COOKING FOR THE STARS

Michelin-starred chef Clare Smyth invites HELLO! into her Notting Hill restaurant, Core, which counts the Beckhams among its celebrity fans

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When David and Victoria Beckham were planning the star-studded celebrations for his 50th birthday in May, they didn't look any further than their local restaurant in London's Notting Hill.

Tom Cruise, Eva Longoria Bastón, Gordon Ramsay and Guy Ritchie were among the famous friends who joined the couple and their family at Core, the exclusive eatery beloved of A-listers and royalty.

They had such a good time that council officers reportedly had to shut down the party in the early hours because of noise complaints.

"They are regulars and most of their guests have been here multiple times, so we know them all very well," Core's owner, Clare Smyth, tells HELLO! when we visit her at the restaurant for this exclusive interview and photoshoot.

"I like to create a sense of fun and make sure that people have a good time. This isn't a restaurant for people who love quiet fine dining; it's busy and full of laughter and noise, which is exactly what I want it to be."

Recently voted the world's best female chef, and the only woman in the UK to have been awarded three Michelin stars, Clare was also personally asked by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to cater their wedding reception dinner at Frogmore House in Windsor in 2018.

"That was a phone call that wasn't expected," she says. "We hadn't even been open for a year, so it was an amazing thing to be part of."

ROYAL REQUEST

The Sussexes, who at the time were living in a cottage at nearby Kensington Palace, were already customers and used to enjoy the privacy of Core's intimate dining room.

"Harry and Meghan had a lot of pressure on them, and this was somewhere they could come, like a home," Clare says.