There’s a quiet confidence that comes from cooking food you know in your bones. For chef Jemma Harrison, that means fried chicken, golden potatoes and sauces that don’t apologise for being buttery, garlicky or rich. Having worked in some of London’s most ingredient-driven kitchens – Koya, Jolene and, most recently, Camille under Elliot Hashtroudi – she’s taken that precision and channelled it into something more personal.
At Kaunter, her residency at Giacco’s in Finsbury Park, London, her menu nods to her Ashkenazi roots while pulsing with New York energy – food that’s grounded in memory but sharpened by a modern palate. These are recipes that speak fluently in both languages: chicken schnitzel “kiev”, with its crisp panko coat and melting green butter; red bisque gnocchi, where shellfish, tomato and leftover potato skins meet in a bowl of quiet luxury; and latkes with radicchio and anchovy, proof that fried potatoes and sauce will never go out of style.
