Barry Tonks is executive chef of Bonds Restaurant & Bar. The 35 year old joined the team at Bonds in June 2004, just two years after it opened. Since then he has created and refined a Modern French menu that provides diners with a fresh alternative to City dining, creating dishes that are light and sophisticated using interesting ingredients. Signature dishes include roasted diver caught scallops, chorizo and squid ink polenta. Vintage dry age Scotch beef fillet with roast baby beets, young garden vegetables and red wine fumet and caramelized tarte tartin of apple Calvados and crème fraiche for two.
Tonks believes that quality is the focus, and every ingredient is sourced through exhaustive search from the local suppliers. Indeed, every Saturday morning finds Tonks at Borough Market, stocking up on fresh produce for the week ahead. Seasonality and source are key to his cooking, be it Dorset Bay crab, Roast loin of Denham Estate venison or St Sever free range chicken, he will finish it with the best of the season’s produce and… a twist.
Celebrate the best of home-grown British produce with the following simple recipies to try at home. Print off and keep (pdf).
Bring on the tomato flavour
Mozzarella and tomato salad
Tomato Bruschetta
Gazpacho
A fine mess of strawberries
Eton Mess
A light strawberry trifle
Pain perdu with strawberry compote and vanilla ice-cream
Strawberries with a champagne sabayon gratin
Asparagus galore
Grilled Asparagus with parmesan
Sauteed Asparagus with poached egg
Asparagus Soup