Cateys 2023: Menu of the Year: Plates

Kirk Haworth's Plates wins Menu of the Year, sponsored by Commercial Kitchen

Kirk Haworth's career in hospitality saw him train in Michelin-starred kitchens, preparing butter-heavy meat and fish dishes with little emphasis on cooking vegetables.

For five years the son of former Northcote head chef Nigel struggled with symptoms including memory loss, chronic pain and headaches, before eventually being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2016. When he discovered that removing meat, gluten, refined sugar and dairy improved his symptoms, he began a journey to transform the way he thought about food.

Haworth told The Caterer last year that he began using different oils and techniques to unlock flavour and discovered cooking with vegetables could be far more creative than originally thought.

"We think we need dairy to make things creamy but if you understand vegetables they're all different levels of richness and creaminess – we just need to know how to treat them right," he said.

This led to Haworth to return to professional kitchens last year with the launch of Plates, a restaurant, event business and food studio that was originally run in partnership with ‘Untitled' bar in Dalston, east London. It served a five-course menu of plant-based dishes, including a bread course, that each had a link to Haworth's personal journey.

Signature dishes included a pink fir potato that was steamed before being brined in seaweed and then barbecued until crispy. It was sprayed with a Japanese smelt vinegar to give an umami flavour and plated on top of a smooth watercress and parsley sauce. The potato was then cut open and topped with confit shallots, seaweed caviar, a mayonnaise made from chickpeas, crispy shallots, and a powder made from wakame, salt and vinegar.

Other dishes included tomatoes smoked and served with fresh strawberries, alongside a tomato consommé served with herbs and an elderflower gel that Haworth said was a balance of "naughtiness and then health".

"When I first started [cooking this way], it was so hard, but I kept working on it and now, five years on, I now feel like we're establishing a pure, raw style and that comes from my journey," said Haworth. "Obviously, I still take techniques from the places I've worked before, but really no one else has cooked in this way. It comes from within and I've got a passion to share that."

Plates has temporarily closed its Dalston site while it searches for a new permanent home, but its food studio and events business is still trading.

Judges were unanimous in choosing it as this year's Catey winner despite a very high level of entries across the board. They praised Howarth's menu as "brilliant" and innovative with "plates of food you want to go and eat".

What the judges said

"A close run this year with some really great menus in the shortlist, but Kirk edges it with his genuinely unique approach to an alternative style of cuisine. While the concept continues to search for a permanent home, Kirk's menus always provide intrigue and a fresh approach to familiar flavours, paired with an outstanding level of technical ability." Chetan Sharma

The shortlist

• Acme Fire Cult, London
• Plates, London
• Restaurant Matthew Tomkinson, Isle of Wight
• SY23, Aberystwyth
• Wilsons, Bristol

The judges

• Jackson Boxer, Brunswick House
• Pam Brunson, Inver
• Richard Corrigan, Corrigan Collection
• Giovanna Grossi, Giovanna Grossi Hospitality
• Jeremy Lee, Quo Vadis
• James Mackenzie, Pipe and Glass
• Chetan Sharma, BiBi Restaurants