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Angela Hartnett Will Mentor a New Food Truck Concept with an All Star Team

Label Rouge chicken will eschew dude food for clean, high end cooking

Schmaltz sandwich
One of Schmaltz’s sandwiches
Schmaltz Official

Angela Hartnett is one of a globetrotting team behind the opening of a new food truck concept in Broadgate. Its name: Schmaltz. Its value prop: Michelin-level cooking from the back of a (currently) dandelion-painted van.

Hartnett will be joined on the project by long term culinary and life partner Neil Borthwick, with Glen Leeson (Patty & Bun, Bao) overseeing operations and the menu executed by George Clark (The Square, Le Bun, Bao.)

The concept pivots around Label Rouge chicken; French birds certified to have been heritage bred and aged for at least 81 days. Said to be adopting “Michelin techniques” — presumably not proprietary to Bibendum — Schmaltz’s chicken will be seared and roasted skin-on for depth of flavour and crispness. Homemade sauces will compliment the bird on a range of sandwiches “designed to fit the shape of a full, unadulterated chicken breast.” This teardrop symmetry will “reflect the concept of Schmaltz: a light, fun and feminine nod to the ever expanding quality in the fast food revolution.”

The three sandwiches revealed so far are the Chicken Schmaltz (self-explanatory), the Chilli Schmaltz (spicily self-explanatory) and the Mushroom Schmaltz. There will also be soups based on double-stock (a process which concentrates flavour and is a firm friend of classical cookery) and an obligatory vegetarian option.

Design is by Scottish studio Timorous Beasties, and the exterior is far from cowering: strikingly enveloped all over with dandelions, a fully-fitted out kitchen inside. It will be redressed in line with changing fashions, which is a neat touch if likely expensive. Hartnett told Eater London: “‘Nobody has gone and purposefully designed chicken with discerning women in mind. I love that Schmaltz pushes in the opposite direction of ubiquitous dirty dude food. It's clean and delicious.”

Far from schmaltzy, the concept seems solid and serious — a beak to tail concept with an eye for trends both foodie and fashion. Equally striking is someone with Hartnett’s pedigree striking out into mobile operations; not just a move into a growing sector, but likely an awareness that the future of bricks-and-mortar locations in the capital grows ever sketchier.

Patty & Bun

19 Borough High Street, , England SE1 9SE 020 7407 7994 Visit Website

Bao

83 Rue De La Gauchetière Ouest, Ville-Marie, QC H2Z 1C2 (514) 875-1388

The Square

6-10 Bruton Street, , England W1J 6PU 020 7495 7100 Visit Website

Bibendum

81 Fulham Rd, London, Greater London SW3 6RD +44 20 7590 1189 Visit Website