R ewind to 2010 and local chef Alex Rushmer was a fresh-faced contestant on BBC’s MasterChef , raising the eyebrows of the nation with a controversial blue cheese ice cream. He narrowly missed out on taking home the crown – though did, very respectably, finish in the top three. A year or so on from the series’ conclusion, as many readers of this magazine will know, he would go on to open The Hole in the Wall in Little Wilbraham, a restaurant that earned two AA Rosettes and numerous glowing reviews in the national press. By the time The Hole in the Wall closed its doors for good in the summer of 2017, Alex had made the transition from MasterChef graduate to successful restaurateur, bowing out on a high with a promise that we hadn’t heard the last from him. Fine- dining onMill Road
Below Chef Alex Rushmer with Lawrence Butler. Alex is opening Vanderlyle on Mill Road in early spring
He didn’t make us wait too long – a little more than a year after stepping away from the hobs at The Hole, he announced his return to the restaurant game with news of Vanderlyle. Set to open by March, the Mill Road restaurant will see Alex reunited with Lawrence Butler, his trusted sous chef from The Hole in the Wall. The focus will be on locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable food, served ‘without bluster or pretension’ in a relaxed and intimate setting. “There will be elements that are broadly similar to The Hole in the Wall,” explains Alex. “The desire to always source the best produce is something that will follow through, as will the direct relationships that I’ve built up with suppliers. What I’m hoping to be able to achieve – through cooking for a smaller number of people – is a level of refinement and precision that wasn’t always achievable at The Hole in the Wall. There will also be a firmer focus on vegetables and a more sustainable style of cooking to reflect the increasingly mindful approach to food that, I believe, we should be taking.” Residing at 38-40 Mill Road, Alex is excited for Vanderlyle to join the area’s vibrant community of indie traders. “I love the energy of the place and the fact that there is such a wonderful community spirit there,” he says. “If I had been given the choice to open anywhere in Cambridge city centre, I would have had no hesitation in choosing Mill Road.”
Food gets social at theGrafton
aim is for this corner of the Grafton to be transformed into a bustling food court filled with great eateries. We won’t have to wait too long for the master plan to take effect – in fact, we’re promised that new cafes and restaurants will be announced early this year. “The independently owned Amélie chose Food Social for the launch of its new restaurant concept and has been trading extremely well since opening in the last year,” says John O’Shea, centre manager. “We are keen to bring in other new food concepts to the Grafton and are in ongoing discussions with further independent restaurant brands that we know will appeal to our Cambridge audience. We’re keen to work with brands that offer memorable experiences to our visitors that are unique to the Grafton within Cambridge.” Watch this space! FOLLOW @THEGRAFTONCAMBS ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT NEW RESIDENTS AT THE FOOD SOCIAL.
T hink of the Grafton Centre and exciting indie eateries might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but the recently revamped shopping centre is promising to buck expectations with Food Social, its reinvigorated dining concept. Already we have Amélie: the lovely family-run café which introduced the city to flammekueche, a pizza-like delicacy hailing from the Alsace region. But this cheery establishment – spearheaded by acclaimed chef Regis Crepy and his son Alex – is only the start of the story. The
Image Amélie, pictured below, is the first resident at Food Social, the Grafton Centre’s new food court
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