Top chefs, including Rick Stein, Philip Howard and Rowley Leigh, will be cooking at a pop-up restaurant in Putney next month to help raise funds for Action Against Hunger's Haiti appeal.
The event, dubbed Putney Pop-up, is the brainchild of restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas, who has donated the use of her restaurant The Phoenix, currently closed for refurbishment.
Bruce Poole of Chez Bruce will kick off the event on Tuesday 2 March. There is no set price for a three-course dinner but it is hoped that each diner will pay at least £60, 90 per cent of which will go direct to the charity.
Poole said: “We hope the public will offer huge support – they are definitely going to experience some memorable meals."
Wine suppliers Liberty's and Layton's have supplied wine at cost price which will have a 'modest mark-up'. Wine writer Jancis Robinson has also donated 120 bottles of Bordeaux to the cause.
Most of the staff too have donated their time, and any gratuities will be at customer’s discretion.
Industry action
Mascarenhas said she: “Sympathetic talk is easy – what has happened in Haiti is so tragic that few of us can comprehend it. The effect of the crisis will be long lasting and aid of every sort will be needed for a very long time.
"With this series of pop-up restaurants we will be able to make a heartfelt but tangible financial contribution, and will urge our customers to support the initiative on one – or many – nights.”
Since the earthquake struck the Caribbean island of Haiti in January, many members of the hospitality industry have rallied round to help by raising funds for Action Against Hunger and, in the case of Cornish hotelier Andrew Biss travelled to the island to help first hand.
The Putney Pop-up line up is:
Tuesday, 2 March - Bruce Poole, Chez Bruce
Thursday, 4 March - Philip Howard, The Square
Tuesday, 9 March - Atul Kochhar, Benares
Tuesday, 16 March - Matthew Harris, Bibendum
Wednesday, 17 March - Rowley Leigh, Le Café Anglais
Thursday, 18 March - Philip Howard, The Square
Tuesday, 23 March - Rick Stein, The Seafood Restaurant
Wednesday 24 March - Rick Stein, The Seafood Restaurant
Thursday, 25 March - Helena Puolakka, Skylon
Saturday, 27 March - Jesse Dunford Wood
Monday, 29 March - Patrick Williams, Patrick’s Kitchen
Bookings can be made via the website – www.putneypopup.co.uk