A piece of roast beef, rare, accompanied by puffed and crispy Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes cooked in dripping, and gravy. The pinnacle of British home cooking.

Why this dish? The Sunday roast is the most solemn family meal of the week in Britain. McQueen, devoted to his family despite fame, loved to cook for his loved ones: this shared roast embodies that moment of reunion around the table.

On Sundays, I liked to cook for the people I love, not for the gallery. You heat your beef dripping until it smokes before you pour in the Yorkshire batter — that's the secret, otherwise it won't rise, it'll stay flat and sad. The roast, you let it rest, you hold yourself back from carving too soon. With a good gravy, crispy potatoes and the family around, that's when I truly felt at home.

How it was made : Yorkshire pudding was once cooked under the spit, in a pan placed to catch the dripping fat from the roast — it was eaten with gravy before the meat to fill stomachs and save on the more expensive meat. Hot beef fat remains the key to its famous rise.

The contemporary twist : Plate a single large slice of pink beef, a spectacularly tall Yorkshire pudding and a mirror of gravy — a clean, theatrical plate.

Alexander McQueen · Charactorium