Chef Natty Mortley on how the Clink charity in Brixton helped him turn his life around - and why London is ready for his brand of Caribbean fine dining
“Call me Nat or Natty. Nathaniel sounds like I’m in court.”
South London’s most talked about young chef knows all about that. Just a few short years ago, he was released from Brixton prison where he was completing a two and half year sentence for dealing drugs.
Nathaniel “Natty” Mortley, 31, known as NattyCanCook to his 55 thousand Instagram followers is warm, energetic and ambitious. His restaurant 2210 in Herne Hill has only been open a few weeks, but it’s already making waves.
“It’s the hardest challenge I’ve ever done,” he says. “I’m flat out every day, I have no life. I wake up, I come to work. I wake up, I come to work, and that’s it”, but if he didn’t enjoy it, he wouldn’t do it.
“Cheffing is a career where you have to love it. You have to dedicate yourself because otherwise the food is going to feel it.”
Source: Molly Hunt
It’s working. The restaurant pulled in nearly 1,900 covers in October – an impressive feat for any new venture.
2210 specialises in Caribbean fine dining. Natty’s dishes fuse traditional Caribbean flavours with French techniques and modern twists.
His favourite dish on the menu is the duck breast seared with pimento, served alongside a confit leg croquette, pumpkin purée and spiced pumpkin seed brittle.
He is equally proud of his vegetarian dishes, like his salt-baked celeriac with pumpkin “cook up”, tempura okra, broccoli purée and a celeriac sauce that is split with black olive oil.
Natty didn’t always dream of becoming a chef. “Except for Ainsley Harriet, there’s no role models in the chef game that are black.”
But he found his way to it, training at Lewisham catering college before working in many top-end restaurants in London, including Oblix in the Shard. It was during this time that he started dealing drugs on the side, and ended up being sentenced.
After a short stint at Belmarsh prison, he was transferred to Brixton and applied for a job at The Clink. “Within the chaos of prison, that was a space which felt kind of homely for me.”
Source: The Clink Charity
And why does he think The Clink works? “Prisons don’t equip you with skills to change your life,” he says. “But The Clink does. It changes people’s trajectories.”
For Natty, the experience at the Clink opened his eyes and made him fall in love with cooking again. Now, he wants to continue that work, from outside prison.
“I want to become a direct feeder to The Clink, or to prisons, for people who actually want to change. People would actually want to come out and get their head down and start grafting. And want a second chance.”
“Eventually, I want a brigade full of ex-prisoners – front of house, back of house, the whole shebang. And we push for accolades. Proper accolades. We push for Michelin stars.”
Natty wants to prove that his unique way of cooking elevated Caribbean food should be considered on the same level as other top London restaurants.
“Caribbean food is the least eaten cuisine in the UK, and it doesn’t make sense,” he says. “People love jerk chicken at Carnival, so why can’t we expand it to something more? […] I might not be the one to get the Michelin star, but as long as I’ve been the one that’s been able to show people that you need to come down and try it, then I’ve done something which I’m, really, really happy about.”
As a Clink ambassador, Natty is returning to the Brixton prison restaurant on Thursday 13th November for a takeover, serving Pan-Caribbean food, with all proceeds going to The Clink mission.
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StandfirstChef Natty Mortley on how the Clink charity in Brixton helped him turn his life around - and why London is ready for his brand of Caribbean fine dining
“Call me Nat or Natty. Nathaniel sounds like I’m in court.”
South London’s most talked about young chef knows all about that. Just a few short years ago, he was released from Brixton prison where he was completing a two and half year sentence for dealing drugs.
Nathaniel “Natty” Mortley, 31, known as NattyCanCook to his 55 thousand Instagram followers is warm, energetic and ambitious. His restaurant 2210 in Herne Hill has only been open a few weeks, but it’s already making waves.
“It’s the hardest challenge I’ve ever done,” he says. “I’m flat out every day, I have no life. I wake up, I come to work. I wake up, I come to work, and that’s it”, but if he didn’t enjoy it, he wouldn’t do it.
“Cheffing is a career where you have to love it. You have to dedicate yourself because otherwise the food is going to feel it.”
Source: Molly Hunt
It’s working. The restaurant pulled in nearly 1,900 covers in October – an impressive feat for any new venture.
2210 specialises in Caribbean fine dining. Natty’s dishes fuse traditional Caribbean flavours with French techniques and modern twists.
His favourite dish on the menu is the duck breast seared with pimento, served alongside a confit leg croquette, pumpkin purée and spiced pumpkin seed brittle.
He is equally proud of his vegetarian dishes, like his salt-baked celeriac with pumpkin “cook up”, tempura okra, broccoli purée and a celeriac sauce that is split with black olive oil.
Natty didn’t always dream of becoming a chef. “Except for Ainsley Harriet, there’s no role models in the chef game that are black.”
But he found his way to it, training at Lewisham catering college before working in many top-end restaurants in London, including Oblix in the Shard. It was during this time that he started dealing drugs on the side, and ended up being sentenced.
After a short stint at Belmarsh prison, he was transferred to Brixton and applied for a job at The Clink. “Within the chaos of prison, that was a space which felt kind of homely for me.”
Source: The Clink Charity
And why does he think The Clink works? “Prisons don’t equip you with skills to change your life,” he says. “But The Clink does. It changes people’s trajectories.”
For Natty, the experience at the Clink opened his eyes and made him fall in love with cooking again. Now, he wants to continue that work, from outside prison.
“I want to become a direct feeder to The Clink, or to prisons, for people who actually want to change. People would actually want to come out and get their head down and start grafting. And want a second chance.”
“Eventually, I want a brigade full of ex-prisoners – front of house, back of house, the whole shebang. And we push for accolades. Proper accolades. We push for Michelin stars.”
Natty wants to prove that his unique way of cooking elevated Caribbean food should be considered on the same level as other top London restaurants.
“Caribbean food is the least eaten cuisine in the UK, and it doesn’t make sense,” he says. “People love jerk chicken at Carnival, so why can’t we expand it to something more? […] I might not be the one to get the Michelin star, but as long as I’ve been the one that’s been able to show people that you need to come down and try it, then I’ve done something which I’m, really, really happy about.”
As a Clink ambassador, Natty is returning to the Brixton prison restaurant on Thursday 13th November for a takeover, serving Pan-Caribbean food, with all proceeds going to The Clink mission.
