Come to the Michelin-starred chef Alex Dilling’s house on a weekend and you might find him enjoying his comfort meal of choice: roast chicken, mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad. Dilling says he could eat this meal “day after day”. “It brings a lot of nostalgia for me,” he says.
“Roast chicken is something I ate growing up again and again, cooked by my mother and my grandmother. It’s very comforting.” Dilling’s two Michelin-star restaurant is situated in Hotel Café Royal in London and serves some of the city’s best-regarded French fare.
Dilling, who was born in London, began his career at the Ardour in New York where the team was awarded two stars in 2012. “I got this bug for the fine dining, gastronomic world. It completely shaped who I am as a cook and put me on my path.
” Dilling later moved to Caviar Russe in New York and eventually returned to Europe to work alongside Hélène Darroze between her two restaurants in London and Paris. By 2022 he had opened his Hotel Café Royal restaurant under his own name..