The late author Terry Pratchett, in his monumentally successful Discworld series, coined the word’autocondimentor’ to describe a certain type of eater who, in Pratchett’s own words “will put salt and probably pepper on any meal you put in front of them regardless of how much it’s got already and regardless of how it tastes.â€Â
Chief amongst autocondimentors was a character called Archchancellor Ridcully, a man who took his condiments so seriously he had his own personal cruet which accompanied him at all meals, consisting of salt, three types of pepper, four types of mustard, four types of vinegar, and fifteen different kinds of chutney.
What has this all got to do with a restaurant you ask? Saucy Chip, a staple of the festival scene which has just opened its first permanent site in a basement bar in the West End, could have been plucked straight from an autocondimentor’s dreams. The premise is simple: great chips, made fresh from the best British potatoes (specifically a farm in Cheshire), with a dazzling menu of sauces to drench them in.
The founder, Jules Heaton, is something of an autocondimentor herself, who is constantly seeking out new and delicious sauces to dip her triple-fried chips into, and hopes long term to have a groaning sauce cart, to wheel from table to table, so diners can select from a buffet of bottles.
For now, there’s a list of around 17 to choose from, or you can go for one of the loaded options, with toppings ranging from classic chip shop curry to the poutine-inspired gravy and cheese. There’s meat too – burgers, hot dogs and so on, but really, it’s called Saucy Chip – order chips, and sauce, and you won’t go wrong.
Saucy Chip at Jerusalem bar & kitchen, 33-34 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1JN