–
I was wrong about Jeremy Chan and his cooking.
When I first heard about his restaurant Ikoyi near Piccadilly in London, friends described the food as West African. Not having much experience with West African cooking, I couldn’t say whether it was or wasn’t. Some of the food that I had there seemed West African (there was a version of jollof rice, for example), but a lot of it didn’t. Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of my dinner at Ikoyi in September of 2019. The one thing that did stick with me was how flavorful and delicious – and especially how daringly spicy – the food was.
The false assumptions and misconceptions about what Chan is doing at Ikoyi – in my case, admittedly abetted by my own lack of due diligence – are common (there was a whole article written about it). Maybe it’s because his friend and business partner Iré Hassan-Odukale is Nigerian, or that the restaurant is named after a posh neighborhood in Lagos. And then there’s the fact that, indeed, Chan does use ingredients from West Africa. But, having come to the professional kitchen from a career in finance, he said that he doesn’t ascribe to any one type of cuisine. His approach to cooking and flavor is wholly his own. And I’d say that’s evident.
Jeremy Chan was the sixth chef to cook at the Twelve Days of Christmas with Christopher Kostow at The Restaurant at Meadowood.
–
Tiffani DeGeorge searing chicken. 
Chan in the greenhouse.
There were a couple of familiar dishes from Ikoyi, slightly modified – like the spliced strip of plantain coated in raspberry salt powder, served with a bitingly hot cauliflower emulsion.
But quite a few of Chan’s dishes were inspired by ingredients available in California. There was sliced abalone with sticky rice and a buttery sorrel emulsion, finished with roasted kelp oil. There was also green luobo radishes from The Restaurant at Meadowood’s garden, which Chan topped with chopped green almonds and served with a sauce of bush pepper and ume relish.
My favorite part of dinner was the anchor course, right before dessert. It was a collaboration between Kostow and Chan. Kostow served slices of smoked lamb neck, spooned with a rich sauce of marigold. And Chan served his version of spicy jollof rice on the side. The version I had at Ikoyi was flecked with crab meat. This one was cooked with dried beef and topped with a creamy sea urchin custard.
Together, they were a flavorful and comforting pair.
Green Daikon
(Chan)
Daniel Kim saucing smoked lamb neck.
This is the menu from Day 6 of the Twelve Days of Christmas with guest chef Jeremy Chan (click here for all of the photos from this dinner):
–
Canapés
Oyster
Smoked mignonette.
Sorghum Dry-Aged Beef
Smoked eel, truffle.
Plantain
Raspberry, hedgehog mushroom.
(Chan)
Chestnut Beignet
Chestnut miso.
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
–
1st Course
Tigernut
Carrot and caviar.
(Chan)
2nd Course
Georgia Candy Roaster
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
3rd Course
Abalone
Sticky rice.
(Chan)
4th Course
Green Daikon
Ground nut, pear relish.
(Chan)
5th Course
Confit Trout
Saffron velouté, garlic butter.
(Chan)
6th Course
Juniper-Smoked Chicken
New Zealand spinach.
(Chan)
7th Course
Smoked Lamb Neck
Marigold
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
Smoked Jollof Rice
Sea urchin custard.
(Chan)
8th Course
Grilled Wild Rice
Persimmon, roasted miso.
(Chan)
–
–
Ried Schütte, Gruner Veltliner, Smaragd, 2017
Domaine Romaneaux – Destezet, Hervé Souhaut
Arietta, “On the White Keys,” 2017
Brick and Mortar, Chardonnay, Cougar Rock Vineyard, 2017
Domaine Guiberteau, “les Motelles,” Saumur, 2011
Corra, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2006
–
with the team at The Restaurant at Meadowood.
–
Below are links to my posts and photos from all Twelve Days of Christmas dinners I have attended. Each chef is listed with the restaurant with which they were cooking at the time they participated in the event (some have moved on to other projects and restaurants).
