Chef/Patron of Italian eatery Bocca Di Lupo, Jacob Kenedy serves up the finest continental cuisine in the heart of Soho and tells UJ what makes his tastebuds tingle. 

What’s your best kept London secret?

The maze of courtyards (the Inns of Court) around Temple. My mum took me on a walk there a couple of years ago, and I was amazed at a part of London I’d never seen. Start at Temple Station, get as lost as you can walking up to Fleet Street, through all the signs that say the public shouldn’t enter (the place is primarily reserved for those Called to the Bar) and certainly through Inner Temple & Middle Temple. Then around the back of the Courts of Justice to Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Finish with a macabre visit to the Hunterian Museum or the civilization of Soane’s Museum – opposite sides of the world, on opposite sides of the square.

Where do you go to escape a) within the city b) outside of the city.

a) The Chelsea Physic Garden – perhaps the ultimate English Oasis.
b) I almost never make it outside of the city since I was crazy enough to open a restaurant. There are a few secret locations for mushroom picking…… these are, as I say, secret….

“The maze of courtyards (the Inns of Court) around Temple. Start at Temple Station, get as lost as you can walking up to Fleet Street, through all the signs that say the public shouldn’t enter (the place is primarily reserved for those Called to the Bar) and certainly through Inner Temple & Middle Temple.”

Favourite restaurants?

First and foremost, Moro. This is the place I was born as a chef – I still get as excited walking along Exmouth Market as I did in the days I was so eager to be on my way to work with Sam & Sam. Beyond that: Konstam, for local food lovingly cooked, Royal China for dim sum, Bar Shu for Sichuan (currently closed for refurb), Mangal for a Turkish grill, Mona Lisa for greasy spoon Italian, Newens for a slice of pie, and Maid of Honour to eat in Kew Gardens.

Favourite shops?

Lina Stores in Soho for an Italian deli, All Saints for clothes, Leila’s shop on Calvert Avenue for artfully sourced ingredients and Gilding the Lily for flowers.

Favourite bars/drinks?

Blacks Club, the bar at Hakkasan, Green Carnation, The French House – all in Soho.

Favourite time of year in the city?

Springtime – only then do I realize how depressed I have become over winter. This surprises me every year.

Favourite view of London?

The Albert Bridge by night, all lit up like a Christmas tree.

“The Londoner who most deserves to be on a stamp is David Bowie.”

Complete the sentences:

I can’t make it through the day without… cooking something.

If London had a soundtrack it would play…Venus in Furs by the Velvet Underground – any relationship with London is sadomasochistic.

Londoner who most deserves to be on a stamp is…David Bowie.

What are your guilty pleasures?

Cigarettes and ice cream (not together), being too busy to go to the gym.

“Building I'd most like to burn down? Sea Containers House on the South Bank – no reason other than aesthetics and good taste”

If you could burn down any building in London, what would it be and why? 

Sea Containers House on the South Bank – no reason other than aesthetics and good taste.

If you’re in need of a little luxury/pampering, where do you go?

To my mum’s - nobody else can pamper quite so well – or for a massage.

Where do you go for a culture fix?

The streets of London – it is, after all, the cultural capital of the world.

A London service that makes your life better/easier?

The bus.

What’s your top London tip?

Look up. A lot of the buildings are nicer than the shopfronts below.

Anything else we need to know?

Londoners should moan less – it’s a truly great city – and if there’s a problem it’s surely better to complain to someone who can actually do something about it.