Jamie Oliver to relaunch Fifteen restaurant following a refurbishment
Jamie Oliver is set to relaunch his Fifteen restaurant in London later this month with a new interior and a new executive chef.
The restaurant, which last year celebrated its 10th anniversary, will reopen at the end of April following a complete refurbishment and with former St. John chef Jon Rotheram at the helm cooking a menu of seasonal British food.
The new interior at Fifteen will include a new bar area with a copper top bar as well as a wood oven, and a new open kitchen.
"Fifteen is the beating heart of what I do. It was the first quality social business of its kind when we opened 10 years ago, and it's still unique, special and going strong as a non-profit restaurant today, with what I think is the best chef apprenticeship in the world."
Meanwhile Rotheram will create a daily-changing menu of seasonal British ingredients. This will include a selection of small and large plates for the table, with typical dishes such as Dorset crab, rye crackers and dill; grilled lamb sweetbreads with yoghurt and pickles; wild asparagus, suckling pig and hay pie; grilled sole with fennel and salted lemon; and smoked venison sausage with cress and pickled mustard seeds. Desserts will include rhubarb and custard éclair; chocolate and salted caramel cookie with a malt milkshake; and set ivy cream, honey and hay with a ginger biscuit.
Commenting on the menu Rotheram said: "I want Fifteen to be a relaxed, fun, local restaurant where you can pop in and just have a good time. I'm going to use British produce wherever possible, and whole animals and fish will be butchered and prepared on site every day."
Fifteen opened in 2002 as a charitable foundation and pioneering apprenticeship scheme for unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds. It has since gone on to open further restaurants in Cornwall, Amsterdam and Melbourne, which relaunched as the Kitchen Cat in January 2011.