Inside Restaurant Interlude’s Michelin Green Star & South African Influence

The Interlude experience begins with an unexpected presentation conducted by the sous chef’s charismatic elucidation of Bulrush – a wetland plant that grows on the edges of ponds, lakes, ditches and rivers. Its sausage-like flower can often be discovered in South Africa, where Executive Chef Jean Delport calls home. 

After an overview of foraged ingredients to be consumed throughout the evening, not before devouring a bite of bulrush blended into an exquisite, riveting appetizer hidden in an unassuming entryway console; the multi-course meal truly commences in an elegant dining hall overlooking Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens’ 240 acres of sprawling land where the Michelin-starred chef fully utilizes as the plot of his multi-layered narrative.

Chef Delport’s signature dish, “Rabbit Eats Carrot,” is a stellar example of such a notion, where a lavish presentation of four dishes showcases the carrot cooked in various manners. Meanwhile, the prime cut of rabbit arrives in a mysterious glass case, when the lid is lifted open, smoke unveils a gorgeously-spiced cube which somehow hops a train of thought to Taiwanese fried chicken. Such is the magic of food, not only is nature a bonded eco-system, but our worlds are always, somehow deliciously correlated.

Here’s Chef Jean Delport, offering insight into the start of Restaurant Interlude and his passion for the abundance of the English countryside radiantly serving as the generous backdrop of the grandiose Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens.

How were you involved with Interlude?

JD: For me, Interlude is quite a special place. I was living in South Africa, working in a restaurant in the city. It was always something that I wanted to try, to come overseas. Coming to the UK, specifically, was one of my dreams. I followed the food scene for a long time, watched all these chefs in their restaurants, achieving all these things. For me, I wanted to try that and give it a go.

Penny Streeter (English entrepreneur) had just acquired the properties of Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens and thought that I should come to the restaurant, since it had all the ethos behind it. I really wanted to use the land a lot more, my upbringing of farm-to-table had started a little bit. We wanted to use the English countryside more, and showcase what it has to offer. I wanted to do a little foraging where it made sense, then bring it all together on the table.

When we walked around Leonardslee, we have 240 acres of historic gardens, in an English-based countryside. It just felt like a natural fit. We have plants from around the world, so it’s got different little pieces that we can create a story and a journey.

How do your South African roots come through?

JD: South Africa is a very multicultural and diverse country, there’s loads of different flavor profiles all up and down the country. So to hone in on the ones that I recognize a lot from my childhood is quite strong. Things that we like, things that we think could work with the palettes of the UK is quite important. We grow some stuff around here to kind of give you a similar profile.

How would you describe your cooking style?

JD: It’s unique in itself without trying to force it too much. We’ve got Leonardslee which is quite abundant, and we use it as a destination. I think our cooking needs to fit that and my heritage, which is very multicultural. And to bring all of these things into where it makes sense, for me, it’s important. It’s all about layering flavors, where it needs a kick, we’ll bring something in, as long as the underlying message of the menu isn’t confused.

Tell us about your menu composition.

JD: I’m always very forward, everything needs to be flavor first, and then we can work on the aesthetics and then making sure the story is cohesive. Our whole point is to take people on a journey, not just in Leonardslee but also across my heritage and a little bit of the UK and to show that we have a very special piece of England here. I’m passionate about it, and I want people to understand. Ideally, we’d love for our guests to come and enjoy themselves. Forget about life for a few hours, and just have fun.

How do you achieve a high level of sustainability?

JD: Sustainability, for us, is at our core. We have this garden and estate, we want to showcase that and it’s easy enough for us to manipulate quite well.

In terms of how seasons are changing constantly over the years, it can be tricky. Some years, we might have quite barren times. Last year was quite difficult, to pick things from the garden, even local suppliers were really struggling. But this year has been massively abundant, we’ve had amazing seasons of picking fruits, mushrooms and nuts.

Every year is challenging, every year is either slightly extended or shortened. But that’s where the fun is for us, that’s cooking, understanding nature. We can see, this might be with us for two months, or it might be around for two weeks. We try to be as clever as we can, try to preserve, process so we can use it throughout the year. We adapt the menu accordingly, that’s where the chef in myself comes in, and the team becomes stronger every year with it.

What is your planning process like?

JD: We need to understand what the idea is before it’s ready, so planning is key. We’ll have created a dish, there are three ideas for an ingredient. If we want to reach point B, here are three point A’s, which one is going to best take us to point B. We have at least a vague idea, as soon as the ingredient is ready, we’ll play around. Even if we start with one point, and later on, we’ll adjust slightly to a different point to make sure that it lasts us longer and keeps us going.

So it’s a lot of playing around and having fun at the same time. I don’t want cooking to be completely serious, we also want to be about the day or the moment sometimes. To enjoy food as it should be.

Can you define the Interlude experience?

JD: I don’t want Interlude to be a heavy, complicated restaurant. I want it to be fun and accessible, but it also needs to have a feeling of grandeur where people come here for a purpose and enjoy themselves. I don’t like that stuffy feel, I want the staff to be engaging, I want them to see the personalities coming through. For me, that dining experience becomes more personable and something that you hope to return to.

Interlude is becoming more of a destination now and becoming more of an experience-led dining. We don’t want to keep somebody seated in the same space for 3 to 4 hours, it could be quite mundane, we also don’t want to lose our guests’ attention. I’d like to move them around a bit, to rejuvenate.

We start at the bar with snacks, where guests can have a bit of fun. Then, we take them through a guest experience table where we can showcase what’s happening at the restaurant. This is where we show the ingredients that we’ve been using, also from the forage side of things, like what the gardens are really about. I think it’s really important that by the time guests arrive at the restaurant, they have a basic understanding and we hope to surprise them course by course, and just have a good time.