Professional Chefs And Their Ultimate Hangover Cures

Daybreak. A kettle’s distant falsetto and the smell of cheap tequila and cigarettes loiter in the air. Your head is still thumping to 140 BPM techno, a furry film of God-knows-what coats your teeth, and you can’t remember why you’ve got three missed calls from your ex.

We’ve all been there before, right? Anyone who’s ever drank to excess has likely experienced the brutal karmic pangs of a hangover the morning-after.

While youth is the most effective antidote of all, drinkers of all ages have been trying to construct their own foolproof hangover cures ever since the art of winemaking was first discovered back in 7000 BC.

From the holy trinity of sugar, grease, and sriracha to a curry and a packet of crisps, here are some of the favoured hangover cures from a few professional chefs…

James is the head chef and owner Of 12:51 and Around The Cluck.

"This is gonna sound hilarious but what I usually have when I'm suffering from a really bad hangover is Morley’s fried chicken and a massive pot of sriracha. It's like having a fry-up, y'know? You just need that grease content in the morning. The first bit of fried chicken I ever had – back in, like, 1992 – was Morley's and it’s kind of stuck with me. The buttermilk Jamaican jerk chicken I do at my own restaurant actually comes from that nostalgia. I’ll usually go eight wings for £2 and get the £1.99 chicken burger to go with it. I know it's bad, like really fucking bad, but it’s so good.”

Selin is the chef owner of Oklava Shoreditch And Oklava Bakery & Wine.

"My ultimate hangover cure is quite simply a packet of Walkers salt and vinegar crisps and a can (absolutely not a plastic bottle) of Coca Cola. This has been my remedy for many years since a fellow chef suggested I needed salt and sugar to balance me out when I was, let’s just say a little worse for wear during a brunch shift at The Providores."

Anaïs is a research and development chef at BAO.

“That painful morning after has always been a thing I look forward to. Why? Because it opens the doors to self-indulgence. All the rules and boundaries that I normally have for myself disappear and the dark side rises. When hungover I would generally consume: egg fried rice with frankfurter and cheese, a pepperoni pizza with extra garlic dip or cacio e pepe served with an ice cold coke, as well as a substantial number of flat whites and, to finish, Phish Food from Ben & Jerry's sandwiched between two Sablé Breton cookies. Fat, sugar and carbs are my hangover cure – you need all three of them to feel somewhat alive.”

Tom is the founder and chef director of Flank and Good Birds.

“When I’ve had a hardcore night out, be it a staff party or one of those random nights where we plan to just go for one, what I always go for the next day is a curry. It has to be at around the 6pm mark, though, once I’ve slept an entire day and had a walk to sweat out the booze. I love the spice levels and love mopping up the sauce with a naan – nothing beats it!"