The chef behind new opening Jolene shares his take on a classic.

Ask any London-based food critic of note for a list of their favourite restaurants, and you might bet that a place opened by Mr Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and Mr David Gingell will feature somewhere. It might be their second and probably most well-known venture, the fish-focused, bustling, canteen-like Westerns Laundry in Highbury, north London. Some might plump for the stylish small plates of Primeur in nearby Stoke Newington instead. Or, if the critic in question was particularly ahead of the curve, they may cite Jolene – the latest restaurant (or, should we say, bakery) from the pair, based in the similarly local Newington Green.

Having teamed up with France-based farmer (and sometime half of Groove Armada) Mr Andy Cato, they’re approaching things differently this time. The main ingredient at Jolene is not fish or fine cooking techniques, it is grain – which is milled on-site daily. It reflects a small trend in the London food scene for certain established restaurant teams to add a bakery to their portfolio. See: St John. “We have always wanted to open a bakery,” Mr Gingell tells us. “Meeting Andy in France was just the excuse we needed. The grains are grown with great care using no chemicals on good, healthy soil. They are then milled into flour, and this flour is mixed with water, a little salt and our “mother”, which is made from flour and water. We ferment the dough for about 18 hours, then we bake it in a really hot oven. It sounds really simple, and it is. But simple doesn’t mean easy.”

Jolene is not just about baking bread, of course. The grain is also used for pastries and pasta, and a daily changing menu that showcases the simple, satisfying cooking that the pair’s other two restaurants are known for. They have an amazing spelt and red wine dish on at the moment, for example, which is the perfect dish for autumn. “I am so happy with the response we had from Westerns Laundry,” says Mr Gingell. “Like with all restaurants, it’s almost entirely dependent on the team of people we have working for us. We work incredibly hard sourcing produce for the restaurants, and we have done the same for Jolene. So I really hope it’s a success,” he says.

In case you don’t get a chance to visit Jolene, we asked Mr Gingell for a recipe from his repertoire. Try his lemon cake, below.

Lemon cake

200g caster sugar 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature Zest of 2 lemons Small pinch of salt Half a vanilla pod 200g eggs (3-4 medium-size eggs) 150g plain flour 50g ground almonds 5g baking powder

Syrup

150g icing sugar Juice and rind of 4 unwaxed lemons

Preheat the oven to 165°C. Cream the sugar and butter together with the lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the vanilla pod seeds. Slowly add the eggs with a little of the flour. Fold in the rest of the flour, along with the almonds and baking powder. Mix well and pour into a lined, greased 20cm ring tin. Bake for 40 minutes until golden.

Heat the icing sugar with the lemon juice and rind in a small pan, and boil down until it’s of a nice syrupy consistency. Strain to remove the rind. Once the cake is cooled, pour the lemon syrup over the top.