Chef Ramael Scully doesn’t hide his fascination with
fermentation – at his eponymous London restaurant, the kaleidoscopic splendour
of a wall of jars housing all manner of homemade spices, pickles
and preserves acts like the gastronomic equivalent of the chef
putting his heart on his sleeve for all things funk. Born in
Malaysia and brought up in Sydney, with a Chinese-Indian mother and
Irish-Balinese father, Scully experiments with the bold and vibrant
ferments of his diverse culinary heritage. Expect lightly spiced
tomatoes and turnips in a six-month-fermented tomato shrub, thinly
sliced celeriac with a nut granola, spiced butter and
two-year-preserved lemons, and bergamot labneh with aubergine
sambal and arepa – a ground maize dough that’s fermented for eight
days.

Korean-born chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre uses every carrot top,
cabbage leaf and wayward spiral of citrus peel harvested from the
several hectares of garden and greenhouse that surround this
two-Michelin-starred Ardennes restaurant. Planted with over 400
varieties of vegetables and herbs, the garden provides 95 per cent
of the food used in the kitchen, with any surplus fermented for
future use in a purpose-transformed basement below the historic
farmhouse. Expect plates of Breton lobster with jangajji pickles,
and vegetables doused in a furious and fiery kimchi sauce. Dinner
will dig into your bank balance; set menus (not including drinks)
start from £150.

A stalwart on the fermentation scene, this Canadian spot
(primarily a bar, but with small plates on the pass) borrows from a
global cookbook of funky concoctions to curate its pickle-packed
menu. Must-orders include the creamy burrata served with pickled
tomatoes and lacto-fermented celery, and the koji-aged beef
tartare. For drinks, try the sake and lacto-fermented pear pour, or
a creamy, koji-spiked gin cocktail.

This Tokyo restaurant is bold in its intentions:
Kabi translates as “mould”, a somewhat unenticing name considering
the funk-fuelled magic that takes place in its kitchen. Chef Shohei
Yasuda brings the New Nordic style of cuisine practised at his
former posting in hotshot Copenhagen restaurant Kadeau to Tokyo,
serving a regularly changing tasting menu of 14 courses shaped by
what he finds on foraging trips beyond the megacity’s borders. A
drinks menu of natural wines and sakes pairs perfectly with the
umami-rich flavours of the food. Previous dishes have seen crunchy
daikon paired with fermented tomato water, and pickled mackerel
wrapped in shiso.

Located in a discreet residential building in New York’s NoMad neighbourhood, this
cutting-edge kitchen plates traditional Korean dishes using
globally sourced ingredients. Running two 14-head seatings a night,
with guests arranged around a U-shaped counter that overlooks an
open kitchen, chef Junghyun “JP” Park has devised a tasting menu of
10 dishes, the majority of which offer something funky. Dinner
commences with diners picking their preferred pair of chopsticks,
and then dives into eight savoury dishes, followed by two dessert
courses. Soju and sake recommendations come courtesy of JP’s
partner Ellia Park.

Stuck out in the remote edges of the Danish kingdom, the self-governing Faroe
Islands are rugged and wild – and an unexpected spot for a
fine-dining destination that showcases traditional Faroese fare. At
Ræst, dinner guests enter a 400-year-old, turf-roofed building and
sit at long, communal tables to taste some of the most out-there
fermented foods going. Expect to try cow intestine and lamb cuts
air-dried in the traditional hjallur shed, alongside fermented
langoustine liver, cured cod belly and marinated mackerel. The menu
comes in at around £166, but we’d add the wine flight (£112) for
the full experience – a selection of fermented alcohols paired to
each dish.

Bruder’s USP might be cocktails infused with fermented
concoctions, but the food heading out of its pass holds its own
against the theatrical drinks offering. An ever-changing menu
interprets traditional Austrian cuisine with a modern twist, using,
where possible, ingredients gathered by the chefs themselves. The
space is moody and melancholy – a cavernous labyrinth with backlit
pickle shelves behind the bar – and there’s a popular garden out
back. If you’re just drinking, expect to encounter bitters,
infusions and ferments in whatever you order, and don’t leave
without trying the brosecco – a funky, biodynamic take on fizz
dreamt up by the innovative duo behind the bar.

Prepare to be lifted to a higher realm: chef-owner Kim
Dae-Chun’s aim at this Seoul restaurant is to take diners to
gastronomic heaven. After a 20-year quest to perfect his flavour
creations, he reckons he’s worked out how to evoke paradisiacal
pleasure through eating. The secret? Fermentation. Diners entering
7th Door walk down a neon-lit, jar-lined corridor and enter the
dining space via – you guessed it – the seventh door. The walk is
meant to represent the ethos behind the space, where our five main
tastes are joined by a sixth, fermented food, and a seventh – the
fusion of all six others. Don’t worry if that’s flown over your
head; you’ll have plenty of time to quiz the kitchen team. The chef
keeps things exclusive, with only 14 diners per each 10-course meal
– and you’ll have to book your space via a hotel concierge if your
Korean isn’t tiptop.