The new Silo is a huge team effort, and feels very much like the logical next step for us. We worked with designer Nina Woodcroft and material conservationist Seetal Solanki on the interiors; both brilliant visionaries with fine taste in cutting edge nature sensitive design. We have an open kitchen with a central fire, an 18-seat bar, round tables for larger groups and a private dining room. Everything is made with pioneering, high-quality ‘Nu Waste’ materials, such as cork, mycelium, glass, porcelain and fifth stage leather. Our ginormous kitchen counter is made from medical food packaging – sounds gross, no? Its appearance can be compared to diamonds and pearls, it’s got a translucent, crystallised pearlescent finish – major sex appeal – made by the amazing Smile Plastics.
It’s been great working with the CRATE Brewery team: they’ve really supported us through the whole move, and I’ll be helping them with making their own systems as sustainable as possible in return. We’ll be pouring their beers, as well as fig leaf kombucha from JARR Kombucha, while our cocktails are made in collaboration with my old friend Ryan Chetiyawardana. We’re working with Dr Johnny Drain, a fermentation god, on game-changing ingredients like buttermilk garum, which is outrageously delicious. One thing I’m also hugely excited about is our live menu streaming. Every service, we project our menu onto the wall, the menu changes as and when the ingredients do, like a new-wave chalk board.
Things that people can do at home can be as simple as buying in bulk whenever possible, using reusable containers. Don’t buy clingfilm, foil or baking paper – invest in lots of containers with decent lids, metal covers for your baking trays, and reusable rubber mats instead. Sanitise your surfaces with vinegar water rather than shop-bought sprays. Food-wise, you can cut out the middlemen yourself by going to farmers markets and speaking to the producers directly. Zero waste is the right thing to do, with no compromise.
This article was first published in the Winter 2019 CODE Quarterly. To subscribe, click here
