THE SECRET INGREDIENT: A new dimension in Home Cooking

We hovered awkwardly in the laminate hallway, inhaling the steamy fumes of soy-based deliciousness wafting in from the kitchen. "Would you like a drink while you wait?" We nodded eagerly, holding out our glasses to be filled to the brim by our friendly waitress. She screwed the top on the cheap bottle of plonk before putting our coats away under the stairs. I couldn't help but notice her tuts as the hoover was moved to make room as a rogue flat mate passed us on the way to the garden. Hang on. A hoover? Flat mate? What was going on?

I had taken two taxis and about 4 wrong turns through a sprawling 1970's estate on the fringes of Newington Green, determined to sample what may turn out to be the new dining craze. The Secret Ingredient, you see. is a new restaurant with a twist. Set up by the sparkily named Horton Jupiter -musician, scenester and occasional chef -this eaterie is intriguingly situated in Jupiter's very own front room.

Is this a completely new concept? The idea of setting up a restaurant in your own home seems completely un-British. Unlike other countries where inviting hungry strangers into the home is a matter of course, we Brits prefer to keep our eating habits to ourselves. Rightfully so. We should be ashamed of the silent shoveling competitions we call meal times where ready meals are sucked down in front of droning plasmas. But what about more civilised nations? Chatting to friends before visiting the Secret Ingredient, I was told of places where the home-hosted restaurant is already a well honoured tradition. The most famous are Cuba's Paladares- state sanctioned, family run canteens popular with visitors wishing to avoid pricey hotels, then there's the arty types of left-bank Paris, they 've been at it for decades and even Europhile Americans host 'banned-food' restaurants where diners can taste scary unpasteurised French cheese in baseball strewn dens.



I chatted to Horton as he buzzed around the kitchen slicing and dicing. Dressed in his version of chef whites – a crumpled white linen shirt, trousers and bare feet –he looked more Nick Rhodes than Gary Rhodes. I asked him why he decided to set up The Secret Ingredient. Expecting a cash incentive, I was surprised to hear that he had ventured into the restaurant business because a chapter of a self-help book he was reading said 'Set up a restaurant in your house'.

We were shown into the dining room, formerly a mid-size living room, now cleared of sofas by Horton's sweet and affable girlfriend/waitress, dressed for the evening in 1950s polka dots and an air hostess smile. The room was warm and welcoming, softened by perennial boho décor favourites. Fairy lights pulsed over the mantelpiece and brightly coloured fabric artfully run across wobbly tables.

Seating ourselves at one of the three spaces available, we chatted nervously and gulped on our wine, trying to conversationally adapt to what is a quite bizarre social situation. Soon after we had sat down, the other table of guests arrived, adding to the dining dynamic, but complicating it also, merging the lines between restaurant and dinner party.

As this was a restaurant of only two tables and the chef no doubt had the use of only one stove, we were not given an a la carte menu, or indeed offered any explanation of what dishes were prior to eating them. What I did gather after the dinner was that the food was vegetarian, and possibly vegan. Being an aficionado of neither, I find it difficult to categorise correctly or enthusiastically, but if it was vegan, it was very good – for vegan food. The theme was also undoubtedly Japanese, which was at odds with the 'home-cooking' hearty fare I had been expecting.

We began with soy sauce dishes filled with marinated red onions then came little bundles of julienned green beans and carrots tied neatly with seaweed. These had a firm texture, tasted sweet and began a theme of intricately and stylishly presented food. Each dish as so so pretty it caused me to emit a little gasp of girly delight each time a dish landed and being in PR you can imagine my joy when the next course (radish with lemon, cabbage sushi rolls, sesame potato and sticky rice ) arrived on square mirrors instead of plates. Ideal for those media types one has to endure who might like a quick line between courses.

Dessert came in the delicate form of sliced star fruit laid upon a pilgrim's shell and accompanied by very strong hot Sake. – It was the perfect, woozy ending to a fine meal. By this time, we were all well-oiled and the atmosphere became pretty raucous. It seemed only natural that Horton would join us from the kitchen and crack dirty jokes. As I gather, Horton is not a fully trained chef, just passionate about food.

Will this new way of dining out (but in) take off outside the fad tolerant East London? I don't know. There are legal issues– our meal cost £10 per head and we brought our own wine. I'm not sure what the licensing regulations are, but council busybodies could easily prevent others following Horton's lead. I for one though hope they turn a blind eye. There seems to be an act of rebellion inherent in The Secret Ingredient. Horton is sticking two fingers up at the stuffy, overpriced London restaurant scene, which despite the economic downturn is continuies to erect endless gastro pubs ,infiltrating formerly decent boozers with £15 sausage and mash.

So what better way to rid us of this faceless highstreet plague than to start one gloriously individual restaurants in your very own home?

Horton Jupiter is a fantastic character with the right amount of kookiness and passion for such a venture – the sitting before us that night included a journalist from the Guardian and Horton has already been approached by a television company – all this will undoubtedly help the restaurant's success and good luck to him. The warm and unassuming atmosphere at the Secret Ingredient is such a welcome surprise that any meal served there would have been an unexpected pleasure. Book a table before the Secret's out.

Face Book Link:
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Horton’s Band – They Came From The Stars (I Saw Them):
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Moon Song by They Came From The Stars I Saw Them from horton jupiter on Vimeo.

The Last Word comes from the man himself, ladies and gentlemen - Mr Horton Jupitor:

'If you're in London this Friday (6 Feb) you'll come along to 93 Feet East and cheer our new guitarist - Taishi - on, not to mention the fact (?) that our Moon Song single is finally coming out next Monday, February the 9th... OH! only 6 months late... But it does have remixes from MUNGOLIAN JETSET, HOLY GHOST, THE KING OF TOWN, and SERGE SANTIAGO.

After That we are DJ-ing at CLUB PACIFIC on Friday Feb the 14th from 8 til 5 am (which is Free, and as fun and friendly a club as you're likely to find) and then have a show at the SECRET GARDEN VALENTINE'S BALL on February the 13th. We can't invite you as it was sold out before they asked us to play, but if you're lucky enough to have tickets, maybe we'll get a chance for a snog.

And at the end of the Month - MOSCOW AWAITS US! Please let your Muscovite friends know!

Hope you're all well and cozy and that 2009 is a good one for you and yours

See you soon people of Earth - from the stars xx xxx'