Elite Traveler Summer 2023

CHANTELLE NICHOLSON APRICITY, LONDON

We may have listed her as a rising star, but Chantelle Nicholson is no stranger to the London food scene. The New Zealand-born chef was formerly group operations director for Marcus Wareing restaurants, but it was at the beloved Tredwells where she really gained her reputation. She was involved in the restaurant’s opening in 2014, but in 2018 she stepped up to become chef-owner. It was her pioneering sustainable ethos that saw the London restaurant icon receive a Green Michelin Star in 2021. In 2022, on the back of the success of Tredwells’ green ethos, Nicholson opened Apricity: a fi ne-dining restaurant dedicated to zero-waste style of cooking. London isn’t short of eco-friendly restaurants, but Apricity is one of the few that has not only lived up to its own exacting sustainability standards, but has also ensured its food is still fun, accessible and, most importantly, delicious. Eco-consciousness is embedded in every element of the menu, but guests aren’t left feeling shunned for their own lack of virtuosity. “It felt liberating to open my own restaurant,” Nicholson says. “I’ve been in the game for a long time, and you get to the point where you know exactly how you want a restaurant to be. I love the challenge of a new opening — it’s so exciting to be able to pick every single element and bring it all together to create something that is living and breathing and has a heartbeat. We really took our time with it: We didn’t rush and we practiced a lot. It was a really enjoyable experience for me.” Apricity’s menu is ever-changing but always sticks to hyper-seasonal and local products, sourced as a result of long-forged relationships with only the most reputable and responsible suppliers. Although diners will fi nd a few meat dishes (beef is sourced from Cheswell Grange farm, where calves spend their entire lives with the herd out on the fi eld), the menu is veg-forward — a key part of Nicholson’s culinary ethos and one that has garnered her big recognition. The recognition has continued, and Apricity was awarded a Green Michelin Star in the 2023 guide. The planet- fi rst approach weaved its way into the restaurant’s design too. London-based fi rm Object Space Place, who employed the ideas of a circular economy to the project, is responsible for Apricity’s interiors. Much of what was originally a retail space was repurposed and upcycled, with new items carefully sourced to limit their impact. In order to ensure accountability, Object Space Place measured the carbon footprint of completing the project; their fi ndings showed a 41% reduction compared to a standard restaurant out fi tting. apricityrestaurant.com

Right Although Apricity does serve some meat dishes, Nicholson’s focus ison veg-forward cuisine Below, from left Design fi rmObject Space Place upcycled as much as possible in the re fi t; butterhead lettuce with miso aioli; baked chocolate mousse

Chantelle Nicholson’s signature dish “I have two favorites, but the fi rst isour butterhead lettuce. We take a whole lettuce and dress it with vinegar and miso aioli. It’s everything I love on a plate: It’s crunchy, it’s got a bit of acid in there, it’s creamy. The second is our baked chocolate mousse, which is a warm milk chocolate pudding with miso custard.”