Veggie pioneer

Henrietta Inman, Stoney Street, London SE1

After her successful residency at Yardarm in Leyton earlier this year, pastry chef and gardener Henrietta Inman has taken her vegetablefocussed food to Stoney Street, the second opening from 26 Grains owner Alex Hely-Hutchinson. Henrietta’s love of seasonal fruits and vegetables, wholefoods and natural ingredients was shaped by a childhood spent in the idyllic Suffolk countryside, where she now lives and grows her own produce. Trained at The Lanesborough hotel in London, Henrietta went on to work in a number of notable kitchens for five years before starting her own catering and teaching business. Her cooking is centred around the basic principles of soft, crunchy, acidic and creamy – a mantra that crops up in every dish, whether it’s Aztec broccoli, whipped ricotta, smoked and popped quinoa, black chilli and salsa verde; or apple and carrot cake using five different apple varieties and served with quince custard flavoured with hyssop. For Henrietta, colour, vibrancy and freshness have equal importance, and that’s why they steer the menu. Her focus is on food that’s “alive and living”, and she goes out of her way to innovate and push the boundaries in terms of offering vegetarian dishes with a deep sense of textures. With two baking books already published and all eyes on new launch Stoney Street, Henrietta says her ultimate dream is still to have a restaurant with a garden and an education centre. henriettainman.com

Head judge Laura Rowe says: Henrietta had been quietly excelling from her small kitchen in Leyton when she got nominated and she seriously impressed on our visit, where she cooked a sneak peak of her Stoney Street menu from her family home. Not only do her veggie-centric plates look beautiful but they taste great, too, and she’s a major champion of UK farmers and producers.