‘Everyone wants roast pig’s head’ ... UK chefs put offal centre stage with ‘confrontational’ dishes

Restaurants are serving more unusual cuts of meat, with animal heads staring up at diners to teach them about their food

Offal has become a staple on restaurant menus across the UK, with cheaper cuts attracting chefs with sustainability goals and tight budgets, boosted by the influence of nose-to-tail pioneers such as Fergus Henderson at StJohn in London. Now many are going further, creating dishes with animal heads staring at diners from their plates.

At Fowl in central London, which describes itself as a beak-to-feet chicken restaurant", the Sunday roast comes complete with chicken claws. At Manteca in Shoreditch, east London, you might find half a pig's head, clearly identifiable, on your table. Newly opened Camille in Borough Market, south London serves a chicken-neck sausage, including the bird's head.