'What more does a man want?': Marco Pierre White praises Leeds eateries during hometown visit
‘There are very few places that are deliciously good and affordable’
Legendary chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White has paid tribute to Leeds’ evolving food scene - and to two of its most ‘down-to-earth’ eateries - during a flying visit to the city.
The Leeds-born chef, who left the city as a teenager to pursue his culinary career, admitted he barely recognises the place he grew up in.
“Remember, I left Leeds in 1978, nearly 50 years ago. I don’t recognise it,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post during a brief sit-down at newly opened Elbows on the Table on Wellington Street.
“When I was a boy, it was a Victorian city. Now it’s a modern city with old Victorian buildings. I’m glad they haven’t knocked down the old hotel,” he added, referring to the former Wellesley Hotel building, which is now home to Elbows on the Table.
Asked what he makes of the city’s current hospitality scene, he was characteristically careful not to overclaim, but full of praise for the places he does know.
“I don’t know it, to be brutally honest, and for me to pass comment would be wrong,” he said. “The only two places I know in Leeds are Silver’s [Deli], which is deliciously excellent, and here.
“So I can’t judge a city on those two restaurants, can I? But the truth is, what more does a man want?”
His trip to Silver’s Deli earlier this year was described by the star chef as “worthy of the journey”. This time, he’s made the trip from the south of England, with a detour through Wales, for a salt beef sandwich - something he admits is no small undertaking.
“I don’t really go out of my way for anything or anyone. Going all the way from London for salt beef - it’s a long way, isn’t it?” he said. “It was worthy of the journey - like Michelin says, ‘worth the detour’. And this was an enormous detour.”
At Elbows on the Table, White was taken by both the feel of the place and its no-nonsense approach.
“The most important thing for me is the feel of the environment immediately,” he explained.
“How many times have you walked into a room? It might be beautiful, but you don’t feel comfortable, and the walls don’t speak to you. Then you walk into somewhere humble, you automatically feel comfortable and relaxed. You start to enjoy yourself - you can be yourself.”
On Elbows, he added: “It’s a proper old-fashioned eating house, isn’t it? You get a good pint, you get good food. What more do you want? But more importantly, at an affordable price.
“There are lots of places which are very good, but they’re very expensive. There are very few good places which are deliciously good and affordable. You get a nice, proper sandwich that’s filling, you get a nice pint, and you get great meat from a good butcher. What more do you want?”
For Elbows on the Table founder John Kelly, the visit was both surreal and validating.
“It’s insanely flattering, to be honest,” Kelly said. “It’s more of a testament to what our suppliers do than what we do. Without suppliers and service staff, we’d be nothing.”
Kelly, who has known White through previous food events, said the chef had phoned him just days earlier to say he’d be in the north and wanted to call in.
“I was speaking to him on Friday. He did call me to ask how things are going and said, ‘I’ll come up and see you,’” Kelly recalled.
Having only been open for a few weeks, Elbows is now eyeing steady growth rather than rapid expansion.
“We’ll get comfortable in offering perfection,” Kelly said. “Once we’ve done that, maybe look at [the cellar] downstairs - maybe look at some suburban locations as well.”
For now, he says he just hopes White left with one clear impression: “That he had a lovely salt beef sandwich.”