The Wood Store Brighton decorates new zero-waste restaurant

Chef Adam Handling has announced plans to open a new restaurant, Ugly Butterfly, promising an upmarket take on zero-waste dining.

The new site, which will open on Chelsea’s King’s Road on November 13, will build its menu using food that would otherwise be thrown away, with the majority of ingredients coming from Handling’s restaurant at the Belmond Cadogan hotel. Dishes will include Handling’s signature cheese doughnuts, made with leftovers from the Cadogan cheese board, a tartare with beef from retired dairy cows, lobster shell soup, and deboned crispy chicken feet, fried and topped with caviar.  

The sustainable approach appears to be in every aspect of the new venture, with the interiors built from recycled materials and furniture from reclaimed specialists The Wood Store. 

“1.9 million tonnes of avoidable food waste is generated by the UK food industry each year,” said the Quintessentially Foundation’s chairman Ben Elliot, “At the same time, food poverty is a huge and growing problem. Almost four million children in the UK live in households that struggle to afford to buy enough fruit, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods.

“We’re excited to be involved in the Ugly Butterfly project… This is an amazing concept that will highlight the issue.” 

A big thanks to @adamhandling and @uglybutterflyldn for using us to supply tables and fittings for the new restaurant. We had fun and a lot of volunteers got involved. All the materials used were diverted from landfill and we managed to train and share knowledge with our volunteers. A win win.

The Wood Store Brighton