On the 15th September, award winning food writer and cook Ravinder Bhogal will launch her debut restaurant on Marylebone’s Blandford Street. Jikoni, meaning ‘kitchen’ in Swahili, will draw on Ravinder’s mixed heritage and travels, with flavours and culinary traditions from Britain, East Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Ravinder is passionate about preserving her inheritance of nourishing and soothing recipes, and the restaurant is dedicated to ‘the maternal figures who made my world safe with their food’. She hopes Jikoni will honour the legacy of the many brilliant women who have shared their kitchen wisdom with her, and for whom the joy of eating, and eating well was paramount. ‘The food at Jikoni is simply the kind of food I love to cook and eat with friends and family at home’ says Chef Patron Ravinder.
The menu will be split into ‘Snacks’, ‘Small Plates’, ‘Big Plates’ and Desserts. Ravinder’s scotch eggs that have been a signature at her pop-ups, will take pride of place on the menu, with unusual takes on the English classic including a Prawn Toast quail scotch egg with Banana Ketchup and Pickled Cucumber, and Goan inspired pork scotch egg served with Tomato and Ginger Chutney and a spiky Carrot Achaar. Offerings from the ‘Small plates’ menu will include an Indian take on the American ‘sloppy joe’ made with Herdwick Mutton Keema, pickled onions and mint chutney, and crisp Soft shell crab to be served with Ravinder’s take on a peanut sauce. ‘Big plates’ will be comfort food dishes like a spiced up Shepherd’s Pie or a home ground Ras Hal Hanout Lamb served with Mujadarra. There will also be a daily changing Rice Plate celebrating curries from all over the world including Kuku Paka – a favourite chicken curry from Kenya made to a family recipe.
The team won the hotly contested site from Portman Estate on Blandford St earlier this year and can’t wait to open their local restaurant in what they see as one of central London’s “true neighbourhood areas with a friendly pavement culture”.
“Firstly I am delighted to be working with Ratnesh who has such a wealth of experience behind him. We have also partnered with Sat Ghuman – a brilliant operator. We are looking forward to being part of the Marylebone neighbourhood – so many restaurateurs I respect a great deal have been here for years. I have had residencies at both Trishna and Carousel on Blandford Street and could not have imagined that one day I would be opening my own restaurant amongst them. I am so excited to welcome guests to Jikoni and what I hope will just be an extension of my home and kitchen,” says Ravinder.
The space will be designed in a collaboration lead by London studio, Creative Family, and will take inspiration from the maternal kitchens of Ravinder’s childhood.