Forget complicated ingredients, many top chefs are returning to plainness on a plate

Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The expression in culinary circles for such demanding, multiple-ingredient dishes is "cheffed-up", whereas my favourite food involves the least possible culinary intervention – dishes where the quality of the ingredients is allowed to speak for itself. To take an extreme example, the recipes in Heston Blumenthal's latest tome require upwards of 30 ingredients and gadgetry such as a sous-vide machine, which he believes will be "found in almost every domestic kitchen. In Richard Olney's Simple French Food, we learn that one of "the very great delicacies of the table", described as "the softest of barely perceptible curds held in a thickly liquid, smooth, creamy suspension", is scrambled eggs. The importance of simplicity was echoed by Giorgio Alessio, chef at Scarborough's Lanterna restaurant, described in one rave review as "deeply splendid".