Matsudai Ramen join Masterchef Champion Tim Anderson for Charity Ramen Kit

Cult Cardiff pop-up Matsudai Ramen has teamed up with 2011 MasterChef Champion Tim Anderson to launch a limited-edition Ramen Kit, with all profits going to charity.

The Tim Anderson x Matsudai Ramen Lazy Goat Ragu-men Kit costs £13.99 and is available for delivery on February 25th (February 18th sold out in a few hours).

Profits from the sale of the kits will split between two mental health charities: Cardiff Mind and Mosaic Brixton.

Tim Anderson x Matsudai Ramen Lazy Goat Ragu-men

After being crowned MasterChef champion in 2011, Chef Tim Anderson went on to open his first restaurant, Nanban Brixton in 2015. This was followed by Nanban Central in 2019.

In 2018, his signature dish, a ‘Lazy Goat Ragu-men’, was crowned London’s Best Dish by Time Out Magazine. Made with tender curried goat, handmade noodles, scotch bonnet-infused bamboo shoots, fried shallots, spring onions and a Lapsang Souchong tea-pickled egg; the dish is then topped with an umami hit of tuna and smoked prawn dust, inspired by the dried-fish powders available in Japan.

At the time, Tim described the Japanese-Jamaican-Sri Lankan bowl as “…a very unusual dish with a lot of weird stuff going into it from all over the place. But somehow it works beautifully. It’s probably the dish I’m most proud of.”

This led Tim to recreate it for the BBC’s recent MasterChef: Champion of Champions.  On tasting the dish, judge John Torode said, “There’s a real playfulness that goes on with the flavours, it’s smoky, but there’s a chilli heat, and all you want to do is keep going back for more.”

Matsudai Founder James Chant said: “I was a fan of Tim’s long before I dreamt up Matsudai. He’s such a great ambassador for Japanese food and culture in the U.K. and it’s a true honour to have him collaborate with us on this kit. I saw Tim make this bowl on MasterChef Champion of Champions. It’s completely off-the-wall but makes total sense and it reflects his old Brixton surroundings so beautifully. Tim has had very kind things to say about Matsudai over the last year or so, so I thought I’d ask the question – and I’m so pleased to be able to get this out into the world.”

Of the collaboration with Matsudai, Tim said, “Matsudai is easily one of the best ramen purveyors in the country, if not the best. They’ve really made the rest of us up our game, and it’s a genuine honour to collaborate with James and the team.

Mental health is an important issue for both James and me, so I’m pleased to be supporting Cardiff Mind and Mosaic Brixton through the sales of this kit.”

The kit can be purchased for delivery from Matsudai Ramen.

By Jane Cook | Jane Chico Mendes