An interview with Morgan M as he launches new Barbican restaurant

When Morgan M launched on a less than idyllic slice of Liverpool Road, N1, eight years ago, there was a collective sigh. A converted pub space, we were all expecting another gastro joint and a watery Thai green curry. Instead, we found a tousled Morgan Meunier plating up five course tasting menus of nouvelle cuisine. “The area was so different then,” Morgan looks back. “It used to be quite dangerous - one Michelin star judge had his car stolen, which wasn’t so good, but people spread the word about us. The run down properties have disappeared and Islington is such a buzzy area now.”

Morgan M was a culinary beacon for Islington epicureans – we weren’t the only ones, but Angel was an early champion of the exquisite food there - and fast became a French speakeasy for those ‘in the know’. Although Morgan was long celebrated as head chef at The Admiralty in Somerset House, he was determined to go it alone and launched Morgan M on a shoestring budget. It soon became N1’s worst kept secret. In 2006, Morgan was voted top three of London’s best chefs, and now he has launched Morgan M ‘2.0’. The new location, based on Long Lane, EC1, is bigger, brighter, and the décor now finally on par with the sophistication of his food.

Morgan is still frequently referred to as ‘the most underrated chef in London’, so does he ever crave Jamie Oliver-esque status? “Like any cook, you want some kind of recognition. Anyone who says they don’t is a liar, we are all the same,” he says. “But there is a difference between searching for it, needing it and becoming obsessed with it. I don’t go searching for notoriety: for me it is about seducing the customers.”

Most chefs will only tread their restaurant floor for a broadsheet critic or a round of applause, but Morgan has always made a point of interacting with his customers. “They are our golden treasure. It’s an addiction to have people coming in; it’s never to be taken for granted.” Morgan may not serve convoluted molecular creations, but his style is infinitely recognisable. “We always say, for each dish, less than five ingredients. You have to have two or three explosions of flavour.” Morgan insists that each ingredient be cooked separately, so 40-50 pans are on the go at any one time.

For a chef, Morgan is surprisingly relaxed, but when he is running between two Morgan M’s, will he abandon his kindly temperament for a red-head-Ramsay style? “No, I am calm,” he says, well, calmly. “It’s a true pleasure to work with people. I enjoy seeing them every day, as much I enjoy going back home and seeing my wife and my boys.” Morgan lights up when speaking about his sons, ages 5 and 7. It’s too early to say if they’ll be following in their father’s culinary footsteps, but they are already spending time in the Morgan M kitchen. “They come in when it’s not too busy. One will try and make a tart, the other will prep the salad,” Morgan smiles.

The first dish he ever prepared, before he was even ten-years-old, was a bean Cassoulet with Toulouse sausages and breadcrumbs (“it was really quite simple”). But Morgan is not so sure if cheffing can truly be called his vocation. “When you’re a kid, you want to be everything really. Before the cooking side, for me, it was the attraction to beauty. In France, that’s something you pass on from generation to generation.” Morgan gets almost giddy as he describes his early memories of eating, grabbing fistfuls of raw beef from the table at just four years of age, or tasting his Grandmother’s chocolate mousse.

He has a unique connection with food, one that he is keen to pass onto his customers, “The ultimate aim is to provoke an emotion, and if we do, we have achieved something. I want the guests to take some of the restaurant with them.” As he waxes lyrical about hunting fresh pheasant for his menu, or the small Cornish fishing boats that catch his stock, it’s hard to imagine Morgan with a culinary vice. Does he ever abandon the Croque Monsieur for spaghetti hoops on toast? “No. Chocolate is my guilty pleasure, 70% dark,” he says.

But where does an award-winning chef go to eat in Islington? “The Almeida restaurant opposite the theatre has very good food. I also love a good Indian meal in Rasa in Stoke Newington.” For Morgan, a relationship with the art world has had a powerful influence on the aesthetics of his recipes. When he isn’t conducting his orchestra of pans, Morgan can be found at the Almeida, or perusing Islington’s galleries, “the spoon is to the chef what the brush is to the painter,” he says.

He places Ferran Adria from El Bulli among his culinary heroes, but for Morgan M, originality is key. What other French restaurant cites vegetables as its main motivation? I had always envisioned top cooks watching Masterchef through gritted teeth with a stiff whiskey, but when I ask if he watches, all I hear is a definitive “non”. Britain has never been more gastronomically aware. Even in Morrisons, Roquefort is the new Babybell. Is he ever tempted to follow cooking trends? “You’ll always be interested in what others are doing,” he answers, “you look in the same room, but out a different window.”

Morgan M Barbican, 50 Long Lane, EC1A 9EJ; 020 7609 3560

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