She was in one of the most iconic bands of the nineties, selling 12 million records and establishing a fashion look that defined the age.
Fans of Melanie Blatt from her time in All Saints might be surprised by her new career direction. She has traded her microphone for a spatula and is now cooking burgers at a pub in London.
The 50-year-old singer has followed through with the culinary promise she showed while appearing in Celebrity MasterChef to now cook professionally.
Working at the popular gastropub The Londesborough in Stoke Newington, north London, Melanie is serving up three different burgers to a fully booked crowd on a weekly basis.
And MailOnline went along last night to taste test Melanie’s menu.
Although she is the main attraction, Melanie prefers to remain behind the scenes in the kitchen. She can only be glimpsed occasionally through the small serving hatch. Interestingly, there is no explicit promotion of her involvement. Even the menus, featuring the name of her company Full Fillings, do not mention her name.
When we arrived Melanie was already whirring around the kitchen prepping for service – and she told us she ‘loves it!’
The new venture, into its third week of a soft launch – meaning it has had no advance publicity – but word-of-mouth has meant it’s getting very busy on the Tuesday night slot which Melanie has taken.
And Melanie’s new boss – pub manager Marc Baxter – says he hopes he can persuade her to carry on working at the pub for at least the summer. He is even planning to create a dedicated outside area so she can take her passion project to the next level.
Londesborough regulars say it is a refreshing attitude for a celebrity commercial venture: people are buying her food because it tastes good, not because they are a fan of her music, they insist.
And that food is a reinvention of the traditional burger: instead of a fast fried patty, she slow cooks meat or pasta to create something that’s more intensely flavoured but still serves as what is recognisably a burger in a brioche bun served with fries alongside a dipping sauce.
So how was it? We tried all three options on her burger menu.
‘The Chicken One’, containing a Caribbean-inspired chicken curry, was well spiced yet refreshing, with a deep boost of home-coming flavour. It can be picked up for £19.
‘The Cheese One’ – Melanie’s indulgent £18 veggie option – was rich with oozing creaminess, undercut neatly by a tangy tomato dipping sauce.
And ‘The Beef One’, the most popular amongst the customers we polled despite being the most expensive at £20, was intensely beefy and juicy.
Each had its own appeal but the chicken came top of our rankings, followed by the cheese patty and the beef birria, although each made a delicious departure from the stale world of the barbecue staple.
Melanie has stepped back from the burgers we know and loved and transformed them into an extravagant revaluation of flavour that is unique to her kitchen.
As we nosed through her door at the end of our meal the famous chef remained too busy to talk but flung her hands in the air and said ‘Yay!’ as she was told we loved the food – showing her satisfaction as she succeeds in her new project.
The Never Ever singer paired up with The Londesborough after being recommended by a friend working at the bar.
Pub manager Marc, 53, is delighted to have her on board – having been friends with other members of All Saints in his youth. This is despite not being a fan of the girl group’s tunes – he spent the 90s as a commercial fashion model listening to electronic music.
He told MailOnline: ‘It’s an opportunity for her to explore her vision – she’s got a real passion for cooking and a track record as a chef. People might think it’s a novel idea and it’s going down very well.
‘If you’ve seen the reels that she posts she’s just fully immersed. I’m like – you’re that happy about having to cater logistically? I’ve been in the business for a long time and I know what that means!
‘The commitment she’s got is based on the passion she’s got, otherwise spending 12 hours in the kitchen is a massive commitment.’
Melanie made her professional debut as a chef at The Londesborough earlier this month, when her kitchen was ‘soft launched’.
Its only public announcement came on Melanie’s Instagram page as the pub held back on publicising its new venture to start off with.
But it has already been so popular that Marc is looking to the future.
He continued: ‘This is to establish Mel’s concept as an ongoing concern. She’s going to be with us for at least the summer we hope!
‘We’ve got designs on giving her a designated space in the garden and pushing a really busy summer.
‘There’s definitely an element of fandom but Mel’s taken that in her stride and they’re there for the food.
‘Last week we were packed! We had 100 people. It’s done well.
’My 16-year-old son has had two burgers already – he’s a fully-fledged fan!
‘Mel’s great – it’s a Stokey, villagey vibe and everyone loves her. She fits right in.’
DJ Silvio Pacini and Warren Bradshaw are both friends of Mel, and had come along to support her new venture.
Both had enjoyed the beef birria burger and said Melanie had been excited to finally make her dream a reality.
Silvio said: ‘I’ve known her for 20 years. The burger was really nice.
‘I’ll try and come back, I don’t live here. I saw her on Instagram and was like I’m definitely going to try it.
‘She’s been thinking about doing something like this for a very long time so I wanted to come and support. It’s amazing.’
Warren, who lives in Lisbon, added: ‘We’ve not seen her yet – she’s too busy in the kitchen! She knows we’re here.
‘I was at a mutual friend’s birthday party on Friday and I saw her and I think it was three or four days after the initial first night.
‘She’s excited, tentative – all the things you would be if you if you’re starting something new. But very, very excited and very much about, I’m going to put everything into this.’
Lana Henry and Henry Beattie – both fans of All Saints – visited the pub after hearing that she was cooking behind the scenes.
Lana said: ‘I liked their music. I’ve heard it‘s a good burger and am quite excited.’
And Henry, who organised the trip, continued: ‘It’s just really quite random, isn’t it! I didn’t even know that she was a chef!
‘I saw her on Celebrity Race Across The World but she doesn’t really cook on there.
‘I have no expectations but I’m curious to see what it is like.’
Pam Dunkley, 85, and Steven Willoughby, 68, had no idea that Melanie had a special menu before turning up at the Londesborough and had to order from the ordinary list.
And the locals were amazed to find out who was cooking behind the scenes – and said they would make sure to come back and try it another time.
Pam said: ‘My daughter has her records. Well done her! She’s obviously multi-talented.
‘It’s discrete – it’s a good way to let the food speak for itself. That will keep us going through the meal!’
