An exclusive interview with Carlo Scotto of Amethyst

The doors have just opened to Carlo Scotto’s new restaurant, Amethyst on Mayfair’s Sackville Street, so Dish Cult caught up with the well-travelled and very talented chef to talk birth stones, maps and the Queen.

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Dish Cult: Firstly, congratulations on the opening of Amethyst. How did it all come together?

Carlo Scotto: I’ve wanted to open a restaurant since my previous place [Carlo was previously Head Chef at Xier in Marylebone]. I wanted to have a unique place of elegance and excellence and so I began thinking about how can I put that together under one roof, and that’s where Amethyst was born. I mean Amethyst is my birthstone and the crystal provides calmness, so the project all made sense to me.

DC: How did you come up with the menu?

CS: It’s actually a map. It’s a culinary experience that starts with a combination of different flavours. Every trip that I’ve made all around the globe, I’ve tried to integrate with the local culture. The more I was understanding the culture, the more I was understanding the food. When I came back to London, I started going through all my notes and creating recipes.

DC: What inspired you to get into food in the first place?

CS: Back in Naples, my first Michelin star restaurant experience was at 13 years old. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked.

DC: Were there any chefs you admired growing up?

CS: Not really, but the chef who was holding one Michelin star when I visited at 13 years old completely opened new dimensions for me. The creativity in my mind had always been there, but that experience opened my eyes.

DC: What is it about London that makes it such a great place for foodies?

CS: Because it evolves. I’ve been here 16 / 17 years now, so I’m a British man with a Neapolitan heart, and I can understand how the city has changed the way people eat. It’s such a great place because it’s very competitive. And there are so many brilliant restaurants and so many brilliant chefs as well.

DC: What makes Amethyst stand out?

CS: It’s a little bit more intimate because having a chef’s table of 21 seats gives the option to the guest to firstly see the kitchen and the chef working, but it also allows guests to interact with each other if they want to and share a unique dining experience.

DC: Is there any one dish in particular that you’re most proud of?

CS: The whole menu haha! But I do particularly like the salmon and foie gras [Foie Gras with rose petal salmon, yuzu and Piedmont hazelnuts], the gyoza [Gyoza with Nasu nibitashi, myoga tea, sake] and the black cod [Black Cod with caramelised miso, naganegi dashi, daikon].

DC: Which ingredients do you enjoy cooking with most?

CS: Citrus and plants.

DC: Have you got a food that’s your guilty pleasure?

CS: Ice cream! Honestly ice cream, I’m done. I could sell my soul for it.

DC: What’s the most exotic thing you’ve ever eaten?

CS: Maybe Leche de tigre [literally “tiger’s milk” – it’s the citrus-based, spicy marinade used to cure the fish in classic Peruvian ceviche]. On my menu at the moment I have Bharat honey.

DC: If you could invite any three people – dead or alive – to come and eat your menu, who would they be and why?

CS: Fay Maschler [a British journalist who was the restaurant critic of London’s Evening Standard newspaper for nearly 50 years], everyone feared her and she never came to my previous restaurant. Björn Frantzén [a Swedish chef who holds three Michelin stars], our cooking styles are quite similar and… I would say, I don’t know, the Queen so she can give me an MBE haha!

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