Kirk and Keeley Haworth to open permanent Plates site
Kirk and Keeley Haworth will be opening a permanent site in London for their plant-based cooking concept Plates next year.
The siblings will open their first 30-cover restaurant in Shoreditch in mid-February following numerous pop-ups this year.
Plates was launched in March, inspired by head chef Kirk's plant-based diet, which he adopted to help improve the symptoms he experiences from having Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection.
Keeley Haworth said: "This year has gone really well, with all the residencies selling out, so it just feels right to keep the momentum. London is where we both live, so it's the perfect place to start. We couldn't develop the food in the way we wanted to without our own kitchen, so we felt we needed to find a permanent place to build a solid foundation. It will be somewhere people can come to discover new things in food and drink."
The concept focuses on refined dishes high in nutritional value. Haworth was trained by his father, Nigel Haworth (previously chef-patron of the Michelin-starred Northcote in Langho, Lancashire), and worked under Phil Howard at the two-Michelin-starred Square and Pied à Terre under Shane Osborn in London, as well as Marque and Quay in Sydney, Australia.
The restaurant, which will have an open-plan bar and kitchen, will serve a set five-course menu of seasonal, plant-based food, without meat, fish, dairy or refined sugar. The wines will all be natural, and the cocktails developed with brewer Jack Dobbie, focusing on organic and foraged herbs and fruits. There will also be non-alcoholic seasonal drinks pairings.
The restaurant will initially only open on weekends, due to Kirk's health, and the six-strong team will also continue to work on private events in between.
Each season the restaurant will launch new food and drink menus as well as artistic partnerships, with the first collaboration being with sculptor and ceramicist Ana Kerin of Kana London and photographer Tom Dewhirst, with the artwork displayed at the venue.
Tickets can be purchased for the opening from today through the Plates website.
Kirk Haworth will also be cooking food from Plates on 3 February 2018 at Obsession 18 at Northcote.
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