You only have 26 covers. Does that mean Moss will be a high-end affair?
Moss was originally going to be a tasting menu-only restaurant but then I realised the market is quite saturated for that in Edinburgh. We’re now going for more of a neighbourhood price point. We want people to visit once or twice a month. The plan is to cook at the sort of level you’d expect from a tasting menu place but in a three-course a la carte format. We’re anticipating the average spend will be around £60 including drinks. The team all love being creative, but we all have kids now and are done with the relentless pressure of very high-end places and fussy plating. Moss will be a rehab centre for ex-fine dining chefs.
What sort of food will you be serving?
Ultimately it will be Scottish cuisine. I want to make a statement about what is possible with Scottish ingredients. My family has a farm near Dundee that will supply much of our produce. Moss will be part of our push to shorten the supply chain and market our products directly to the consumer. Right now, we’re getting a little under half what we need from the farm and filling in the gaps by using other high quality local suppliers. But eventually we hope to be fully self-sufficient. I’m into weird stuff. I have a library of different types of pines, which all have different flavours. But we also have more obvious stuff on the farm including game and heritage fruits.
Given the Scottish climate I’m guessing there will be a strong emphasis on preservation?
Yes. Preservation will be my focus. We will be using lots of different techniques including shrubbing and koji-based fermentation. My wife (Akiko, a ceramicist) is Japanese so I can get my in laws to send me koji strains that as far as I know nobody else in the UK has access to. They work a bit like a sourdough mother in that they must be fed to keep them alive.
So, Moss will essentially be a Scottish take on New Nordic cuisine?
Pretty much. There will be some Japanese influence but underpinning it all will be a deep understanding and passion for Scottish food. I love to experiment, but I also have the palate of a six-year-old. For me food needs to be satiating and effortlessly delicious.
Will you explore Scottish cooking traditions as well as Scottish produce?
The team is extremely diverse. My head chef (Konstantinos Sakellariou) is Greek, and our pastry chef is Japanese. We want to learn more about traditional Scottish cooking, but our starting point will be our own heritage. I suppose Moss will be a Frankenstein-like take on what can be done with Scottish ingredients.
Tell us about your background
I’m a failed musician. I ran a recording studio for a bit but packed it in because there’s very little money in music these days. But I have always had a strong interest in food. I trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School (in Cork) which led to a three-month internship at Noma in 2017. I actually asked my PR company to play down the Noma stuff, but they ignored me. But it was a formative experience. I learnt a lot there. After that I worked at few places in London but nowhere of any note really. This led to a role overseeing the food at a sustainable architecture practice that also involved me doing research and having some input into projects. For the past few years, I’ve also been overseeing the direction of my family’s farm, which is now fully organic.
How long has Moss been in the making?
About two years. In preparation, Akiko and I spent six months in Japan. I did stages at a few Michelin-starred restaurants, including Kabi and MAZ and she had a residency at the Ceramic Institute of Japan. She will make all the ceramics for Moss. Her style is a punky, colourful take on Wabi-Sabi (which is often translated as ‘flawed beauty’) but the items we will use in the restaurant will be a little toned down. Our tableware will have a hand-built, asymmetrical feel. Anyone can create symmetry. To craft something that looks natural is the real challenge.
What about drinks?
Everything will be sourced from the UK. As with the food, we want to know everything about the drinks we serve inside and out. We will eventually visit all the producers that we work with. To master the landscape of global or even just continental wines is a lifetime’s work but the UK wine scene is much more manageable. There will be some challenges around margin but we’re willing to take a hit in some cases. Our house wine will be from Westwell Wine Estates (in Kent). We’re going to try and get it on for £30 a bottle, which will mean a GP of around 50%.
Why Stockbridge?
It was mostly down to the site. It’s exactly the right size and the overheads are low. There’s also a big basement area which we will eventually turn into a private dining room, which will bring us up to around 40 covers. Plus, Stockbridge and especially St Stephen Street is a hotspot for great restaurants with recent launches including Avery, eòrna and Skua.
How will the kitchen team be structured?
I’m the executive chef. I will be in the kitchen all the time, but I’ll be focused on preservation, research and how Moss interacts with the farm. I won’t be that involved with service. Konstantinos will manage the bulk of kitchen operations. I paid my mortgage cooking, but the rest of the team has more restaurant experience than I do. I’m the guy that has the crazy ideas, it will be their job to bring them to life.
