Massimo Bottura's London Refettorio Felix location revealed
Massimo Bottura's third community kitchen, Refettorio Felix, is set to open in St Cuthbert's Centre at London Earl's Court.
The space will undergo a six-week makeover, reopening its doors on 5 June, in partnership with the London Evening Standard's London Food Month festival, to serve meals to homeless and vulnerable people created from surplus ingredients provided by the Felix Project.
For 25 years, the venue has acted as a drop-in centre for vulnerable people including rough sleepers, homeless and those facing issues of addiction and mental health. As well as providing a subsidised lunch service, the centre also offers counselling, showers and clothes donations.
Charles Wainwright will be overseeing the centre's extensive renovation, which includes the installation of a new professional kitchen, and curating the interior design will be Studioilse.
A list of eminent guest chefs including Monica Galetti, Michel Roux Jr, Jason Atherton and Angela Hartnett will join Bottura to cook at Refettorio Felix throughout June in an effort to highlight the value of the space, the surplus ingredients and its daily lunchtime guests.
Although the dining service is not open to the public, there will be an afternoon slot allocated to visiting the new space. After June, the venue will continue to receive a supply of food from the Felix Project and ongoing support from Bottura's non-profit organisation Food for Soul.
Stephen Milton, centre manager at St Cuthbert's, said: "We are incredibly excited to have been chosen as Food for Soul's first pioneering Refettorio in the UK. Witnessing the transformation of what was a rundown building in disrepair into a creative and beautifully designed kitchen space that's modern and practical has been both stimulating and motivating. This will have a fundamental impact on all those associated with the centre, not least our guests, and leave a legacy for our future by raising our profile and visibility in the community."
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