Chef Camille Tardieu opens new restaurant

Cérès, a brand new restaurant from London-based French-Sicilian chef, Camille Tardieu, is now open in Stoke Newington’s Newington Green area. The Kickstarter-funded restaurant offers contemporary dishes, uniting Provencal, Sicilian and Mediterranean cooking with London’s global culinary influences to offer a new take on European gastronomy. With a changing seasonal menu, the January menu includes: turnip and hazelnut milk gratin dauphinois with enoki mushrooms; monkfish with nduja and persillade; octopus with saffron aioli and winter vegetables; brisket and pancetta ragù served on homemade pappardelle pasta; cauliflower roasted in date syrup served with swede and confit garlic puree; and cider-braised pork cheeks wrapped in Savoy cabbage with chestnut cream. In addition to a weekly homemade gelato special, desserts include dark chocolate mousse with halva, blood orange sorbet and pomegranate; polenta and almond cake with quince, vanilla, earl grey and crème fraiche. Diners also have the option of a cheese course featuring a selection of British cheeses. All ingredients at Cérès are carefully sourced from local or small suppliers, with the wine list representing boutique vineyards from across Southern Europe (including France, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and Croatia); craft beers brewed in London; British cheeses from The Cheese Merchant; meats from HG Walter; fish from Cornwall; and seasonal vegetables from Newington Green Fruit & Veg. Cérès works closely with The Food Chain to ensure suppliers are sustainable and ethically sourced. Cérès has also been furnished with bespoke furniture created by Brick Lane-based furniture makers Unto This Last. Camille Tardieu, founder and head chef, said: “Cérès aims to be the ideal local restaurant, complimenting Newington Green’s relaxed and unique atmosphere, while bringing a flavour of southern Europe. The monthly menu is concise, seasonal and – most of all – exciting. “Using high quality, locally-sourced British products is very important to me, but I’ll also be preserving the southern European identity of my cooking. So, you will find French and Italian classics on the menu such as Bourguignon or gnocchi but I will be reinventing them and having fun.”