SMALL AMOUNTS OF BIG FLAVOUR

Chef Neil Bentinck on the natural evolution of Skosh

- ■ NIANNE-LYNN HENDRICKS

In a traditional city like York in the UK, it is surprising to find that one of the most innovative restaurants is one with Asian sprinklings.

Skosh from chef-patron Neil Bentinck is all about pan-Asian flavours, small-plates and a sharing food concept. The restaurant's name comes from the Japanese word sukoshi, which means "a small amount", also a clue to what the menu looks like.

"The menu is predominantly what I like to eat. So that would be fresh, spicy and light, generally. The menu is driven by seasonality and the influences are often from Asia," explain Bentinck, who is Anglo-Indian. His father is from Shimla in India "so that plays a massive part in my culinary background. The menu is also inspired by my travels through Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Japan. These are all things that contribute to the style of my food. It is a bit of a melting pot of seasonings and flavours".

Much like Asia, the menu offers vibrancy and a meandering of flavours in the form of snacks and lots of small, sharing plates.

"We also offer cheeses, in a more of a composite cheese course rather than a traditional British cheese course. We use a cheese and garnish it appropriately. Desserts are a variety of smaller sweets," says the chef.

"Our menu doesn't get a complete change. We've tried that before doing a block seasonal thing, but it doesn't work like that. The seasons don't... they aren't that strict. If you're going to buy from wholesalers, you're gonna question the quality, right? The best tomatoes aren't going to be ready when you want to put them on the menu. You've kind of got to wait for it if you're working with the best ingredients. So, we change this and that until the produce from our farmers comes in.