Chef Matt Beardmore has built his career around a deep respect for ingredients, seasonality, and the traditions that shape the way we eat. After learning the fundamentals of classical cooking at Boodles, he spent four formative years at London’s acclaimed Trullo, where his love for Italian cuisine and ingredient-led cooking really took hold.
Today, Matt is the chef behind Legare, the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Bermondsey that explores Italy’s regional cooking through the lens of exceptional seasonal British produce, and Luna, its more relaxed wine-bar sibling inspired by the convivial drinking and dining cultures of Paris and Barcelona.
In this week’s Chef of the Week feature, Matt talks about what he learned from travelling through Asia, where he draws the line between authenticity and adaptation, why some Italian ingredients simply can’t be replaced, and how Legare approaches Italy’s extraordinarily diverse regional food traditions. He also shares the dish that best captures his cooking philosophy, the British ingredient he believes deserves more attention, and one deceptively simple technique that can help make anyone a better home cook.
My time at Boodle’s really taught me the fundamentals of cookery and being part of a classical kitchen brigade. It was the epitome of old school and absolutely fascinating for a 20 year old me having just moved to London. Trullo was where I really fell in love with Italian cuisine and amazing quality, seasonal produce being at the forefront of everything they do.
I felt that there was a deep connection with food across Asia that is somewhat lacking here, and the cultural identity around food is so inspiring. In India especially, food is everywhere you look and I felt that people certainly have a closer understanding of where it comes from and with that comes a certain respect for each meal as well as being deeply tied to spirituality and community. It completely changed the way I think about food systems in this country and opened my eyes to how separated we as consumers are from it.
I will never claim to have truly recreated an Italian classic, they’d run me out of town. I will always try to honour the spirit of the dish in the best way I know how, and there’s nothing wrong with the odd tweak here or there.
I will never claim to have truly recreated an Italian classic, they’d run me out of town.
We’ll always try to source as locally as possible but there are certain ingredients that just won’t compare, be that due to climate or generations of knowledge and expertise. You can’t just replace Parmesan for example, and Italian tomatoes at the peak of their season really are something special.
Absolutely, we have always wanted to create an atmosphere where everyone is welcome. Restaurants should be a place where people come together, relax and share some wonderful food without breaking the bank.
Sadly with rising costs in almost every aspect of running a restaurant it is becoming more and more of a challenge to uphold great value and quality side by side.
Polpettine in brodo. The meatball recipe is one of the first ones we worked on when opening Legare. The brodo (broth) part takes a seriously long time to make and combining the rustic meatballs with the crystal clear consommé, I think, is something really special. A great example of using inexpensive ingredients and applying the right techniques to achieve a beautiful thing.
When looking for menu inspiration we are always researching weird and wonderful recipes in the many different regions of Italy. We will pick 3 or 4 regions to focus on for each menu which allows us to delve deeper into the vast labyrinth of Italian cuisine.
Culurgiones are one of my favourite super-regional dishes. From the province of Ogliastra in Sardinia, they are a kind of dumpling filled with mashed potatoes, pecorino and mint, usually served with a rich tomato sauce. A bit fiddly at first but well worth a try.
When gorgeous produce is at its peak, especially the ones with a short season, I’ve got no issue with it appearing on a menu multiple times or across both sites. Make hay while the sun shines!
One of the best things about coming up with dishes for Luna is presenting it to the team and coming up with some wines to pair with it. Our wine experts are always up for the challenge and never fail to come up with the perfect pairing, whatever flavours are involved.
The menu is designed so you can have a few carefully chosen snacks to accompany our wines by the glass or go all in and have a feast with a big bottle or two.
Peas. I always hold off until the British peas land, usually several weeks after the Italian ones, but it’s so worth the wait. A great one to grow at home too if you can keep the slugs at bay.
Take your time cooking a sofrito. The classic combination of celery, onion and carrot is an essential base to so many dishes (ragus, risottos, pulses) and it’s well worth taking the time to chop them with love and cook low and slow to develop a deep flavour.
We’re working our way through every region of Italy at Legare so we’ll continue to dive ever deeper into what the wonderfully diverse cuisine has to offer. At Luna we’re looking forward to our summer series where we’ll be putting on an Andalusian inspired event at the end of the month – think gildas, gambas, octopus, and churros.
Chef Matt Beardmore
Legare | Instagram
Cardamom Building 31G Shad Thames, SE1 2YR
Luna
36 Shad Thames, London SE1 2YE, United Kingdom
