The head chef has joined forces with first-time restaurateur and art lover Alicia Whitby to open Assemblage, a 36-cover fine dining restaurant close to Spitalfields market.
The pair, who first met at Ashburton Cookery School in June 2010, said they decided to name the restaurant after the art movement and as a reference to the process chefs use to bring dishes together.
"As not only a twentieth century artistic movement, involving artists such as Pablo Picasso, but also the process by which chefs compose their dishes on a daily basis, the term ‘assemblage’ applies to both creative fields and it is our objective to incorporate both onto the plate," they state on the restaurant's website.
Whitby said that she was pleased the last six months' work getting the restaurant up and running was finally coming to fruition: "The unique concept is very true to my heart, and I believe that the underlying theme of art and food is such an endless subject – and one that the diner will hopefully appreciate too,” she said.
Food
Knight-Pacheco's menu is described as 'an innovative take on traditional British cuisine' and will mostly feature ingredients sourced from the South West. The restaurant will serve a tasting menu alongside a set lunch menu and an a la carte menu.
Dishes include starters of Ham hock, caramel, pickles and apple and Scallops, grapes, cauliflower and fennel and duck and mains of Pheasant, celeriac, cassis and girolles and Seabass, butternut squash, vanilla and lemon. Desserts include Duo of chocolate and Carrot cake.
Knight-Pacheco said: “When Alicia approached me with the idea of Assemblage, I was immediately drawn to the concept – and the challenge of using traditional art tools in the kitchen. Having worked with some of the best chefs in the world, I’m looking forward to taking on the mantle of head chef myself, and where better to do so than in lively, eclectic Shoreditch?"
Career
Knight-Pacheco started his career at The Crab at Chieveley before moving to London to work at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's and The Square. Despite only being declared runners-up in the second series of The Restaurant, Knight-Pacheco and friend Alasdair Hooper were given the chance to work at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons following the show.
The pair subsequently appeared in another BBC series Out of the Frying Pan which saw them working in private catering.
Assemblage will open on 20 October 2011.
Knight-Pacheco and Whitby are currently recruiting front-of-house staff for Assemblage. For more details or to apply, click here, or on the link below.