Louisiana-inspired pub appoints head chef

Plaquemine Lock, the Louisiana-inspired pub run by Jacob Kenedy, has announced the appointment of Tom Clements as its head chef. 

Hailing from Wales, Clements (pictured) has come to Plaquemine Lock from the neighbourhood Italian restaurant Stockwell Continental. Prior to this, he was head chef at the Covent Garden seafood restaurant Parson’s, and sous chef at Kenedy’s Soho restaurant Bocca Di Lupo.

Plaquemine Lock was founded by Kenedy in 2017. Situated in London's Islington, the Louisiana kitchen and southern-style pub is inspired by his family heritage and focuses on authentic Creole and Cajun cooking.

The pub is named after Plaquemine Lock in Louisiana, a significant lock opened by Kenedy's great-grandparents, Jacob Hortenstein and Carrie B. Schwing, to allow for heavy cargoes to transfer safely from Bayou Plaquemine to Mississippi. Diners can enjoy Cajun and Creole food, alongside live jazz music. 

Clements will curate a seasonally changing menu of some of his personal favourite dishes for Plaquemine Lock, including shrimp and andouille gumbo, soft shell crab and sweet beignets.

“I love the connection New Orleans has to the swamp it was built on, something that London has lost," he says. "Most people don’t think of London as a city connected to water, however it’s something that should be celebrated, just like in New Orleans, and Cajun and Creole cuisine does this brilliantly. This type of food is deliciously rare in the capital and I’m really excited to show Londoners the fantastic dishes that the south has to offer, using the seasonal produce that we are so proud of in the UK.”

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