2012
Scott Anderson (Elements; Princeton, New Jersey)
John & Karen Shields (Formerly of Townhouse; Chilhowie, Virginia)
Phillip Foss (EL Ideas; Chicago, Illinois)
Stuart Brioza & Nicole Krasinski (State Bird Provisions; San Francisco, California)
Jason Franey (Canlis Restaurant; Seattle, Washinton)
Matthias Merges (Yusho; Chicago, Illinois)
Mori Onodera (Formerly of Mori Sushi; Los Angeles, California)
James Syhabout (Commis; Oakland, California)
Nick Anderer (Maialino; New York, New York)
David Toutain (Agapé Substance; Paris, France)
Josh Habiger & Erik Anderson (The Catbird Seat; Nashville Tennessee)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2013
Andy Ricker (Pok Pok, Portland, Oregon & New York, New York)
Rodolfo Guzman (Boragó; Santiago, Chile)
Carlo Mirarchi (Blanca and Roberta’s; Brooklyn, New York)
Tim Cushman (O Ya; Boston, Massachusetts)
Ashley Christensen (Poole’s Diner; Raleigh, North Carolina)
David Chang (Momofuku; New York, New York)
Matthew Accarrino (SPQR; San Francisco, California)
Mark Ladner & Brooks Headley (Del Posto; New York, New York)
Rasmus Kofoed (Geranium; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Nicolaus Balla & Cortney Burns (Bar Tartine; San Francisco, California)
David Kinch (Manresa; Los Gatos, California)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2014
Matthew Orlando (Amass; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Frank Castranovo & Frank Falcinelli (Frankies 457, Prime Meats; New York, New York)
Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf; Dranouter, Belgium)
Alexandre Gauthier (La Grenouillère; La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France)
Blaine Wetzel (Willows Inn; Lummi Island, Washington)
Joshua McFadden (Ava Gene’s; Portland, Oregon)
Virgilio Martinez (Central; Lima, Peru)
Grant Achatz (Alinea; Chicago, Illinois)
Corey Lee (Benu; San Francisco, California)
Esben Holmboe Bang (Maaemo; Oslo, Norway)
Ignacio Mattos (Estela; New York, New York)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2015
Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, NoMad; New York, New York)
Nenad Mlinarevic (Focus; Vitznau, Switzerland)
Christian Puglisi (relæ; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Jorge Vallejo (Quintonil; Mexico City, Mexico)
Joshua Skenes (Saison; San Francisco, California)
Matthew Wilkinson (Pope Joan; Melbourne, Australia)
Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan ([One]; Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Isaac McHale (The Clove Club; London, The United Kingdom)
Kyle Connaughton (Single Thread; Healdsburg, California)
Atsushi Tanaka (A.T. Restaurant; Paris, France)
Justin Yu (Oxheart; Houston, Texas)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2017
Mark Lundgaard Nielsen (Kong Hans Kælder; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Manish Mehrotra (Indian Accents; New Dehli, India; New York, New York; London, U.K.)
Jeremiah Stone & Fabián von Hauske Valtierra (Contra & Wildair; New York, New York)
Jeremy Fox (Rustic Canyon & Tallula’s; Santa Monica, California)
Ben Sukle (birch & Oberlin; Providence, Rhode Island)
Sean Brock (McCrady’s, McCrady’s Tavern, Husk, & Minero; Charleston, South Carolina)
Yoshiaki Takazawa (Takazawa; Tokyo, Japan)
Thomas Keller (The French Laundry; Yountville, California)
Eric Werner (Hartwood; Tulum, Mexico)
Jock Zonfrillo (Orana; Adelaide, Australia)
Alexandre Couillon (La Marine; Noirmoutier, France)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2018
Jose Enrique (Jose Enrique; San Juan, Puerto Rico)
David Pynt (Burnt Ends; Singapore)
Jessica Largey (Simone; Los Angeles, California)
James Lowe (Lyle’s; London, The United Kingdom)
Kamilla Seidler (formerly of Gustu in La Paz, Bolivia; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Byung-jin Kim (Gaon; Seoul, South Korea)
Wojciech Modest Amaro (Atelier Amaro; Warsaw, Poland)
Justin Cogley (Auberine; Carmel, California) & Trevor Moran (Nashville, Tennessee)
Michael Tusk (Cotogna and Quince; San Francisco, California)
Ana Ros (Hiša Franko; Kobarid, Slovenia)
Sota Atsumi (Maison, opening in 2019; Paris, France)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2019
Gabriela Camara (Contramar; Mexico City, Mexico/Cala; San Francisco, California)
John and Karen Shields (Smyth, and The Loyalist; Chicago, Illinois)
Daniel Calvert (Belon; Hong Kong)
José Avillez (Belcanto; Lisbon, Portugal)
Junghyun Park (atomix and atoboy; New York, New York)
Jeremy Chan (Ikoyi; London, The United Kingdom)
–
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
–
