Matt Beardmore
Matt Beardmore
The rustic, seasonal Italian dishes executive chef Matt Beardmore cooks in the kitchen of Legare in London are punchy, packed with flavour and a testament to just how incredible Italy’s regional cuisine can be.
In the UK, our love for Italian food has been around for decades – but in the past few years we’ve gone beyond the likes of pizza, spaghetti and risotto in search of something more regional and rustic. We want dishes that bring to life the regions of the country we’ve visited on holidays, or plates of food that take the Italian approach of cooking the best quality ingredients in a simple, incredibly delicious way. It’s thanks to restaurants like Legare, with chef Matt Beardmore at the helm, that we can enjoy this sort of food without actually going to Italy.
Matt fell into cooking after getting a job at his local pub after college, not really knowing what he wanted to do. Eventually he moved to London to work at a private member’s club (‘it was very old school – lots of very classical French and English cooking – but it gave me a grounding in the fundamental techniques of being a chef’) and learned the ropes of the industry for the next four years. After taking a year out to travel across Asia, he returned to London knowing he wanted to cook, but in a more relaxed, exciting way. After landing a job at Trullo, Tim Siadatan’s highly regarded Italian restaurant in Islington, he knew he was in the right place. ‘That’s where I really found my passion for Italian cooking and absolutely fell in love with the rustic, ingredient-led, seasonal approach,’ he explains. ‘I stayed there for four years, working up to senior sous chef, until I met Jay Patel [the owner of Legare and ex-GM of Barrafina] and we set this place up in 2019.’
Legare might be right by Tower Bridge, but it manages to feel like a friendly, laidback neighbourhood restaurant not too dissimilar from the trattoria dotted across Italy’s countryside. Rustic, regularly changing Italian dishes make up the short menu, perfect for popping in for a quick bite or something more substantial in the evenings. ‘We’re not doing strictly classical Italian food,’ says Matt. It’s more of a mix of traditional rustic Italian dishes and then some with British or more modern twists. It’s essentially produce-based and very seasonal, with the menus always being based on what we get from our suppliers. Jay and I wanted a lot of seafood on the menu and for it to be quite veggie-friendly – there’s never a huge amount of meat on there – and we’ve got a tiny little kitchen, so we’re pretty limited on what we can and can’t do. It amazes me sometimes what we manage to get out of what we have!’
There are a few mainstays that haven’t left the menu since the place opened, such as the cannoli or fennel sausage ragù, but as a rule there’s always something new to try for returning guests, thanks to Matt’s love for exploring Italy’s various regional cuisines. ‘I really love the diversity of Italian food – that’s what keeps it interesting. For one country to have so many different cuisines is what makes it stand out. I love the coastal regions in particular because of the seafood, but then the Tuscan approach to cooking really speaks to me too – it’s just so rustic and full of flavour.’
At the beginning of 2021 Legare was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, cementing its position as a place that offers laidback flavours of regional Italy without any pomp or pretension. Matt’s love for rustic cooking makes the menus a joy to read, and the dishes he serves are some of the best examples of why we all fell in love with Italian food in the first place.
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