Snacks

So it’s always baffled us that a restaurant’s welcome can be so off. All too often you are abandoned for ten, fifteen minutes, waiting in vain for water or a menu. Even the most delicious food tastes bitter without a warm welcome. At QCH, then, we put a lot of emphasis on that welcome. Filtered water and our freshly baked sourdough will be on your table within seconds. More importantly, it will arrive with a smile. Ultimately, guests come to our restaurants to be looked after. If we don’t instantly assure you that this will happen, we’ve failed. Our snacks came about as an extension of this principle. A table that has our bread, cod’s roe and a croquette or two within ten minutes of sitting down knows that they are going to be well cared for. Any stress they might have brought to the restaurant quickly dissipates. As does ours. As a chef you alleviate pressure with snacks. Those croquettes will buy an hour of goodwill from the grumpiest of guests, and are essential in a restaurant when up to 70 can arrive in the space of 45 minutes. This principle is just as relevant when you’re cooking at home, whether it’s a weeknight supper that needs an hour in the oven or the Sunday roast that won’t be ready for another two hours. Every home cook can master at least one of these recipes, which should give you the confidence to tackle the more complex dishes that follow. If you already have that confidence, then consider these a win for those dinner parties when you’re short on time.