14 December 2011
'Food of Love' Event February 2012

 

 

Phil Howard and Head Chef Robert Weston are partnering with Ackergill Tower to host their 2012 Michelin Culinary Event dedicated to superb food and wine. The 2012 Food of Love weekend will run from Friday 24th - Monday 27th February. Together they will design all of the menus for the weekend, and ingredients will be sourced locally, making the most of the very best of beef, pork and lamb from around the county, as well as the abundance of local seafood and shellfish. It's sure to be a 'tasteful' weekend in all respects!

 

Guests will stay in the luxurious Ackergill Tower throughout the event and enjoy three sumptuous menus prepared by Robert, Phil and Ackergill Tower's head chef Kevin Dalgleish. Included will also be cookery demonstrations, oyster tasting, cheese tasting and much more. 

 

To book your place or for more information please click on the below link.

 

http://www.amazingretreats.com/venues/ackergill-tower/house-parties-programme/michelin-star-experience/

08 December 2011
Mince Pie Project

 

 

The Mince Pie Project has lined up 36 of the UK’s best chefs to each cook an exclusive batch of 50 mince pies. Each batch will be auctioned off, online, with every penny raised divided equally between Action Against Hunger and The Jamie Oliver Foundation.

 

Phil will be making his 'Mince Pie Whirls', his own unique twist on the humble mince pie!

06 July 2011
Phil Howard receives a Catey!

Phil Howard receives a 2011 Catey for Restauranteur of the year - Independant.

 

05 July 2011
The Square hosts a Breakfast in aid of Action Against Hunger.

 

On Tuesday 5th July The Square hosted its first breakfast in aid of Action Against Hunger. Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organisation committed to ending world hunger. ACF works to save lives of malnourished children while providing communities with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger.

 

28 June 2011
Mega Mentors at The Square for a day!
The Square has been a strong supporter and sponsor of Megamentors for two years and hosted a day at the restaurant for a collection of kids (and parents!). After a quiet and nervous start the inevitable descent into fun and games took place and the gaggle were sent packing full, sticky and with a bit of luck, inspired. For further info see www.megamentors.com.

 

03 June 2011
SPECIAL AWARD RECEIVED AT THE CRAFT GUILD AWARDS 2011

Last night at the Craft Guild Awards, Phil Howard was presentated with the very prestigious 'Special Award' 2011. This year in particular Phil celebrates 20 years as head chef and co-owner with Nigel Platts-Martin of The Square. With many of his peers describing him as a 'chef's chef' who quietly gets on with the job, Phil can look back over an illustrious culinary career.

 

His decision to become a chef began after gaining a degree in biochemistry from Kent University that gave him a scientific understanding of cooking and ingredients, plus a passion to cook.

 

Without any formal training apart from a spell in France, he took up an apprenticeship with Roux Restaurants. In 1990 he moved on to work at Harveys Restaurant under Marco Pierre-White before joining forces with Nigel in 1991 to run The Square in St. James. The Square went on to acheive numerous awards and accolades including 2 Michelin stars. The first was in 1994; the second in 1998 after he relocated the restaurant to Mayfair.

07 February 2011
THE SQUARE GOES TO RAFFLES SINGAPORE
The Square has just played a large part in the 2011 Raffles Festival of Food and Wine in Singapore. Along side two 3 Star Michelin chefs from France, Gerald Passedat and Jilles Goujon, Philip and a team from The Square cooked several gastrnomic dinners. Square classics were transported to the other side of the globe to sit along side a staggering line of of wines from Chateau Margaux and Chateau d'Yquem. Imperials of Margaux 1988 and Yquem 1988 were poured to go with Pyrrenean Lamb and Foie Gras respectively and both dishes are to be found o the current a la carte menu.
24 January 2011
NEW MENU 2011

 

January sees the end of the game birds and as much as I enjoy all the flavours and aromas they bring to a kitchen, thousands of birds later I am never too sad to see them go! Appart from anything else it marks a turning point in the culinary winter and we now get to look forward to the likes of Sea Kale, Seville Oranges, Rhubarb and Black Truffles and just over the horrizon are Jersey Royals and Morels - the first signs of spring. This year's new menu sees the return of some familiar flavour combinations but there are fresh ideas too. The Tartare of Mackerel with Smoked Eel, Oyster Beignets and Caviar is harmonious assembly of briney, smokey and textural components - one I always revisit each January. Similarly the main course Roulade of Doversole and Lobster has its origins not only in the sea but at The Square's first location in King St. St James's but it is so delicious it is never too ar from my thoughts at this time of year when Sea Kale is a its best.  The Foie Gras with Burnt Seville Orange is as good as foie gras gets and the Sweet and Sour Consomme a fresh twist to The Square's usage of clarified stocks.

