10 questions with Tom Geoffrey of Barang

Tom Geoffrey’s Cambodian-inspired concept Barang only opened late last year but it has already snagged two outstanding reviews from The London Standard and The Observer. The plan is to find Barang a permanent central London home but, for now, you can find it at The Globe Tavern in Borough and on the CODE app, where it’s 30% off food for CODE members. (Become a member).

We caught up with Tom during a quiet moment after service and asked him our 10 essential questions.

What is the most underrated dish on your menu?

Probably the prahok ktis, which is about as Cambodian as it gets. It sells pretty well but it’s one people might not be familiar with. Of all the dishes on the menu, this is the one which is Cambodian through and through; there are no real changes on there from me, other than serving it with British vegetables – we’re using some amazing beetroot, turnips, Thai eggplant from Shrub in Sussex. It’s a pork mince dip, made with kroeung curry paste and prahok fish paste, the two most important ingredients in Cambodian cuisine.

Where’s your favourite place to go after hours?

How honest do you want me to be? I’m a real homebody. I go home to my bed and chill out with a box set. I’ve just started Ozark.

What’s your secret London tip?

A really cool little spot that I used to enjoy going to when I lived in South East London was Blythe Hill Fields which is a really lovely park with a fantastic view of the city. You can combine it with a pitstop at Blythe Hill Tavern, a really old school Irish pub, which I think does the best pint of Guinness south of the river.

What’s the best thing you can do in London with £20?

Grab a counter seat at Kiln for their gai yang grilled chicken and a cold beer.

Where do you go when you want to splurge?

As a real treat, I like to go to AIRE near Charing Cross, a bath house based on old Roman baths. AIRE was founded in Barcelona; I came across it in Chicago, where my girlfriend lives. The London one is in a beautiful townhouse that belonged to J.M. Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan. You go underground and there’s this amazing labyrinth of different temperature pools.

Which CODE offers are you going to be snapping up?

Alta or Moi. The fact that they’re both built around open fire kitchens will always do it for me.

What’s your favourite thing to cook at home?

It has to be a Sunday roast. I learned from my mum then I started to take over which then led to me taking over Christmas dinner. I do the meat and she does the rest although I did actually take over Yorkshire pudding duty this year which she got upset about. 

Which element of your job do you like most and like least?

The best thing is seeing the team grow. This is my first restaurant; I’ve been a lone wolf for two years, and this is my first managerial role outside of my previous corporate job. It’s a new team and a small team and I feel very proud watching them develop. My least favourite thing is people that don’t order rice? Honestly, it drives me up the wall! My menu has as many sauces on the dishes as you can possibly imagine. I don’t know if they’re afraid of carbs but they’re missing out on mopping up all that sauce.

What’s your favourite and least favourite ingredient?

At the restaurant, it’s definitely Kampot pepper, the best peppercorn in the world. Outside the restaurant, it’s Marmite. My least favourite is sweet potato. It does nothing for me.

When you’re not working in a restaurant or eating in one, where will we find you? Maybe in Chicago where my partner, also a chef, lives.