When DJs Meet Dining: The London Chefs Soundtracking The Foodie Experience 

For me, like many others, food and music are inseparable. If I’m cooking, there’s always music (and often dancing) involved. I’ll rustle up a – very average – midweek pasta dish to the ambient sounds of Cleo Sol or Qendresa in the background – and the meal would never taste as good without the tunes. When I’m eating out, the playlist is the first thing I notice – whether it’s a hit or a miss – and over time, I’ve come to notice that most chefs seem to have the best taste in music... food and music really do go hand-in-hand.  

Enter {PAIRED}, the brainchild of Ed and Ollie Templeton, the brother duo behind London restaurant Carousel, and Sarah McBriar, founder of AVA Music Festival in Belfast and London. Each {PAIRED} event is a one-off – where a chef who’s passionate about music collaborates with a DJ who shares a love for food. “The idea came from realising just how interconnected the worlds of food and music are,” explains Templeton. “Most chefs I know are passionate about music – they love to DJ, collect records, or go to gigs and club nights when they can. Similarly, many touring artists are deeply into food and restaurants.”

Recognising the overlap between these two worlds, Templeton and McBriar set out to create something special for people who, like me, find even greater joy when food and music collide. “It’s not often you see someone like [DJ] Mr. Scruff collaborating with a chef like Sam Buckley on a small event for 70 people, where you can ask what record is playing or what’s in the mutton marinade,” says Ollie Templeton. It’s a space where food and music lovers can indulge in both their passions, believing the flavours taste even better to the backdrop of your favourite tracks. “And, of course, it all ends with a party!” he adds.

The first {PAIRED} event was inspired by a residency at Carousel restaurant a few years prior. “Back in 2019, I invited [chef] Emme Prieto – who now runs Taverna in Mexico City – to cook with me at Carousel,” says Templeton. “We spent two incredible weeks together, prepping for 50 covers a night and making everything from scratch, including tortillas, and blasting music in the kitchen all day, every day. We played it so much we blew the amp toward the end of the residency! We bonded over our shared passion for both and became good friends through that experience. So, when it came time to launch {PAIRED} in 2022, having Emme as the first chef to collaborate was a no-brainer.”

And so, the inaugural event featured with a menu by Prieto paired with a soundtrack DJ Yung Singh in one room, and chef Pablo Diaz paired with DJ Call Super in another.

This synergy between food and music is being explored by more and more venues across London. Take the increasing number of ‘listening bars’, such as Space Talk and Bambi, where guests can enjoy expertly crafted cocktails and delicious dishes, all set to the backdrop of high-quality sound systems and live DJ sets. With sound systems that enhance the mood and carefully selected playlists, these venues provide a space for people to unwind, discover new music, and savour great food.

Then there’s Close Ties, a London-based pop-up collective that describes itself as a ‘Michelin star house party’, which serves as an outlet for creative freedom for the founders Joshua Bratt and Jake Norman. Both are seasoned pros in the hospitality industry (Norman as general manager at Trullo, Bratt at Carousel), who are breaking away from the formalities of traditional supper clubs. Instead, Close Ties focuses on what truly makes a great night: food, music, and drinks, with a big side of dancing.

“The effects of a buzzing meal or the energy of a crazy DJ set are amplified with having your nearest and dearest there sharing in it,” says Bratt. “Certain moods are captured with music, much like with food. Some restaurants get that combination so right. Look at Black Axe Mangal, with its rap or metal soundtracking your squid ink flatbread, and Brasserie Zédel with its jazz trio soundtracking your beef tartare.”

Last year, I had the chance to sit down with another music-lover Sertaç Dirik, one of the brothers behind the now-cult London Turskish restaurant Mangal II, just after he announced he would be stepping away from the business. As we talked about his next steps – setting up his own restaurant – it was clear that the most exciting part of his new venture wasn’t just the food, but the creative freedom he would finally have to curate the soundtrack to his own cooking. It’s something he hadn’t been able to do working within the framework of a restaurant deeply rooted in family history. During our conversation, he sat wearing a Black Sabbath T-shirt, telling stories from his days at Leeds Arts University – a time when music and creativity were at the heart of everything he did.

For the {PAIRED} team, anticipation is building for their New Year’s Eve celebration, where they’ll be transporting guests to Ibiza for the night. The event will capture the essence of Nudo, the beach café in the island’s north, with a carefully curated experience that blends the restaurant’s flavours with the beats of the island. Once the plates are cleared and everyone’s had their fill, the night will continue at Carousel’s Wine Bar and Mezcaleria, where DJ Yu Su will be on the decks, providing the perfect soundtrack for the evening. After all, if you can’t ring in the New Year on the White Isle itself, isn’t the next best thing bringing a slice of Ibiza straight to you?

Tickets for {PAIRED}’s New Year’s Eve celebration are available for purchase here