08 November 2010
GROUSE ARE OVER. TRUFFLES ARE HERE.
The Grouse season this year was the best in my cooking years but sadly the birds have finally started to show their age and so have come off the menu. I would estimate that we must have cooked the best part of 2000 this year and I can honestly say that very few were less than perfect. We are to be thankful for  ideal breeding and feeding conditions and lets hope the same repeat themselves next year because there are very few things quite as pleasing and delicious as a Grouse.
It is usually around about now that we start to hear the Italians blaming some peculiar climactic condition for the fact that  the whilte truffles are once again scarce and pricey. We are experiencing one of the greatest wild mushroom seasons of all time and thankfully the Alba truffles' fungal nature seems so be following suit with, relatively speaking, an abundant start to the season and sensible pricing. We have a sensuous chicken wing dish and a variety of "specials" making the very best of what is possibly natures greatest gift to the kitchen and these should coninue right through to Christmas.
06 October 2010
The Square website wins creativity award in Las Vegas!

The Square website has been awarded the Most Creative/Original Site at a ceremony in Las Vegas. The Community Choice Awards are an annual event to recognise the top websites from across the world that have been built upon the DotNetNuke content management platform.

04 September 2010
HARDENS 2011 RATES THE SQUARE AS TOP FINE DINING FOR BUSINESS

September sees the arrival of many of the 2011 food guides. Hardens Guide 2011 has shown The Square to have risen to 6th position in the best all round London restaurant. Furthermore we are now Hardens No. 1 fine dining restaurant for business.

18 August 2010
MENU CHANGE FORCED EARLY
Due to the fantastic weather we had in the early part of the summer we have been forced into making a menu change now.  Some ingredients that should last all summer have peaked and gone and others have arrived earlier than expected. Of course The Glorious 12th has been and gone and in a way marks the beginning of autumn in culinary terms! Summer looses it's legs once Grouse appears on the menu.
Having said that the kitchen is still strewn with summers produce - lobsters, phenominal red peppers and aubergines, coco beans and tomatoes are still at their very best yet are, unusually, sat side by sidethe first flush of Scottish Cepes which have come early. This is a good thing as they are being used as a garnish for an ingredient that is making a debut on The Square's menu after 19 years. We have a magnificent T-Bone steak for two. This is an intelligent bit of butchery - a prime piece of fillet and sirloin are cooked on the bone and to ensure suitable thickness we cook it only for two. This will guarantee that you receive a spectacularly tender, succulent and flavourful piece of beef.
22 June 2010
APPOINTMENT OF A NEW GENERAL MANAGER

David O'Connor has left us to persue his goal of opening his own restaurant in London and we wish him all the best for this venture. David was instrumental in bringing a change to the style of service at The Square which we all felt was necessary to keep it in line with changing customer expectation. Whilst the efficiency and professionalism of the service has remained unchagned under his stewardship it is delivered with increased confidence, less formality and a bigger smile.

It is with great pleasure that I can announce the appointment of Ben Crofton as the incoming General Manager. He will join The Square in early September and brings immense experience at the very highest level. Ben, an Englishman, started his career at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons before moving to America where he worked as General Manager of Thomas Keller's infamous The French Laundry. He will, I am sure, be a huge asset to the restaurant.

20 June 2010
EARLY SUMMER MENU UNDER WAY
It is always very tricky finding the cut off point between the end of spring and start of summer. I am a keen trout fisherman and certainly the arrival of the Mayfly marks the start of summer in angling terms but as long as asparagus is being cut in England I consider it to spring in culinary terms. Scottish girolles are a magnificent ingredient and also indicate warmth "up north" - and certainly when they arrive it is very definately summer.  The new menu is full of olive oil, herbs, tomatoes, girolles, almonds, summer truffles, cherries, sweetcorn and peas. Consult the food section for the full menu. 
16 June 2010
NEW WEBSITE GOES LIVE
This week marks the launch of our new website. A complete overhaul of the site has enabled us to achieve several important things. Firstly it simply does a fantastic job of communicating what we are about in a highly functional and beautiful way. Secondly we now have the ability to change the content at the touch of a keyboard at The Square. The importance of this for you, the customer, is that it will enable us to show completely up to date menus - including the daily lunch menu. Furthermore, using this "events and news" section we can communicate anything we feel that might be of imporatance or of interest to the reader - be it upcoming events, new members of staff or major menu changes, as and when required. The website will keep you completely up to date with what's going on at The Square.