Fergus Henderson (born 31 July 1963) is an English

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

who founded the restaurant St John on St John Street in London. He is often noted for his use of

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...

and other neglected cuts of meat as a consequence of his philosophy of

nose to tail eating ''The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating'' is a 2004 in literature, 2004 book by Fergus Henderson that deals with how to cook every part of a pig, including parts rarely used in western cuisine, such as offal. It was originally released as ''Nose ...

. Following in the footsteps of his parents, Brian and Elizabeth Henderson, he trained as an architect at the Architectural Association in London. Most of his dishes are derived from traditional

British cuisine British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine meant "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavou ...

and the wines are all French. Chefs

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

and

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; and Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and Ne ...

have both praised Henderson for his dishes, which optimise

British food British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine meant "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavou ...

while making full use of the whole animal. The critic

A. A. Gill Adrian Anthony Gill (28 June 1954 – 10 December 2016) was a British journalist, critic, and author. Best known for his food and travel writing, he was also a television critic, was restaurant reviewer of ''The Sunday Times'', wrote for '' Van ...

retracted his initial hostility to St John in the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''. Fergus is married to fellow chef

Margot Henderson Margot Henderson (born 1964) is a New Zealand chef, caterer, and cookery writer who lives in the United Kingdom. With Melanie Arnold, Henderson runs the caterers Arnold & Henderson, and is the co-patron and chef of the Rochelle Canteen in Shored ...

; the couple have three children.

Career

Henderson had no formal training in cooking, and has never worked under any other chef. In 1992 Henderson and his wife, Margot, opened the French House Dining Room at Soho's

French House French house, also known as French touch, filter house and tekfunk, is a style of house music originally produced by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Euro disco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance m ...

pub before he left to open the St. John restaurant in 1994. The menu at St. John changes daily, but almost always includes roast bone marrow and parsley salad. It was awarded a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

in 2009. In 2003 he opened St John Bread and Wine in

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

, London. A second St John restaurant located within the hotel in Chinatown was awarded a

in 2009. This venue is no longer open.

''Nose to Tail'' Books

In 1999 Henderson published '' Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking'' in which he provides recipes incorporating trotters,

tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep. Types of tripe Beef tripe Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

chitterlings Chitterlings (), sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins, are the small intestines of domestic animals. They are usually made from pigs' intestines. They may also be filled with a forcemeat to make sausage.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st editi ...

and other animal parts. The book explains the philosophy behind his cooking explaining that "it seems common sense and even polite to the animal to use all of it. Rather than being testosterone-fuelled blood-lust, it actually seems to be a gentle approach to meat eating." In 2007, he published a sequel, ''Beyond Nose To Tail'', and in 2012 ''The Complete Nose to Tail: A Kind of British Cooking''.

Hotel

Henderson opened a hotel in spring 2011 that was described by his business partner Trevor Gulliver as being 'in the St John vernacular'. It was located in

London's Chinatown Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in the City of Westminster, London, bordering Soho to its north and west, Theatreland to the south and east. The enclave currently occupies the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chines ...

district near

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

1 Leicester Street. However, the hotel went into administration in October 2012, and was sold and subsequently closed. Culinary Common Ground Sept 2019 16

Diagnosis with Parkinson's disease and recognition

Henderson's stoic approach to

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, with which he was diagnosed in 1998, increased the regard in which he was held and he was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in 2005. The same year he underwent innovative Deep Brain Stimulation which vastly improved his mobility. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to the culinary arts.

Bibliography

*1999 – '' Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking'' (

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

) *2007 – ''Beyond Nose to Tail: A Kind of British Cooking: Part II'' (Bloomsbury Publishing) *2012 – ''The Complete Nose to Tail: A Kind of British Cooking'' (Bloomsbury Publishing)

References

External links

St John restaurant'On Authenticity', film by Christian Banfield
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Fergus 1963 births Living people English chefs English restaurateurs British cookbook writers Businesspeople from London 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People with Parkinson's disease Writers from London