Meet the chef: Calum Franklin of The Georgian
We sit down with the ‘pie king’ to discuss his latest opening at Harrods and the secret to perfect pastry
The word ‘pies’ probably brings to mind the pastry and mash-types found in greasy caffs, or the piping hot flaky delicacies found in your local bakery. Despite it being a food so firmly embedded in British culture, the average pie has never been deemed fine dining fare. After all, fillings of chicken and mushroom, steak and ale, and fish may be homemade classics but they don’t scream Michelin stars – or do they?
On a mission to give pies the appreciation they deserve is London-born chef Calum Franklin. Now at the helm of Harrods’ historical Georgian restaurant, following a stint at the Rosewood’s Holborn Dining Room – where he launched its very own Pie Room in 2018 – and a new outpost in Paris delivering high-end British grub to the French (a mission in itself), he’s a busy man – and so sought-after are his perfectly-filled pies, there’s no chance he’ll be slowing down any time soon.
Pies weren’t always his forte, but as readers of this series will know, every chef has to find their niche (case in point, last week’s interview with butter-wizard Thomas Straker). Having worked at The Ivy West Street, Indigo at One Aldwych and Roast in Borough, Franklin first honed his pie rolling skills at Holborn Dining Room, nurturing the craft and discipline required to make the most delicious pie. The result is pastry creations that are as experimental as they are beautiful, with flavours of dauphinoise potato pie comté, truffle and caramelised onion, chicken, chestnut mushroom and tarragon and hand-raised pork, all remaining on the Pie Room’s menu to this day.
The Georgian Pie
The Georgian
This CV paved the way for an inevitable big break, which came to fruition this year. The ‘pie king’ – a nickname given to Franklin by Jamie Oliver, a self-professed fan – opened the Public House in Paris this year while simultaneously landing in the driving seat of The Georgian at Harrods. The Knightsbridge department store’s most historic restaurant, The Georgian opened in 1911 and has just emerged from a head-to-toe overhaul which tapped David Collins for its grand interiors and Franklin for its menu.
Having reopened just last month to critical acclaim, book here to sample The Georgian pie experience: slow-cooked shoulder of British lamb in an intricately designed pie, served with ratatouille, crispy anchovy tempura and delicate sweetbreads, finished with a fragrant lamb consommé. Here, we sit down to discuss this ambitious project, the secret to perfect pies and his favourite London restaurant.
Not at all, I think I wanted to be a fireman for a long time! Maybe that’s partly why I enjoy the heat of a kitchen now. When I first walked into a professional kitchen as a teenager I was a bit lost in terms of direction whilst a lot of my friends were going off to study. I remember vividly on that first day of work thinking that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was really lucky.
Probably my dad making kippers on a Saturday morning, the smell used to drive my mum mad but I miss it now.
My first formal restaurant where I would say that I really started learning was Chapter One in Kent. It had just won a Michelin star and was a tough place to work to put it mildly. There was an extreme discipline – you learnt how to cook rather quickly and how to build layers of flavour.
The next move was The Ivy on West Street, I loved working there and made many friends who I still am close to. It was a really hot place to be at the time and I loved seeing the A-list celebrities on the booking sheet each night. Some nights you’d have Al Pacino sat next to royalty. From there I worked in fine dining at Aurora at The Great Eastern hotel, Indigo at One Aldwych then Roast in Borough Market.
Jamie Oliver gave me that name a few years back as I’m widely seen as the ‘pie chef’ now in the world and he’s always liked my pies. I started to pour focus onto it as a technique when I opened Holborn Dining Room, which led to me opening the Pie Room there back in 2018. I love the discipline and craftmanship needed for proper piemaking and I think it’s part of British food culture that we don’t celebrate enough.
There are many secrets but one thing I would always suggest to consider is the type of dough you use depending on the filling. For example, a wet, saucy filling will not do so well in a puff pastry as that crust is too delicate to deal with it. For that I would use a shortcrust or hot water. When I published the Pie Room cookbook back in 2021 the idea was about teaching all of those secrets we had learned over the years.
We wanted to elevate pie making to the highest standard anywhere in the world and to constantly reset the standard for everyone. The menu is not just pies, however, and we have surrounded them with lots of other super tasty dishes.
The history of the restaurant plays a big influence in the menu as it first opened over a century ago and we have the archive of all the menus. We lean on those menus for inspiration and to pay respect to those who have been here before us.
The lobster pie. It’s something very tricky to get right as it is complex to get pastry cooked at the same time as shellfish but we cracked it in a development process that involved lots and lots of very talented chefs putting their skills and minds together.
I like to spend long lunches at Bouchon Racine eating Henry Harris’ French cooking. It’s simple, delicious, gutsy food served by one of the cheeriest restaurant owners in London, Dave Strauss. I want to go there now.
I think Aaron Potter is one of the city’s most talented chefs and everything he cooks is so tasty. He’s just opened Wildflowers in Belgravia and I need to get there asap.
I honestly have very little free time! I have a big restaurant in Paris (Public House) so if I’m not in Knightsbridge I’m probably there, developing pies or working on my new book whenever I can be near my laptop. I’m really lucky to work with my wife so we can spend some time together too. I enjoy working hard, I think I inherited that from my dad and I have lots of plans that I want to push to fruition when the time is right, so for now it’s no rest for the wicked!
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