The eco-minded chef says menus will be projected using solar energy with chefs able to change them in real-time from tablets in the kitchen (also charged using solar energy).
Silo Hackney is due to open at the end of October in The White Building in London’s Hackney Wick above Crate Brewery following a successful crowdfund to open the zero-waster restaurant. It will mark a return for Silo, which closed its doors in Brighton in June this year after five years of trading so that McMaster could bring it to the capital.
The new restaurant is being designed by renowned sustainable designer Nina Woodcroft, and material conservationist Seetal Solanki and will feature a central hearth and an open kitchen around which a counter will seat 18 people. The main dining area will have space for a further 30 covers, with tables and seats arranged so that the projected menu can be viewed easily by diners.
McMaster is once again working with friend and drinks expert Ryan Chetiyawardana on the drinks side of Silo’s offer, and says the restaurant will serve cocktails as it does wine - in the same glasses and with the same abv. “The benefits of a cocktail versus wine is that wine is limited to grape juice whereas cocktails can be any juice,” he says.
With Silo Hackney, McMaster hopes to prove that a restaurant can be world class but also waste free. “I’m ambitious to show the world that doing the right thing can be excellent,” he says.
An interview with Douglas McMaster appears in the October issue of Restaurant magazine, which is out now. For more features, comment, interviews and in-depth analysis of the restaurant sector subscribe to Restaurant magazine here