We're helping you get to know some of
the biggest disruptors in London food and drink, from the rogue chefs and the tastemakers to the
trendsetters and the hospitality history redefiners. In this
episode, we catch up with Ramael Scully of the self-titled restaurant in St James's, who tells us all about his love for
cooking and those crunchy arepas.
Photo: Ramael Scully.
Tell us who you are and what you do.
I’m Ramael Scully, Head Chef and co-owner of Scully St James. I lead the kitchen at the restaurant, where I work with my team to create dishes which I think are interesting and delicious of course. I love feeding people, introducing them to new ingredients and making people happy with my food so that’s my main aim at Scully St James’ too.
Tell us more about Scully and why people should visit.
Scully is my first solo venture so it’s really special to me. The menu is essentially an amalgamation of all the things I have learnt over the years from working in different kitchens, my time working with Ottolenghi and my travels, combined with the things I really love to cook and that I just think are delicious.
I like to have fun with the dishes and try out different flavour and texture combinations, and of course playing around with fermentation and pickling is a fun way that allows me to do that. My own heritage also plays an important role in the cooking; being Malaysian, Balinese and Chinese but growing up in Sydney, I’ve got many different influences which I like to weave through the menu as well.
I think people should visit Scully if they want to try something different and experience dishes that they might not ever even have heard of and just eat some delicious food!
If anyone is ordering just one dish at your restaurant, which one and why?
It’s got to be the arepa, it is the heart of Scully and has been on the menu since we opened in 2018. Our eggplant sambal and arepa combine flavours of the Middle East with labneh, smoked aubergine and Urfa chilli oil, with the textures of the Peruvian arepa.
I first developed this dish a few years ago when I playing around with some leftover dough, I decided to fry it and the result was this mega-crispy pocket which puffed up. It’s the perfect vessel to fill with some sambal (a classic recipe inspired by my mum’s cooking) which uses smoky aubergine, Urfa chilli oil, and then to add a touch of luxuriousness we serve it with a bergamot labneh.
I think this dish speaks to my continued curiosity and love for food from all the different cuisines I grew up eating. I’m always thinking; what else can I do with an ingredient? What other flavours and textures can I play with? This dish, like so many others at Scully’s, started as a happy accident and love watching it bring a smile to people’s faces when they eat it!
Having dined at Scully, we also loved the arepa - it's a unique dish loaded with flavour.
If you're heading anywhere after a shift at Scully, where are you going and why?
After a shift at Scully, if I’m heading anywhere, it’s likely to be my new neighbour - Jason Atherton’s Sael. The cocktails there are exceptional and they do a pretty mean Negroni (my tipple of choice). The bar stays open until 1am, so it’s a great spot to unwind after a shift and catch up with old friends and new ones!
What does London’s restaurant scene have above other cities in the world?
We are spoilt for choice in London, you can get everything you want. The diversity of restaurants here is huge. It’s such a multicultural city and that means you can get authentic cuisines from every corner of the globe - great for me when I’m missing Mum’s cooking from back home!
I feel incredibly lucky to have the chance to cook here, where the energy and vibrancy of the city help fuel my creativity. I love pulling from other countries' cooking techniques and flavour combinations as well as my heritage to create something completely different. Guests often tell us, "I’ve never tasted anything like this before," and that kind of feedback is what drives us and has always been our goal. That’s what makes being part of London’s restaurant scene so thrilling—it’s a place where innovation and diversity are truly celebrated.
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