Food as a language: Q&A with Ella Williams

If your kitchen had a mood, what would it be?

Hmmm, I don’t know about my mood but I feel like it’d be the energy of the colour orange! Warm and sunny but also close to red, which I always associate with putting out a fire!

What part of your heritage, childhood or personal history appears in your cooking, even indirectly?

All of it to be honest! I’m half Jamaican on my mother’s side and Welsh on my father’s. I grew up in Tooting which is a very diverse part of the world. The restaurants I’ve worked in were also very varied in terms of cuisine. I was quite well travelled as a child and that’s another big influence on my cooking. Not just in terms of flavours but plating and composition styles, drink pairings and the overall experience of being a guest at a restaurant. 

Do you think chefs build a language in the same way artists or writers do?

Similarly yes. I don’t know if I'd go as far as saying it's the same. The immediacy of cooking and the concept of a restaurant and the industry is very different to that of art and writing. Though it definitely has its own language as does everything. The difference to me is, it’s rooted in both passion and margins. You can be an artist and a writer and do it for leisure,  very few people are chefs for leisure. I think that's where the language difference comes into play. The team dynamic is also where the nuance lies, unless its film or a TV writers room writing and artistry isn’t collaborative day to day in the same way that being a chef is.

What does your ideal service feel like — chaos, rhythm, theatre, control, intimacy?

Busy, systematic, fluid and fun. 

Is there a smell, texture or flavour that instantly takes you somewhere specific?

The taste of Encona original hot sauce reminds me of my mum. She puts it on EVERYTHING, from cheese to a roast dinner or a spag bol! The feeling of a dry microfibre reminds me of the beginning of a shift and makes me recoil in my skin!  The smell of a well lit and seasoned BBQ reminds me of my dad doing the BBQ at the school fair as a child. In the kitchen the smell of singed hairs always reminds me of my sister, who is addicted to straightening her hair! 

What do people often misunderstand about your food?

I don’t know to be honest I haven’t asked, I’ve not really been told  and I am not particularly aware of it!

If your cooking could be described through one place, one song and one object, what would they be?

One place: My home kitchen, I've lived in the same house all my life and no matter how equipped the restaurant kitchens I’ve worked in are. The best food I’ll ever make will be in my home kitchen. The pots and pans are perfectly seasoned and I know how long each of them takes to heat up etc.  

Song: Not a song, but songs! There's two playlists I made that I frequently listen to when I'm cooking. One’s called Jazz cookin’ and the other, Service. It’s mainly Jazz and Hip-Hop. 

Object: This tiny whisk I have at home, the handle is an egg with a little face that stands up. My aunty got it when I was 8, she passed about a year later. I loved my aunty Laura. It means a lot to me for obvious reasons, I always like to think she knew I was going to be a chef before I did! 

by Daria Konovalenko

All photos by John Carey