David Moore takes former Roganic site to trial new concept
The 49-year-old restaurateur has signed a one-year lease with the Portman Estate on the restaurant, which he will re-open as ‘Pied Nu’ (meaning ‘barefoot’) in the first week of October.
The new concept will be based around raw food, with an emphasis on the simplicity of ingredients and a limited menu of around eight to 12 dishes.
“The idea behind running this pop-up is to test the waters for a new concept I would like to launch centred on raw food,” said Moore. “The menu won’t exclusively be raw food but there will be an element of this.
“All dishes will be simple, with the idea of there being no more than three ingredients on a plate.”
The Restaurant
Moore’s first step as a restaurateur came in 1991 with the opening of Pied à Terre, which gained a Michelin star just 13 months after opening. His second Michelin-starred restaurant, L’Autre Pied, opened in 2007 with chefs Marcus Eaves and Shane Osborn as co-owners.
He is also a non-executive director of Van Zeller restaurant in North Yorkshire, which is run by head chef Tom van Zeller.
Moore has made several TV appearances in the past few years, including on the BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals and as an inspector on The Restaurant for series two and three alongside his former mentor Raymond Blanc
Rogan's London plans
David Rawlinson, the agency director for Restaurant Property, which brokered the deal for Pied Nu, added: “London’s restaurant scene has never been more exciting - street food and pop-up concepts have injected a real dynamic of creative vitality. David, as usual, is right on-trend with this concept.”
The two-year lease for the 35-cover Roganic restaurant came to an end in June of this yearand, despite initially searching for a replacement site, Rogan did not secure a follow-on unit in London, choosing instead to focus on his existing businesses in Cartmel and the development of his two new restaurants in Manchester.
A source close to the chef told BigHospitality: “Roganic was always intended as a pop-up, it was a toe-dipping exercise in London. But Simon does want to be in the capital.”
Pied Nu will open at 19 Blandford Street in the first week of October.
