Liquid Lunch with Ryan Chetiyawardana AKA Mr Lyan
In each issue of Hot Rum Cow we challenge a top chef to create a three-course meal with booze at its heart – but for The Cocktail Issue it was a mixologist making a meal of it
In many ways, where the foodie revolution has led, a drinks revolution has followed in hot pursuit, with the same focuses and fetishes waxing and waning: provenance, the cult of the celebrity chef/mixologist, complexity then simplicity, rare and unusual ingredients then local sourcing and foraging, applying science and technology then stripping back to traditional crafts.
The attention to detail and expertise of the modern mixologist makes any distinction between food and drink ever more artificial and, of course, that is reinforced by thousands of years of the two sharing the same space at our tables and in our hearts.
Ryan Chetiyawardana, known since childhood as Mr Lyan thanks to his multi-syllable surname, is one of those working hardest to blur any remaining lines and ensure we treat what we drink with the same care and respect as what we eat. As a one-time trainee chef and the recently crowned International Bartender of the Year (Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards), he seemed uniquely well placed to tackle a Liquid Lunch with a twist – rather than putting the booze in the food, we wanted to frame the booze in foodie terms and consider the strengths of savoury flavours in cocktails.
For his part Chetiyawardana cannot understand anyone maintaining a distinction. “I’ve always seen that food and drink are one,” he says. “Whenever you gather with friends, naturally, if you start having drinks you’ll lean into food, if you have food you’ll lean into drinks. So, it seems really strange for me to separate the two as drastically as most people do. My background is in both. I trained as a chef. I still cook a lot. In my family you were taught to cook from a very young age. It’s been crucial for me to have the food aspect feed into my work as well.
“Certain drinks suit certain situations. If it’s blazing hot outside people will change what they eat, whereas they don’t make the same link with drinks”
“I think it’s a shame that the relationship with food and drink is very different. It’s a dangerous thing. If people see alcohol as pure escapism or they view food that way, and then you over-indulge in one or the other, it’s not good. It shouldn’t just be purely function and it shouldn’t just be over-indulgence and hedonism. Hitting that balance between food and drink is something that’s always really appealed to me. Trying to blur the boundaries is a bit of an agenda of mine.”
His blurring of the lines is as much about attitude as about flavours and techniques. His new book Good Things to Drink is more about lifestyle than it is a manual for slavishly replicating drinks you tried in one of Chetiyawardana’s bars (and frankly, the 50+ processes in some of White Lyan’s drinks couldn’t be replicated anyway).
“Innovation to me should be accessible. The idea is that you are creating something new that helps people. It’s a very intuitive thing. It’s about broadening your horizons and saying certain drinks suit certain situations much better. People do this with food. If it’s blazing hot outside they will change what they eat, whereas people don’t make the same link with drinks. The book is a guide to that. I demonstrate it by showing what drinks I enjoy drinking that make an occasion more special.
“For me, the best way to explore any culture is through its food and drink. It offers such a window – you see how people gather. It’s bare bones when you enjoy food and drink. All the barriers drop and tasting gives you an idea of the landscape and the history.”
Chetiyawardana was born in Manchester and grew up in Birmingham. His parents had emigrated to England from Sri Lanka. Food and entertaining was at the centre of the house – though not Sinhalese food: “Because my parents had a bit of a hard time when they first got to England they were keen for us to assimilate. We grew up on British food. Actually I don’t eat spicy food at all. I’m a real fanny when it comes to eating spice,” he says.
“If it was a birthday or an occasion my mum would make the card, she’d make the flowers and she’d make the cake. We were always taught to do those things – gifting and hosting. My parents would have people round to the house and my siblings and I were sent round as little wine waiters.”
This enthusiasm led him to catering college, and while he credits the course for encouraging his methodical way of working and teaching him how to wield a knife properly, he felt alienated in a professional kitchen setting.
“You were too many steps from the people you were cooking for. That felt very alien to me. At home, I know the people coming round, I’m cooking for them, I’m with them and I’m part of that experience. This didn’t feel right to me. It felt a little sad.”
He naturally gravitated towards the bar and on the recommendation of a friend he took his first bar job in the Birmingham branch of the Santa Fe restaurant chain.
“I found that at the bar you can do what you naturally do in terms of hosting, but you can actually do it for people on the spot.”
The journey from here to total drinks world domination was via stints working in top bars including Bramble in Edinburgh and 69 Colebrooke Row in London, studying fine art, biology and philosophy at various universities, the launch of White Lyan in 2013 (notable for using no ice or fresh fruit), the launch of Dandelyan at Mondrian London in 2014 (awarded Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards – Best New International Cocktail Bar 2015), a line of pre-mixed drinks, consultancy work, publications, awards, etc. … So, is there a unifying mission to it all?
“It’s getting people drinking better,” he says. “Whether it’s through my books or the bars. If someone has a better Gin and Tonic at home, they are going to enjoy the drinks in the bar more. I believe in the power of food and drink to bring people together, that’s what I’m excited by.”
The drinks
A twist on the French 75. A terrific opener – perfect for brunch, with a lot of complexity in a few easy steps. Champagne helps to lift the palate, the raspberries and Rickey are sharp and the celery gives a savoury sweetness that brings a green, market feel.
~ Mr Lyan’s Diamond Rickey (falernum, distilled lime, distilled grapefruit, gin)
~ Champagne (Perrier Jouët Grand Brut)
~ Celery (juice and also strips used to garnish)
~ Raspberries
Vodka Martinis are all about texture, with deft touches required. Mr Lyan Vodka is made from wheat and not heavily filtered providing a real cereal note. Roast chicken bone is pounded down and dissolved in phosphoric acid giving it a gelatinous texture. It’s slightly diluted and mixed with calcium iron, which makes a very dry mineral tincture that wakes your palate up. The vodka is lightly diluted and served at -10˚C. This drink is your palate cleanser – a sharpener served very small, and very cold.
~ Mr Lyan Vodka
~ Chicken bone tincture (used to coat the glass)
~ Lemon distillate (just for aroma)
The oak tree supports a whole ecosystem. The trees provide acorns, which feed black pigs and give a nuttiness to Ibérico ham. The ham is hung in the neck of a Pechuga mezcal still during distillation. This helps with fining and adds a subtle meaty flavour and a nutty richness to the spirit. Endive, which would often be eaten alongside Ibérico ham, provides another savoury note with a drying bitterness. This feels like a main course, something to have right in the middle of your evening.
~ Del Maguey Ibérico mezcal
~ Tapatio Reposado tequila
~ Lemon
~ Oak honey
~ Endive tincture
~ Melon ball (to garnish)
Follow Mr Lyan on twitter @RyanCheti
This feature is taken from our 9th issue. If you’d like to order all 100 glorious inky pages for just £6.00 + P&P, you can do so via our shop.
