Last week, chef Jason Atherton took some time out of his busy schedule to catch up with us. The lauded chef—who has a portfolio of 16 restaurants spanning the globe—gave us insight into The Clocktower, his restaurant in New York City’s Flatiron District. (Fun fact: the chef never dreamt he would make it to the Big Apple.)
The Clocktower, Atherton’s newest restaurant, was awarded a Michelin star in the 2018 New York City guide; he’s quick to tell you that it’s a group effort. “All chefs think that the Michelin star is for them, and it's not. It’s for the consumers. And it takes years to learn that. And with Michelin stars come great responsibility.”
Growing up in England—and working with venerable chefs like Gordon Ramsay—Atherton has watched the evolution of the British dining scene. “The produce has always been there in the U.K., and if you examine it, we always, always had a good reputation up until the first World War,” he boldly states. “And then after the second World War, we couldn’t recover from the rationing and we fell out of love with food. We became about supermarkets, about processed foods. Britain was too busy selling all of our food to France and to Spain and to countries who cared about food.”
Then, in the ‘80s and ‘90s, chefs like Marco Pierre White, whom Atherton refers to as a rock-and-roll star, started emerging from the shadows. “Every young chef realized that, ‘maybe if I couldn’t become a footballer, I could become a chef—I could be somebody.’” And then, boom: French kitchens were suddenly full of young British chefs.
Atherton fully believes that Ireland will be the next booming dining scene. “I think [they’re] on the cusp of something very interesting,” he assures. “They’ve always had Patrick Guilbaud, but now you have some really interesting chefs.” In particular, Atherton notes that Heron & Grey, which received it’s first Michelin star in the 2018 guide, is producing stunning food—he predicts that it won’t be long until they achieve second- or third-star status.
“The produce in Ireland is just off the charts—but they’ve also been humble from not celebrating it,” he adds. Atherton and his wife recently visited the newly-minted three-Michelin-starred Araki in Mayfair with his wife, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the tuna came from the West Coast of Ireland—not Japan. “I didn’t even know they had tuna over there! You’re always learning.”
So what’s next for chef Jason Atherton? If the opportunity presents himself, he’ll open another restaurant, but only if it’s done right. “I can’t really do much more,” he readily admits. “I cook at Pollen Street Social, The Clocktower, [and] I do a shift every couple of weeks at Berner’s Tavern. Everything else is run strictly as a restaurateur.” When looking at opening a restaurant, Atherton asks himself if he could spend an ample amount of time there; he was particularly taken with the great eating city that is San Francisco. “I went to Saison. And I couldn’t stop talking about it when we left. I love that restaurant,” he recalls, after having a particular moment when dining in front of the open kitchen. “My wife was trying to talk to me and I said, ‘baby, just give me five minutes,’ because I’d never seen anything like it. I just needed to soak it in—it’s like a chef’s dream.”
Atherton wants to be completely honest with his guests in that he does not cook at the restaurant every night—the credit goes to his chefs de cuisine/business partners. “At the end of the day I ask myself, ‘what impact do I need to make and how can I do that to maximize my time?’ And the rest of the time is spent helping another person perfect the restaurant. I’ve never cooked a single dish at Little Social. I’ve never even put a fish in the pan. Sure, I’ve helped the chef style the plate—absolutely—and offer suggestions. I’ll nail him on his food costs, I’ll nail him on his staff costs, and the maintenance and all that type of stuff, but I’m not going to pretend. If it ever won any awards, it’s [to] Cary Docherty, the chef de cuisine there and my business partner. That’s as truthful as you can be.”
Photos courtesy of The Clocktower.
