The Ivy brings glamour and shepherd’s pie to Food Month Night Market

The Ivy is to bring its celebrated West End glamour to the Evening Standard’s Night Market in the only food festival appearance of its centenary year.

The Theatreland institution, where the Queen dined last week, will take a stand alongside street food vendors such as The Cheese Truck at the event in Kensington next month.

Richard Caring, the restaurant’s owner, said: “In the 100th year of The Ivy we are delighted to support the first Evening Standard London Food Month. It’s exciting that we can bring The Ivy to all at the Night Market.”

Staff from the venue, favoured by A-listers such as Angelina Jolie, Victoria Beckham and Sir Elton John, will be serving versions of three signature dishes from June 13 to 18.

They are crispy duck and watermelon salad for £7.50, its famous shepherd’s pie for £10, and a chocolate and cherry dessert created for its centenary called A Window To The Ivy, priced at £6.50.

Restaurants director Fernando Peire said: “The Ivy doesn’t do street food but we’re bringing a bit of The Ivy to the street. I don’t want everyone to think The Ivy is this impenetrable place they can never get into, it’s somewhere everyone should be able to come at least once. I love the democratic thing.”

He said the shepherd’s pie — a favourite of Gordon Ramsay — had been chosen because it is the best-selling main course on the menu. “It is something we can execute very well: it is fast, hot and we can have it tasting exactly as it does at The Ivy.

“We thought we’d have the duck salad so we could do something really tasty and modern to show we are not just an old-fashioned comfort food restaurant. We liked the idea of the dessert with its image of the windows on top. We like to think people will be tucking into it as they walk round the festival and people seeing it and thinking, ‘Oh what’s that?’”

Head chef Gary Lee and colleagues will be on hand to make sure the quality of the food matches that served to stars in their famous West Street dining room. Mr Lee said: “They’re all very, very popular dishes, easy to execute and nice to eat if you’re walking around.”

The Night Market in Perks Field next to Kensington Gardens is the centrepiece of London Food Month, the biggest food festival ever held in Britain.

Up to 50 food stalls — representing outlets as diverse as Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Murano, coffee van A Man And His Cat and Shoreditch barbecue joint Smokestak — will be taking part.

For more information visit londonfoodmonth.co.uk

For tickets to the London Food Month Night Market, which opens on June 7, londonfoodmonth.co.uk/night-market