prizes since then, but today, he has less interest in external acclaim.
“For me, success has changed a lot,” he admitted. “The number one success is my family. Having a successful family provides you with the foundation for everything and it has to be indestructible – my wife, my children, make sure they thrive in the world. It’s a bonus. Yes, of course, Michelin is very important to me. Ultimately, ultimately, I don’t let me get over it.
He thought, and then thoughtfully added: “I want to enjoy this journey, and I might have not liked that journey before. I was eager to get to the finish line. Now, I love it every day.”
