Ben Marks, chef owner, Perilla: You have to stay relevant to survive in London

Nearly nine years have now passed since Ben Marks approached the owner of a site in Stoke Newington, looking to find a venue for a restaurant pop-up.

Often touted for a Michelin star, neighbourhood restaurant Perilla is going from strength to strength under Ben and business partner Matthew Emmerson.

They have also opened a second restaurant, Morchella, in Clerkenwell, which recently received a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Ben, now in his early 30s, started out as a kitchen porter before working at the likes of Claridge’s, Noma and The Square, ahead of going it alone.

The Birth of Perilla: A Pop-Up Success Story

Reflecting on the journey of Perilla, Ben said: “It's evolved in lots of ways. The London dining scene has evolved in lots of ways. You have to stay relevant with that and you have to pay that attention.

“The food has become more simple in lots of ways. Maybe slightly more confident, more based around flavour and less based around ideology or philosophy. Maybe you could say slightly less try hard than it used to be, if I'm completely honest.

“You can't not push forward in the London dining scene. I think it's one of the most progressive, ever-changing, developing dining scenes in the world. So you have to be on your toes and you have to pay attention to everything and make sure that you’re driving for quality every single day. I think if you don't, then you get left behind very quickly.”

He added: “I'd introduce Perilla as a neighbourhood restaurant essentially, that’s doing food slightly different and that is progressive, but in a really relaxed, informal environment.

“I think that's really crucial for us, that it's really inviting, really warm and welcoming, a place that both me and Matt would like to sit and that is based around this informality.

“I describe Perilla's philosophy as casual dining, but with upmarket food. Thoughtful, considered, refined foods, but in a really relaxed atmosphere, very much deep rooted in classical European cuisine, but with a lighter, more modern touch, interpreted in a slightly different way to the classics.

“There's definitely influences from all over Europe, not just from France and Italy, but also from the UK, Spain and Portugal and northern Europe as well, so quite eclectic."

The seasonally changing menu includes dishes such as hake with black pepper and parmesan sauce, mushroom tart with truffle sauce, linguine and shellfish meatballs and, for dessert, herb sorbet.

help from some friends

While things are settled now at two separate restaurants for Ben, he required some favours to get things started.

“What first led me to start Perilla is me and my business partner Matthew did some pop-ups together and they went relatively well,” he explained.

“We actually were looking to do a pop-up in the site that we're in now. The lady who owned it said she wasn't interested in renting it to us or letting it for a pop-up, but she would be interested in selling her lease.

“So it was kind of out of the blue. We were like screw it, let's give it a crack. So we started asking around, scrounged around really, trying to find funding. We begged and borrowed from people that we’d worked for in the past, amazing industry legends in Phil Howard, Martyn Nail and Thomas Kochs and we opened Perilla.”

Ben continued: “I always knew I wanted to be a chef.

“As soon as I knew that I wasn't going to play football for Arsenal, that was the only thing that I wanted to do! I loved it when I was younger, I loved cooking at home on the weekends and then got a job as a kitchen porter, like most chefs do, and then gradually sort of got into it in that way.

“Quite genuinely, I've never had any doubts about being a chef.

“It's the only job I've ever had and I've always loved it. You have ups and downs, obviously, like any job, but I've always loved it.

“I think it's a really amazing job. It's different every single day, it's creative, it's rewarding. I love it.”

Perilla's Evolution: Simplicity and Confidence in the Kitchen

Maintaining a restaurant in London since November 2016 is a feat in itself.

Asked what keeps driving him forwards and what he hopes to achieve at Perilla in the future, Ben said: “I think our greatest achievement so far is probably being open for nearly nine years now. It's crazy.

“That's a hell of a long time to have a restaurant in London and we're in obviously quite a difficult market at the moment as well. And to be busy, that's essentially the reason that we're here.

“The plan and the goal for this year, now that Morchella has settled down a little bit, is to get back in the kitchen here. I'm really looking forward to pushing it forward with head chef Ben (Brooke). I think he's one of, if not the, most talented chef we've ever had through the kitchen.

“I think we've got some really exciting plans for the year ahead. I think it could be a really great year for us.”

He added: “I think I've probably changed quite a lot since we first opened Perilla.

“I’m maybe a little less frantic as I used to be, maybe slightly calmer could definitely be true, but still as driven and as energetic as I was when I was younger, definitely.

“Though there are challenges, now even coming up to 10 years here, it's still as rewarding as it was at the start. I still feel excited by it and I'm as excited to come to work and to be creative and to adapt and to change as we ever have been.

“We’re incredibly privileged to be able to be in our own restaurant doing what we want to do in a way that we want to do. I think that’s extremely invigorating.

“I feel like this year for Perilla is a real opportunity for us to really push it forward and be the best that we possibly can be."

(Pics: Stuart Milne)