Former prisoner Nathaniel Mortley has opened his first permanent restaurant – 2010 by Natty Can Cook, in Herne Hill, south London, which offers a refined take on Pan-Caribbean cuisine.
Nathaniel served a two-and-a-half-year sentence in Brixton prison, less than a mile away, where he worked in prisoner-operated restaurant The Clink – for which he remains an ambassador. On his release three years ago he launched Natty Can Cook, building a large following on social media, cooking private dinners and operating a residency at The Greyhound pub in Peckham.
Born in Peckham of Guyanese, Bajan and German ancestry, Nathaniel survived a stabbing at the age of 16 before starting a career in hospitality, working at upscale venues including Oblix at the Shard and Jason Atherton’s City Social until a sideline dealing party drugs landed him in prison.
Prison made him reassess his life, he says – and reignited his passion for cooking: “It made me think – I’ve got a good career and a talent, so why did I need to go down the path I went down? The penny finally dropped.”
Nathaniel’s first permanent restaurant takes its name from the date his beloved grandmother passed away. She was the one who first inspired his love for cooking, and he intends to “honour her legacy with every plate… serving raw yet refined Pan Caribbean flavours that redefine what Caribbean dining can be.”
With a soft opening now extended until the end of October, 2010 by Natty Can Cook’s launch menu includes dishes like Ackee and saltfish spring roll; Wiri wiri lamb rump with smoked babaganoush, pickled onion, mint oil and tamarind jus; Lobster rasta pasta; sides of both Caribbean rice and peas and West African jollof rice; and a Plantain sponge dessert paired with white chocolate ganache, chocolate snow and pickled plantain.
