The St. JOHN Family Tree

Since first sliding open that heavy wooden door in Smithfield way back in 1994, St. JOHN has championed plenty of things. To start with, there’s the very concept of Nose-to-Tail dining — an original and steadfast philosophy of “purpose and simplicity” lead by the markets, the seasons and a confidence in quality — which has organically morphed into a kind of global school of culinary thought. Fergus puts it on the plate and Trevor puts it in the glass.

St. JOHN is also a champion of people. Suppliers, chefs, producers and a carousel of interesting customers. 

For the second iteration of our partnership with our friends at the London institution, we gathered a new mix of regulars, admirers and members of staff, each wearing something from the collection, to highlight their own personal relationship with St. JOHN.

Michael Stuart Smith: Artist and waiter at St. JOHN Smithfield 

I first met Fergus more than 20 years ago, when I was working at The Groucho Club in Soho. He was a regular fixture, as he was running the kitchen at The French House around the corner, and was a champion of Fernet Branca even then. I’ve been at St. JOHN for 20 years now. I think the food, the wine and, above all, the people have kept me here for so long. I also have great flexibility in terms of working and painting. I can do three shifts a week and then spend the rest of my time in the studio.

I also paint in the restaurant, before service, whenever I can. I studied painting at Leeds and feel a connection between my work here and my art practice. I use quite a minimal palette, which is inspired by the postwar and Bloomsbury artists, it’s stuck somewhere in the 1950s! There’s an architectural quality to Fergus’ food: the bone marrow, the pig’s head, the simple, clean use of ingredients, and I take inspiration from that in my still life work. Even the space itself feels like a studio, or a gallery of sorts. It’s a wonderful place to paint. 

Ryan Chetiyawardana: Entrepreneur, master bartender, owner of too many establishments to list in one headline, St. JOHN regular

I grew up in Birmingham, but both of my parents are Sri Lankan, so food is a big point of how you bring people together in our culture. I always joke about the fact that, if you're in a Sri Lankan household, a cake will appear from somewhere. 

For a while I worked as a chef, which I did enjoy, but despite having lots of dear chef friends, I didn't love being in a kitchen. That stressed environment, it felt disconnected for me, which is how I found myself bartending, which combined being sociable with that mixture of art and science. I've worked in everything from nightclubs to dive bars, fine dining, hotels, little cocktail bars. In 2013 I opened my first in London with sisters, which has lead to quite a few more.

At university in Edinburgh I was given the Nose to Tail book, which was a revelation. At the time I was doing some fairly illegal gin distilling in my bathtub, and here was this book about practical, slightly wild, elemental cooking, it’s really inspired how I approach my work. And, of course, it’s since become one of my favourite restaurants, a place to celebrate life’s milestones.

I often talk to the team about that philosophy of respecting ingredients, connecting with customers, keeping things simple and having a clear vision, all of those things could be said about the restaurant, too. 

Raven Smith: Writer and cultural critic 

When I worked around the corner, St. JOHN was were I would come to for sneaky lunches. I've been a huge fan of the Welsh rarebit for as long as I can remember. It feels really luxurious without being extravagant. I don't like too many pretences, and I think that they're just quite straight up in how they approach everything. And that’s coming from a pescatarian!

We’re spoiled here in London for classic places that give you a really authentic dining experience. It’s also a place where you can easily lose track of time, there’s a sense of mischievousness to it all and, in the best way possible, it isn’t trying to innovate. Whenever I'm here, it seems like there's someone at the next table who is the ‘best of British,’ whether it's Zadie Smith or an eccentric artist. It always feels very, truly British. There’s a wit to being British: we have our airs and graces, and we like nice things, but we also have our tongue in our cheek. 

The room is amazing, like a 90s time capsule. It always feels like you could be in an era where you’re surrounded by TV execs expensing wild lunches; there’s a simple glamour to it. 

Tom Browne: Chef and co-founder of Decatur 

There was a traumatic incident where I was run over by a Tesco lorry that spurred me on to being a chef. I spent a long time at home thinking, ‘I need to really go for it.’ Before then I’d been in a band, toured all over America, and I worked for a travel company based in New York. I’d staged at some high profile restaurants over there, but that accident is what made me dedicate myself to being a chef. My mother literally has 5,000 cookbooks in her house, so I’ve always been surrounded by great food and cooking. 

I’ve also always loved the States, in particularly the South, New Orleans and Lousiana. Decatur is our way of wanting to try and respect the region and its culture and incredible cuisine, because I didn't think other places necessarily did that in the past… which I suppose could be said of British food and cooking prior to St. JOHN. 

My relationship with St. John is more, I guess, a stylistic influence, and an ethos. It's about respecting the whole animal. It's about using as much as you can and creating something delicious from what other people might put in the bin. It’s that sort of mentality around taking time-honoured traditions and recipes and and saying that this deserves as much respect as any small plate put together with a set of tweezers and a squeezey bottle.

We often get people from New Orleans who try our food and say it reminds them of home, which is the highest praise imaginable. Although it’s never as good as their mother’s cooking! But what is?! 

Patricia Niven: Photographer and Sarah Winman: Author 

Sarah: I’ve lived in Clerkenwell since the 90s, so St. JOHN has always sort of been my neighbourhood restaurant. I must have come here when it first opened. I only knew about it  because there was an uproar in the press about there being no salt and pepper on the tables at that point. I walked in, and it was just fabulous. And then me and Patricia got together in 2001, so most of our dating happened over copious martinis in the bar. 

When I started writing I always thought, ‘if I’m ever lucky enough to have a book launch party, I want it at St. JOHN, so we’ve had some amazing nights here. It’s a nice full circle moment.

Patricia: The restaurant is how I started photographing food. Fergus very kindly asked me, which has lead me into what I do today and what I love, so it's a very special place for me. 

Sarah: It feels like the sort of place that you can bring anyone, there are a lot of memories that anchor us both to the restaurant. I’ve been here for solo lunches and great big celebrations. If you order a crab salad, you’re going to get a whole crab on your plate. It’s somewhere that encourages you to eat well and eat sociably.