Bone.

After twenty years of serving roast bone marrow to his guests at St. John in London, chef Fergus Henderson has not lost his enthusiasm for the dish that has become shorthand for his aggressively humble style of cooking. While the bone marrow "has taken on a quality of its own" as an all-time classic, Henderson remains committed. "I suppose I'm married to the dish. It's very close to me." He adds: "There's never a dull moment between me and the bone."

Arguably the inspiration for basically every other bone marrow and toast dish on menus today — and a huge reason why there's so much bone marrow on menus now, period — the St. John roast bone marrow and parsley salad is the only dish to have been on the St. John menu continuously since the restaurant opened in October of 1994.

What attracts Henderson to serving roasted marrow bones is the physicality of it, the gnawing, the sucking, and the chewing of perfectly cooked bones. ("It's a bit cheeky," Henderson says of the plate.) The roasted bone marrow has not changed over the years. "It still gives such joy," he explains. "It always has."

Henderson's strategy is simple: "Celebrate the bone." To that end, marrow bones are cooked until precisely the right moment, paired with a thoughtful salad, toast, and then presented to the guest to attack as they will. The dish continues to captivate diners, and Henderson is modest when he says that "quite a few" tables order the bones each night. "The roasted bones, it's big."

CONNECT