Tom Kitchin to launch a pub with rooms in East Lothian
Tom Kitchin is opening a pub with rooms in the village of Gullane on Scotland’s East coast. Located close to the Muirfield golf course, and just a 30-minute drive from Edinburgh, the Bonnie Badger dates back to 1836 and was previously The Golf Inn. The building will undergo a full refurbishment and feature 12 bedrooms, a bar, a 60-cover dining room and a garden area. Led by Kitchin’s wife and business partner, Michaela, the interior will blend Scandinavian and Scottish design which has become synonymous with Kitchin in Leith, the Castle Terrace in Edinburgh and the Scran & Scallie in Stockbridge. Kitchin is also due to open a new restaurant at Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield Place this summer.
Yotam Ottolenghi to open new restaurant in Fitzrovia this summer
The team behind Ottolenghi and NOPI is launching a new restaurant in London’s Fitzrovia in late June. Called Rovi, the menu will centre around vegetables, fermentation techniques and cooking over fire. The head chef will be Neil Campbell, formerly of Bruno Loubet’s Grain Store, with Yotam Ottolenghi and his business partner, Sami Tamimi, taking roles as executive chefs. Dishes at the Wells Street restaurant will include hand-dived scallops with cucumber kombucha; slow-roasted cauliflower with crispy chickpeas, tahini and fermented chilli salsa, and onglet skewers with beef fat mayonnaise and fermented green chillies.
Richard Turner returns as head chef of new restaurant Maribel
Richard Turner is the new head chef of Maribel, which opened in Birmingham’s Brindley Place last week. Turner, who closed Turners at 69 in January, will cook French-influenced modern British dishes such as hogget, wild garlic, St Georges, thyme. Maribel stands on the site formerly occupied by Edmunds Bistro de Luxe.
The Typing Room closes its doors after four years
The Typing Room in Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel will close its doors at the end of June. The restaurant was opened in 2014 by chef Lee Westcott in a space previously occupied by Nuno Mendes’ Viajante. The owners of the hotel say there are no plans to replace the restaurant, with the area being repurposed. Westcott, who has appeared on BBC’s Great British Menu, has yet to reveal what he plans to do next.
Dan Doherty leaves Duck & Waffle for solo projects
Chef Dan Doherty has left Duck & Waffle after six years. Doherty, who appears in the new BBC series Britain’s Best Home Cook, plans to open his own solo restaurant later this year, although he hasn’t confirmed details. Tom Cenci, who has been the executive head chef under Doherty, will remain in place at the restaurant on the 40th floor of Heron Tower.
