Since opening the doors of Scully St James’s in 2018, Ramael Scully has captivated the culinary world with his bold, boundary-crossing cuisine. Nestled in the heart of London, his namesake restaurant quickly rose to prominence, praised both in the UK and internationally for its inventive fusion of Asian, Middle Eastern, and European influences. Known for his use of unexpected spices, complex flavour layering, and a deep-rooted passion for fermentation and pickling, Scully has carved out a distinctive space in the capital’s dining scene. We chatted with Head Chef and Co-Owner of Ramael Scully to explore the inspirations behind his cooking, his commitment to sustainability, and how he continues to push the boundaries of modern cuisine.

Your culinary journey has taken you across continents – how have your Malaysian, Indonesian, and Chinese roots influenced your approach to food? 

It’s just part of who I am; it’s something I grew up with. So, in the kitchen, I started using the ingredients I was used to seeing my mum and aunties use. I never forget my connection to home. It feels quite organic, just eating what you grew up with and I think a lot of people gravitate towards those things when cooking.

What were some of the biggest lessons you learned while working with Ottolenghi?

Being a good manager. For me, that’s knowing your staff, listening to the staff, and making sure they’re happy and looked after. This will gain you their respect and trust, and ensures that everyone feels seen and important, which are key things.

What inspired you to open Scully St James – and how has the restaurant evolved since its launch in 2018?

Every young chef wants to do it, so of course, when I was offered the opportunity, I took it.

The restaurant has grown and evolved so much since we opened. Especially after the pandemic, the first two years was pre covid, now since the pandemic, it has changed a lot – people’s dining habits are not the same. Thankfully though, I still get to do what I love and really for me, it’s all about the ingredients. [Referring to the pickling, fermenting and preserving techniques Scully uses across his menus], to do the kind of food that I cook, the longer I’m there, the better it is for the process of building my pantry. And I also want to make sure things change for the guest as well as the team – a great example is my tomato shrub, it’s a dish I bring back every year, but every year it evolves and changes as I let the chefs work with the dish and put their own spin on it.

Pickling and fermentation play a big role in your cooking. What sparked your fascination with these techniques?  

I’ve always been interested in it, and during my travels, it’s something I encountered a lot and in so many different forms. Acid is an important part of food and a key flavour to build out in the pantry, and fermenting is a great way to do this. It also allows me to play around, create new flavours and try new things (you never know what might happen when you ferment things!). It keeps things fun and exciting and it makes it easy to create variety and mix things up.

Sustainability is at the heart of your kitchen. What are some of the most exciting low-waste methods you’ve implemented at Scully St James?

One of my staple desserts is the no-waste banana sorbet. I vacuum-pack a banana and keep it in a rice cooker for two weeks. This creates a super ripe and sweet banana that I then blend up to make my banana sorbet. I literally just use the whole fruit, with the peel on! It gives so much sweetness and ensures no part, not even the peel, goes to waste.

Another thing I do is use secondary vegetables – this means that I will buy all of the “discarded” tomatoes from my supplier, ones which are imperfect or bruised etc, which many chefs wouldn’t want to use. I use this method in particular to create my tomato shrub – seeing as I pickle them, they don’t have to be perfect, they are just as tasty, and it avoids those secondary picks to go to waste.

Lastly, I currently have a dish with a Taleggio cheese sauce on the menu. To ensure that nothing goes to waste from the cheese, I don’t discard the rinds, but instead, I keep them to use in other dishes. For example, I can dehydrate the rind to create a cheese garum, which is a sort of soy sauce. This will take a year from now to be ready, so it’s often about looking ahead and thinking in the long term.

Your plant-based and gluten-free tasting menu has gained recognition. What challenges and opportunities come with creating innovative vegetable-first dishes?

Creating vegetable dishes is hard, but I think that’s what makes it fun for me. The flavour pairings for fish and meat are quite well known, but for veggies you need to experiment to really make it exciting. I like to push the boundaries with the veggie dishes, trying out new flavours and techniques.

For vegan mains, it can be even trickier especially creating something that is crowd-pleasing, seeing as options are more limited. You really need to get creative and think outside the box. Some of it is trial and error, but when you get it right you can really create some incredible stuff with vegetables. It’s super rewarding in a way.

What’s a memorable dining experience that has shaped the way you cook today?

I don’t think I can pick just one dining experience. I get inspired by everything, whether it’s cookbooks I read, my travels, my upbringing, places I eat at. I like to take bits and bobs, form here and there and get inspired that way.

What’s next for you and Scully St James? Any exciting plans on the horizon?

Hopefully a cookbook of my own!

 

For more information on Scully St James, see here. 

4 St James’s Market, London SW1Y 4AH