Chopping block
FLOSSY PHILLIPS
WORK • Wednesday Routine
FLOSSY PHILLIPS • butcher, chef, scavenger • Floffal
Neighbourhood you work: Mayfair
Neighbourhood you live: Camberwell
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m a butcher by trade, and this runs parallel to my independent work as creator of Floffal, which seeks to re-inspire and re-invigorate the bits in and around food, how it's found, and our feelings towards it. I guest-chef and run various events across the year, all celebrating offal and foraged or 'scavenged' food. If I’m working from home with Floffal, I’m usually developing dishes with ingredients I’ve scavenged or sourced throughout the week. I'll spend the morning making lists or plans in the lead-up to an event, writing about past dishes, and researching individual ingredients and recipes to see how I can apply my own offal approach. There may be a few emails or phone calls with collaborators for future projects, too.
When I’m not working on Floffal, I’m at my day job at Butcher Shop in Mayfair, which is part of Farm Shop. I arrive just before 8a and say hello to the animals in the walk-in and the counter, then change into my steel-cap boots. It’s very peaceful this time in the morning, particularly when I’m on my own.
Like butchery itself, laying a counter can be meditative. You have to be focused; otherwise, frankly, you’re in danger. It’s a kind of choreography and curation of different cuts, presented so the customer’s eye can easily read through the options. It’s part of my job to educate and demonstrate the makings of meat. After all the labour and care that goes into breaking down a carcass, you want to present it in as refined a way as you can.
I’ll make sure the counter is full and set, do the temperature checks, put a fresh batch of beef mince through the machine (it smells fantastic), then trim up another fillet or bone out a fresh sirloin or rib-eye for steaks throughout the day. I replenish the sausages, stick the ticket pins into each item and wipe down the surfaces. I’ll always check if we have orders to fulfill and plan the rest of my work accordingly.
What’s on the agenda for today?
If I’m in the shop, it could be sausage-making (or boning out large pork joints ready for further sausage-making) in anticipation for the weekend. We use fresh, individually weighed out seasonings and ingredients to hand-make the sausages from scratch.
In terms of Floffal, I’m figuring out the line-up for future events. In February, for the second year in a row, I held an event called ‘For the love of (Fl)offal,’ centred around Valentine’s Day. It featured five courses of hearts with five wine pairings, curated with my long-standing and beloved collaborators at Veraison Wines. I develop each course, taste and pair it with the wines in a session before the date, then host an intimate offal insight for guests, talking them through each course. This year, I brought a whole raw ox heart out for a DIY tartare exercise for my guests.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I eat out for the food I could never recreate at home. Kiln in Soho is my favourite place I’ve found (so far) in London. I never turn down the opportunity to go there. Speedboat is also excellent, fun and casual enough for a spontaneous midweek meal out.
I tend to graze through the day, which isn’t best practice, but I don’t enjoy physical labour on a full stomach. I have to feel energised to butcher, but certainly not to the point of digestive sluggishness. If I’m not going out, I’ll forage through the fridge, eating leftovers from a Floffal cooking day. I might swing by The French House in Soho, or Veraison Wines back in Camberwell for a drink with friends.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Before I was a butcher, my degree and career background was centred in arts and culture so I’m always on the look-out for an exhibition to visit over the weekend. I attended the Francis Bacon show at The National Portrait Gallery last November. Bacon (naturally) is a favourite artist of mine. It was, as he always is, sensational.
Any weekend getaways?
I was very fortunate to be brought up in Dorset, in a very rural area. My mother now lives in West Lulworth, by the sea and the famed Jurassic Coast. When I can, I try to get down there for a few nights — Dorset inspired and educated much of the ‘scavenger’ in me, as did my mother. There’s always the anticipation of a roadkill supper or foraged ingredients to cook with that I don’t really get in London.
What was your last great vacation?
At the beginning of January, I went travelling around Southern India with my mother and sister. In the space of two weeks, we covered Mumbai, Goa, Kerala, Thekkady, Pondicherry, Chennai, and back to Mumbai. It was intense, and there wasn’t much meat, but I insisted on having curry at least once a day. We ate lots of sambals, as that’s traditional Keralan fare, and also fish. I did manage to find some offal in the way of ‘mutton liver roast’ at a restaurant on a stop-off between Thekkady and Pondicherry. We stayed on a houseboat in Kerala and spent time sighting an eagle catching a fish, and so many other birds, wildlife, and farmland. It was incredibly peaceful, and we had food prepared for us from scratch by a crew member.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I bought tickets to see Fontaines DC at Finsbury Park in July. I can’t wait.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I love Curtis Pitts Deer Services for venison and game, and I’m always on the Great British Chefs website, searching for recipes or stories.