April is where things start to get easier.
After a long stretch of roots, brassicas and heavier cooking, spring finally starts to show itself. The ingredients change and with that, the way you cook changes too.
There’s a point in the year where dishes stop needing to be force worked so hard.
April is that point.
Morels
There’s a short window where morels appear and it’s one of the best parts of spring. They really are an ingredient I look forward to working with every year.
They’re deep, earthy, almost meaty in flavour but lighter than anything you’d get through winter. Whether they’re lightly sautéed in butter, braised in a meaty or creamy sauce, they don’t need much to make them delicious.
In April, we’re serving them at Môr alongside chicken and wild garlic. It’s the kind of combination that explains why this time of year is so good to cook in. When you have access to such good quality produce, the menus essentially write themselves & the ingredients do most of the work for you.
Morels, good chicken, fresh wild garlic. You don’t need to push it any further than that.
Lamb
Lamb is closely tied to this time of year for a reason.
Spring lamb is younger, more delicate, cleaner in flavour than what you’d see later in the year. It doesn’t need long cooking or heavy handling, it just needs to be treated properly. There’s also the obvious link to Easter, but beyond that it’s simply when lamb is at its best.
In April, we’re using it in a few different ways.
At Moura, it’s a refined take on a classic navarin. Something rooted in tradition, but cleaned up and focused. It’s deep flavours but like a lot of the cooking at Bohémien, it’s lightened from the original inspiration.
For our collaboration dinners with Matty’s BBQ chop shop, it shifts slightly. A layered dish of lamb and merguez sausage with labneh and peppers cooked down slowly with ras el hanout. Drawing on North African flavours that have influenced French cooking for generations. The kind of flavours that sit naturally alongside French cooking, without needing to be forced.
It shows how versatile good Lamb really is.
Watercress
Watercress is one of those ingredients that’s usually treated as an afterthought.
But it deserves more than that. It’s got a proper flavour that’s peppery, fresh & sharp. When you use it generously, it holds its own.
In April, we’re using it as a velouté. Paired with grilled salmon and a fennel confiture.
It’s a simple dish, but it works because the watercress is allowed to be the main event, not just something scattered over the top at the end.
Why April is great
If I’m honest, spring is my favourite time of year as a cook. The months spent cooking (albeit delicious) cold weather cooking take its toll. The first shoots of green, the temperature warming and seeing everything coming back to life in April is enough to cheer anyone up.
As a cook food becomes so much easier, spring ingredients need little effort to make them delicious. The menus almost write themselves this time of year. This is what makes spring interesting.
You don’t need to rely on technique or overwork dishes to make them feel complete. The ingredients are strong enough on their own.
As a cook, that makes your job infinitely easier.
You just have to know when to step back and let them do what they’re supposed to do.
Tom
Chef & Owner, Bohémien
