Bastardisation of the East: Rage Against the Cuisine

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Rage Against the Cuisine

The cheapness-motivated genius of this concept here reminded me of Leech:

"A nice little success story comes out of England today, about a group of aspirant restauranteurs with little means or previous experience, who opened up a popular new eatery thanks to hard work, determination, and a mutual hatred of "the man." The restaurant you see, is a pop-up run by an anarchist collective, and operates illegally in an undisclosed squat in Bristol. The place has proved to be so popular that the collective won't even reveal its name to the press for fear that the crowds would be too overwhelming.

The Set-Up, The Menu, "Lady Hop" >>>

The cooking, bartending, and front of house duties are all shared by collective members, and the set-up shifts from night to night. Says one of the group members, who goes by "Lady Hop":

Kitchens and the service industry are very hierarchical set ups. The classic image is of the head chef barking orders. We organise horizontally, there's no leaders amongst us...I think it's more about everyone taking a lead in doing certain stuff. This is a shared dream of many people.

What's the menu like? Mostly South American fare, but the menu changes nightly, because the chefs change nightly as well. Also, in true anarchist spirit, smoking is totally allowed in the spot, all electricity is stolen from a nearby source and piped in via a long electrical cord, and, the entire meal is "pay what you will." The restaurant is closing soon, but the group has future plans for another pop-up in another squat. Says "Lady Hop":

Each building has a different character, each time of year is different, it's nice not to be constrained to open all the time."

If your rice is served slightly undercooked/inedible, you know that you've just been served by a fellow blogger here at Bastardisation of the East.

¶ posted by Jon at 2/02/2010

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