Helena Lee is the the voracious eater from the London food blog ‘The Culinary Tales‘. She works for Harper’s Bazaar by day and by night eats and cooks and takes amazing photos with mouth watering articles! She has a great selection of recipes from a diverse base of cuisines. We caught up with Helena to chat about where she likes to eat and what it’s like being a food writer in London. You can catch her on twitter @LondonHelena and facebook here
What got you into food writing? I have hoards of notebooks crammed with food notes on anything from competitive hawker-stall food crawls with my uncle in Kuala Lumpur to a hilarious experience hosting a Fujianese delegation at Plateau, Canary Wharf. Eating is so social – and so much happens around food – that I’ve been noting the best bits for about 12 years and wanted to share my recent experiences and recipes. While I was working for an ad agency, I started writing restaurant reviews online for a London site, and found myself enjoying that much more than my actual job. And then I decided to become a journalist.
How do you choose a restaurant to review? If there’s a story to tell then I’ll write about it. Because I cook more than the amount I eat out, I only try to eat in places I think sound worthwhile – personal recommendations and twitter help here. I don’t so much review the restaurant as write about the experience I’ve had there.
How many restaurants do you eat out in per month? Varies wildly between probably 5 and 15 times.
Who is your current favourite chef? The Modern Pantry’s Anna Hansen. She’s fearless and a flavour genius.
What is your current favourite restaurant concept? Can I have three? I love the evolution from the Meat Wagon burger van to Meat Liquor restaurant – a triumph for good street food. As someone who freezes in the face of choice, to have a restaurant like Burger and Lobster, where essentially you can only order two dishes, is perfect. I just pity whoever’s with me who’ll be forced to swap half their meal. Rowley Leigh’s partnership with the Odeon cinema – The Lounge – is also a brilliant idea. (Although the film I saw there – Carnage – was stressful enough to give me indigestion).
Most underrated Local Restaurant? (and maybe most overrated!) Eyre Brothers for Iberico pink pork foreloin (not local to me but to those in south Shoreditch), and there’s a brilliant Korean – Su La in New Malden. Overrated? Probably Les Deux Salons, though I would go for a Josper grilled bavette again.
How has blogging in general changed your outlook on food/restaurants? The general public are no longer anonymous – and I think that’s a marvellous thing.
What’s the biggest mistake a restaurant can make in your opinion? Poisoning your customers. And then not acknowledging it. and……
What has been your all-time favourite restaurant experience to date? A cheeky stay at the inexpensive Le Cour de Remi in Bermicourt near Calais. Recommended by the brilliant Fiona Beckett, it was the last stop at a converted chateau on a road trip back from San Sebastian. We were treated to veal tongue and girolles and whole baby octopus with garlic. We really did eat like kings.
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