City Harvest Food Council Member shares her passion for sustainability
Apricity /a-PRIS-i-tee/
The warmth of the sun in winter. Symbolising regeneration, rejuvenation, generosity, and light, Apricity, the latest restaurant from multi-award-winning chef owner Chantelle Nicholson and her team is a restaurant with a purpose – to create a sustainable community. The restaurant has received nothing but the highest praise, and when Chantelle is not in the restaurant she is often speaking on panels sharing her insight and passion for ethical hospitality.
A member of the City Harvest Food Council, Chantelle is passionate about everything to do with sustainability, food waste, local food, and regenerative agriculture. The City Harvest Food Council is a thought leadership group raising awareness amongst decision-makers in the food industry, letting people know that working with City Harvest is easy, safe and life-changing.
I am delighted to be part of City Harvest’s Food Council. Their vital work feeds people who cannot access food, with food which would otherwise be wasted, fulfilling a need for people and planet.
– Chantelle
“Apricity is a low waste operation. We have consciously reconsidered everything we do from displaying the menu, how we wash the dishes and who supplies us. British produce is championed, to promote our wonderful makers, growers and farmers, and to ensure flavour is paramount, as well as reducing our outputs.”
Recipe
Tomatoes, Day Old Bread, Basil
This is a great way to make the most of juicy, ripe and super sweet tomatoes. It’s similar to a tomato and garlic infused French toast. Whilst this makes a good starter, or lunchtime dish, it also makes a great brunch. Just remember to serve the tomatoes at room temperature, rather than fridge cold, as they are much more flavoursome.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 250ml tomato juice
- Dash of tabasco
- ½ tsp celery salt
- ½ tsp red wine vinegar
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and microplaned (grated)
- Sea salt
- Freshly milled black pepper
- 4 slices day-old sourdough
- 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 4-6 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or smoked rapeseed oil
- Basil leaves, to garnish
Method:
1. Mix together the tomato juice, tabasco, celery salt, red wine vinegar, chilli flakes and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper and place in a shallow dish large enough to fit the sourdough slices side by side.
2. Place the sourdough into the liquid and leave for 5 minutes. Turn over and leave for another 5 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
3. Drizzle the sliced tomatoes with the extra virgin olive or smoked rapeseed oil and season well with salt and pepper.
4. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over a moderately high heat. When hot, add the slices of soaked sourdough. Colour well on each side.
5. Serve the toast with the tomatoes on top, garnished with the basil.
“We use sustainable produce at the height of season from small-scale farmers and locally foraged ingredients. All with a zero-waste approach to cooking.”
Apricity has a dedicated tasting menu celebrating British vegetables and a menu featuring regeneratively farmed meat and sustainably caught fish from the British Isles. We offer an extensive list of low intervention wines from growers that care about soil and biodiversity while championing English vineyards and winemakers, alongside a selection of innovative zero-waste cocktails.
Apricity : 68 Duke St, Mayfair, London, W1K 6JU – the food is sensational!
Restaurant Reviews
Guardian Restaurant Review – Apricity, London W1: ‘The menu will send vegetarians doolally with joy’
The Times Restaurant Review – ‘Zero-Waste Tasting Menus? A Turning Point’