Former St. John executive chef Chris Gillard to launch Hackney restaurant

Chris Gillard will launch 150-cover EartH Kitchen in the former Hackney Arts Centre art deco cinema on Kingsland Road in Dalston.

The restaurant will be part of Foxcroft’s revamped arts space, and will have a community focus, offering training opportunities for potential apprentices from nearby Hackney City College. 

The seasonal menu will comprise simple plates such as griddled mackerel with beetroot, leaves and horseradish; and pork and duck rillettes with cornichons on toast.

Larger dishes will include griddled ox heart with chips and house-made ketchup; slow roast lamb breast with pickled raisins and mint; and crispy polenta with roast carrots, fennel, radicchio and salsa verde.

Desserts will be traditional, including the likes of steamed ginger pudding with marmalade butterscotch and vanilla ice cream.

A cocktail bar, headed up by Toni Castillo – another St. John alumnus – will serve a list of cocktails and European wines.

Designed by Transit Studio, the restaurant will be located on the first floor of the old Hackney Arts Centre, and will features polished plaster walls and bright, melamine-topped tables.

“I’ve cooked everywhere from St. John to muddy festival fields,” says Gillard.

“EartH Kitchen will draw on all of those elements: an emphasis on traditional hospitality, all food made in-house, and a willingness to experiment.”

Gillard left St. John in 2015 after 15 years with the company, during which time the restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star that has been retained ever since.

Since his departure from St. John, Gillard worked at Quo Vadis before taking the role of consultant executive chef at Camilla Al Fayed’s health-focused restaurant Farmacy in Notting Hill.