Carousel Turns 10 – How London’s OG Chef Supper Club Transformed The City’s Dining Scene
If you find yourself wandering down Fitzrovia’s Charlotte Street, you will likely walk past the very inviting and usually buzzy front of Carousel – London’s OG chef’s supper club, founded by head chef Ollie Templeton and his brother, director Ed, in 2014.
The concept is simple. Carousel invites a chef to come and cook for a week in its kitchen, all expenses paid, in return for them curating a set menu for 50 guests at a time for five nights of the week. Carousel is a place where food becomes a story woven through each chef, each dish and each dining experience, allowing the menu to transport guests to a new location – one that is often far away from London.
The restaurant started as a series of pop-ups curated by the brothers and their cousins. “It was a huge success right from the start – we sold out every time,” says Ed. “So naturally, we just kept doing more.” They started small, and after building momentum, were able to get their first restaurant location in Marylebone – a smaller site than they occupy now. “It was a bit of a shell, and we didn’t have a big budget to spend on it,” says Ed. “It was very bare – we gradually added things, such as lights, tables and chairs. When we were eventually able to open Carousel, Ollie was still only 22.”
The idea of bringing in established chefs was partly down to Ollie, who was training to be a chef at the time and looking to build experience. “He knew he was really enjoying cooking at these events, but he also knew that he was still so young and wanted to carry on learning and developing his skills,” says Ed. “He then thought about moving to work in a kitchen in Mexico, but we thought: what if the chef came to us?”
This summer, Carousel celebrates 10 years since it first opened its doors, and to mark the milestone it will welcome back Argentina’s Javier Rodriguez – the first-ever chef to cook at the original location. “People come to us to try something new, something they haven’t had before, and that has never changed from the start,” says Ed. “London has so many restaurants to try, but often they won’t be regional. You may have a ‘Chinese’ or a ‘Mexican’ restaurant – but within that there are so many chefs from different regions that are all so different in style. That’s where we come in.”
From emerging talent to renowned masters, each chef brings their own flare to the kitchen, keeping the place fresh week after week, year after year. “We’re very conscious of not losing what is important. Having that balance and a real variety of chefs coming through – names that people might not be so familiar with. That’s still the core.”
The restaurant has welcomed over 300 chefs from more than 50 cities across 30 different countries. Carousel has served as a launchpad for stars including Santiago Lastra, Jeremy Chan, Ravinder Bhogal, Selin Kiazim, Tom Brown and Chetan Sharma, who have since opened critically acclaimed restaurants all over the world.
“Commercially it obviously isn’t as profitable having an under-the-radar chef compared to the big names,” says Ed. “But if the food is amazing, the story’s amazing, the person’s amazing… people might look back in two years and say, ‘Oh my God, I ate at that person’s dinner at that place in London’ – that’s what we look for.”
08.08.2024
My first visit to Carousel was for the residency of Mexican chef Jesús Durón, the founder of Mexico City’s renowned Pujol, earlier this year. It was clear how masterfully the Carousel team has perfected the concept. Durón was on full display, working his magic before an audience of 50 diners. Supported by a team of London-based sous chefs and guided by his right-hand man from Mexico, he crafted an incredible experience from start to finish. With the chef personally introducing the meal, diners felt transported to a bustling night at Pujol, savouring the flavours and atmosphere of one of Mexico City’s finest dining establishments. At the end of the meal, Durón shared that this residency was his “London test-run” before unveiling Dué, his new restaurant in London, set to open later this year.
Collaboration is part of Carousel’s DNA, so naturally, over the years, it’s hosted many events that go beyond weekly residencies. Its newly opened wine bar has become a hub for pop-ups, from rosé tastings with London-based wine merchant The Modest Merchant to tapas with Barcelona’s beloved Señora Dolores.
One of its standout initiatives is the {PAIRED} series with AVA Festival, which brings together some of the world’s coolest chefs and DJs, creating pure magic: “We’ve had some amazing people such as DJ Tennis, who was paired with Youra Kim, an amazing Korean chef working in Copenhagen at a restaurant called Propaganda. That was very cool,” says Ed.
This summer, you’ll find Carousel popping up outside London: at Guy Ritchie’s Wiltshire estate’s WildKitchen, hosting eight chefs over eight weekends, and at Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire. And the brothers’ sights remain firmly set on the corners of the world and cuisines they’ve not ticked off yet: “Our wish list just keeps on growing; there are so many amazing chefs we haven’t hosted yet that we want to,” says Ed. “We hope it’s just a matter of time before we can get them all to London.”
Ollie And Ed Templeton’s 3 Standout Chefs Who Have Taken Over The Carousel Kitchen
- Santiago Lastra – The chef behind acclaimed restaurant Kol in London, where he blends traditional Mexican techniques with locally sourced British ingredients.
- Olia Hercules – The celebrated chef and author renowned for her heartfelt interpretation of Ukrainian cuisine, which highlights the warmth and traditions of Eastern European cooking through seasonal produce and family recipes.
- Punk Royale – The Stockholm restaurant famous for its avant-garde and playful approach to dining, offering a wild, sensory-driven experience.
The 4 Chefs Ollie And Ed Would Love To Host At Carousel
- Victor Arguinzoniz – The legendary chef behind Asador Etxebarri in Spain, where he has perfected the art of grilling over an open flame.
- Rosio Sanchez – The Mexican-American chef celebrated for her contemporary take on traditional Mexican cuisine. After gaining acclaim at Noma, she founded her own taqueria and restaurant, Hija de Sanchez, in Copenhagen.
- Danny Bowien – The creative force behind Mission Chinese Food, open in both San Francisco and New York.
- Missy Robbins – The celebrated American chef specialising in Italian cuisine. She is the owner and executive chef of Lilia and Misi in Brooklyn.
Pia Brynteson is Content Editor at Service95
