In May 2023, while reviewing an episode of “Top Chef: World All Stars,” I was introduced to a chef I hadn’t encountered before: guest judge Jeremy Chan.

In the review, I wrote: "Chef Jeremy Chan is a highlight of this episode; his measured demeanor, calming voice, and knowledgeable approach are unique and refreshing."

Chan embodies the phrase “calm, cool, and collected.” An accomplished chef, he is the co-founder and head chef of Ikoyi, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in London, which he launched in 2017 with his childhood friend Iré Hassan-Odukale. Chan is also the author of a cookbook by the same name.

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As explained on the Ikoyi website, the restaurant's ethos centers on “its own spice-based cuisine around British micro-seasonality: vegetables slowly grown for flavor, sustainable line-caught fish, and aged native beef . . . The foundation for our menu is a vast collection of spices with a focus on sub-Saharan West Africa, which we have sourced with utmost care since opening."

Chan’s own style is cerebral and meticulous, with a philosophical and holistic approach to food, dining, and gastronomy as a whole — which is derived, at least in part, from the chef's educational background. Prior to cooking professionally, Chan studied philosophy and the theory of languages at Princeton University, and through his culinary career has identified points where academia and food intersect, including through a collaboration with the Umami Information Center in Tokyo.

Salon recently had the opportunity to connect with Chan for a candid discussion about the standout dishes at his restaurant, the influences that shaped his career and menus, earning Michelin stars, and his succinct advice on sustainability and reducing food waste.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Chef Jeremy Chan (Danny J Peace)

How would you say your cultural influences, your identity and the places in which you've resided and worked over the years have influenced your cooking?

The cooking at Ikoyi is very intuitive, emotional, artistic and personal. It's done very much on feeling and the kind of technique and logic of cooking applied to feeling and intuition. It's not put through the lens of memory and culture as much. I think those things are part of it, but they are inflected naturally. My entire life and experiences shape my cooking, but this influence is more subconscious. I cook with a sense of intuition, passion and style and that's the foundation of the restaurant we've created.

Everything that we do now is very Ikoyi. There is a certain pattern and style that we live in. We’ve created our own creative world with its own rules and structures where we develop our dishes. In terms of culture and life, this influences all of our intuitions. It would take too long to list every place, memory, thought and idea I draw from, but I incorporate all of them.

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