A health scare made Kirk Haworth change his perception on food – but he still manages to find rich flavours in vegetables
Kirk Haworth had a traditional route into hospitality, undertaking an apprenticeship before working in two- and three-Michelin-star kitchens, preparing butter-laden meat and fish dishes, with "very little vegetable cookery".
However, a chronic health condition required him to transform his diet and turned his approach to cooking on its head. For five years Haworth, son of former Northcote head chef Nigel, suffered from multiple debilitating symptoms, including memory loss, chronic pain and headaches. After an arduous few years, he was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease and, in learning to manage the condition, realised how important diet and gut microbiomes were in controlling all manner of health conditions.
He says: "I overlooked my health, I thought I was invincible until I got that bad that I couldn't walk, I was losing balance and my memory was terrible. I was only 26 or 27, it was quite scary."
Removing dairy, red meat, gluten and refined sugar from his diet required Haworth to recalibrate his approach at the stove. He began using different oils and cooking methods to unlock flavour and found there was far more potential in vegetables than he had previously understood. He says: "We think we need dairy to make things creamy but if you understand vegetables they're all different levels of richness and creaminess – we just need to know how to treat them right."
What he unlocked was a "different form of deliciousness". He adds: "I thought OK, this needs to be shared with the world, that there's a different way of eating," he explains. "That was the moment of realising I wanted to share my pain, but in a positive way with food. Food is very personal and I never preach that this diet is best for everyone, because I know that some people need some meat or fish. Some people thrive on a plant-based diet, some people don't, and the body changes all the time."
The chef has returned to the professional kitchen with Plates, a food studio, online cookery school and restaurant run in collaboration with ‘Untitled' bar in Dalston, east London. The restaurant serves a five-course menu of plant-based dishes, including a bread course. The dishes have a link to Haworth's personal journey and he explains that he is passionate about nutrition and sharing what he has learned through delicious food.
He says: "When I've created a dish I then put on the head of old Kirk while eating it. I think ‘what would I want in this restaurant?'. It's got to be pure, exciting, creative and delicious. It's a vegetable restaurant but I'm very gentle in the way I talk about things and 80% of people that come to Plates aren't vegan, which shows what we're doing is the right journey because it's inclusive."
The signature dish is a barbecued pink fir potato. The potato is steamed before being brined in seaweed and then barbecued until crispy. It is then sprayed with a Japanese smelt vinegar to give an umami flavour. First on the plate is a smooth watercress and parsley sauce, which the potato is placed on before being cut open. It is topped with confit shallots, cooked slowly in olive oil until they are "super soft and buttery", then seaweed caviar, a mayonnaise made from chickpeas, crispy shallots, and a powder made from wakame, salt and vinegar.
Haworth says: "It's nostalgic and indulgent, we're giving them indulgent deliciousness, something that's a bit naughty but then we follow that with a tomato dish that's very clean. It's just tomatoes beautifully cut and smoked then served with the most incredible fresh strawberries. We make a tomato consommé then infuse the dried tomatoes into it. We serve it with different herbs and make an elderflower gel. It's beautiful and clean, so you have that naughtiness and then health – it's a balance."
A take on a tiramisu is a new addition to the restaurant menu. It sees a coffee ice-cream made with handmade oat milk, sat on a sable biscuit, with salted caramel alongside an amaretto custard with sweet and sour cherries, all covered by a raw, organic cacao jelly.
Haworth's health challenges required him to undertake a hugely challenging upheaval in all areas of his life, but it has unlocked a world of possibilities. He says: "When I first started [cooking this way], it was so hard, but I kept working on it and now, five years on, I now feel like we're establishing a pure, raw style and that comes from my journey. Obviously, I still take techniques from the places I've worked before, but really no one else has cooked in this way. It comes from within and I've got a passion to share that."
From the menu
- Barbecued pink fir potato, parsley and watercress, coconut butter, crispy shallots, seaweed caviar
- House bread, whipped cashew, olive oil
- Lightly smoked tomatoes, house ricotta, wild garlic velouté, chervil
- Fragrant carrots, English asparagus, verjus and mango, cavolo nero, crispy black rice
- Vanilla ice-cream, rhubarb and strawberry, whipped caramel custard, matcha
Five-course menu, £45
538 Kingsland Road, London E8 4AH
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