ex food for friends duo opening new restaurant

If you’re a fan of veggie institution Food for Friends, then you’ll be pleased to hear that their previous management duo, husband and wife team Ramin and Jane Mostowfi, will be opening a new restaurant around the corner on East Street on Monday, 16th December. After a few delays, the team behind Kindling Restaurant are chuffed to be able to share their mission to change the way we eat, following their “Good food, done well” message across all aspects of their dining concept.

Working alongside their chef team, Holly Taylor and Toby Geneen, they promise the menu will be kind to the environment and good for the soul, sticking to minimal waste where they can. After fifteen years at Food for Friends, their menu will have a huge focus on plant-based dishes, complementing their core produce with ethical meat and sustainable fish, created with care and cooked over an open wood fire to enhance flavour (hence the name!). The team will be complete with Phillip Scott, formally of St John Restaurant in London, who will heading up front of house.

Guests will be able to choose from their a la carte menu, lunch specials, Taste of Kindling or their good looking Sunday set menus, which includes a fully vegan option too. We love the sound of their Kindling Feast, which is a family-style feast for the whole table to get stuck into. Their locally sourced meat or fish will be cooked over charcoal and served with sides to share. Yes, please! We’ve had a little look at the menu and you can expect to see a real mix of dishes from Kindling’s moreish crispy pork skin and golden hash browns to their Old Spot Chop, which is a whole roasted cauliflower with caramelised hazelnuts. YUM.

Ingredients will be seasonal and locally sourced, profiling their fire-cooked produce alongside preserving and fermenting techniques to conserve the fruitful Sussex seasons: “Our ethos is all about the thoughtful details and the stories behind our food and local producers. The restaurant will be relaxed by design, with a service that is friendly but professional. It will be elegant and principled, always putting people at ease. We will be a generous host, we smile, exuding quality whilst whispering reassurance, at every touchpoint.”

We’re pretty into interiors over here at BOTI HQ, so we’re looking forward to seeing the 42-cover restaurant when it opens, as they are using reclaimed timbers with warm natural tones to follow the restaurants land, sea and fire concept. The wood fire grill will be in the heart of the restaurant’s open kitchen, so it might even feel like we’re gathered around a campfire!

When it comes to the team, Ramin and Jane are committed to providing a different hospitality work culture, where people will be at the centre of the business and “feel like a valued member of the Kindling family”, whilst developing a sustainable and fulfillable career in a challenging industry. Sounds like a plan.

We’d recommend getting a table booked in December to be in with a chance of receiving a ‘zero’ bill, as the team will be choosing one lucky table to have a complimentary meal! Merry Christmas.

Opening Monday 16th December, Lunch & Dinner Tuesday to Sunday
Kindling Restaurant, 69 East Street, Brighton BN1 1HQ
kindlingrestaurant.com

 

Photo credit: Restaurants Brighton