Assured, generous and emphatically likeable: words that can be applied to Margot Hendersons personality and food with equal accuracy. Like her husband Fergus Hendersons St. John, Margots restaurant Rochelle Canteen champions nose-to-tail, seasonal British fare cooked with a lot of love, time and tradition; her menus often read like nostalgia-inducing lists of dishes too prosaic-seeming for less confident kitchens to put out— think mince and tatties, chicken pie, lentils, and baked rice pudding.

After chatting with Margot and Fergus at their house in Lambeth about what makes a good meal in and out of the home, we felt inspired to explore the subject a little deeper. So, in our new series The Modern Menu, were going behind the pass at our favourite restaurants to ask chefs what it means to cook, eat and dine out in a modern way, while also asking them to share a dish that can be cooked at home.

First up is Rochelle Canteen, the first of which is to be found in a converted bike shed of a Victorian School on Arnold Circus in Shoreditch. Last year a second outpost was opened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, which is where we met Margot for a lunch of barbecue lamb, borlotti beans and green sauce.

Weve a British kitchen, taking a bit from French and Italian food but using native ingredients. We keep things straightforward, not using foreign words on our menu. We cook food that is quite simple, and a bit like home cooking. Its comfort food, often the result of gentle cooking. I love fancy food, but its not what Im about and its not part of my character. It