Create, Curate, Incubate

An innovative new wine bar and incubator kitchen in London is reimagining the way that F&B projects are rolled out across global hotel portfolios.

Words: Shanna McGoldrick • Photography: © Haydon Perrior

The once-revolutionary restaurant pop-up formula has become almost unremarkably ubiquitous in recent years. But while the idea of transplanting culinary concepts indiscriminately from one market to another might no longer be considered groundbreaking, hotel groups are proving that, with some modification, the model can still be used to drive change.

Take, for example, Rondo La Cave. The easygoing new basement bar located under The Hoxton Holborn’s Rondo restaurant features stripped-back interiors and the odd standing table, and has positioned itself as a natural wine bar and store that focuses on local produce and stocks low-intervention bottles from independent suppliers. But it also functions as an incubator kitchen, playing host to revolving chef residencies that will see both rising stars and established names work with the in-house team to develop a diverse variety of culinary concepts. These eateries will then launch as permanent installations elsewhere within the Ennismore collective, which spans 14 hotel and co-working brands, comprising 87 properties and counting.

“We have a bank of restaurants that are very successful, but we don’t want to be cookie-cutter in rolling them all out,” says Julia Pearson, Vice President of F&B Development at Ennismore. “Everything we do has to be more thoughtful and researched than that.”

Rondo La Cave’s incubator kitchen provides Ennismore with the opportunity to fully fine-tune each culinary brand before launching it in its permanent home, from honing the recipes to getting the social media accounts up and running. “This is a space that we can use to test them out in the real world,” explains Pearson. “People come to dine here and give us feedback, then we’re able to tweak the menu accordingly; it gives us a space where we can really work on developing a concept before it is launched in the big wide world.”

Since diners in London reap the benefits of having a rotating roster of exciting chefs hungry for their support on their doorstep, the business model is doubly advantageous. “This approach easier to do it in one location, and also creates hype for The Hoxton Holborn,” says Pearson. “It gives people a reason to keep coming back; it’s really great for our brand.”

The venue opened its doors in September 2021, and the first chef to set up shop was the British culinary star Adam Rawson, formerly of London hotspots Pachamama and The Standard. Rawson’s La Cave debut took the shape of Cantina Valentina, which saw him serving up Peruvian-inspired dishes that drew extensively on his

“We don’t want to just roll out a big chain of restaurants; we want to ensure that even if they are part of a group of restaurants there’s always 20% localisation because of the products that are available, and how each concept translates in the local market.”

JULIA PEARSON

travels around the South American country, incorporating flavours and ingredients found nationwide.

Highlights on Cantina Valentina’s menu included cheese wonton with a green chilli paste, grilled duck magret with chirimoya membrio, and a selection of ceviche, including seabass and scallop with maiz morado, pink peppercorn and coconut. There was crab bisque with fried soft shell and oca roots, and side dishes such as avocado, cilantro and quinoa ‘risotto’ and coal-roasted root vegetables cooked in banana leaf. Refined and inventive, the menu afforded Rawson both a creative freedom and authenticity that he will hope extends to the two as-yet-undisclosed Ennismore locations welcoming Cantina Valentina later this year.

“It’s a fantastic idea,” says Rawson of his London residency. “It’s a really good way of testing and getting a feel for the menus and will streamline the hotel opening as the training manuals, recipes and methods for the staff will be mostly ready… As for La Cave in London, it’s a really exciting space for guests to come and enjoy something new every couple of months.”

Rawson used the residency to make minor adjustments to the concept, explaining: “We made a couple of changes, but luckily I had time to test ideas before we opened, so there were only a few tweaks that we made. From the first day, it was a success.”

In December, Cantina Valentina was followed by a very different gastronomic concept, when La Cave welcomed the international pizza consultant Anthony Falco to the stove to introduce London to the Detroit-style pizza joint Four Corners. Falco, the author of the cookbook Pizza Czar, has built a reputation for creating acclaimed pizza programmes and world-class food brands, winning a global following along the way. He set to work creating a menu that would encapsulate the best of Detroit-style pizza – a variation on the Sicilian style – while referencing the London location of the pop-up.

“I’m interested in local ingredients and heritage grains, so to find local stone-milled heritage grains got me really excited for the menu creation,” says Falco. His menu features British produce such as organic local flour, aged English cheddar and Maris Piper potatoes – the latter mashed to a velvety consistency and served atop a spongy Detroitstyle square, in what can only be described as the culinary embodiment of the transatlantic special relationship. Other playful highlights include Pistachio Pesto and Mortadella Vodka Meatball slices. “The Hoxton is such a fun brand,” says the chef, who has clearly enjoyed his time in the capital.

An added benefit of the residencies is that it exposes the chefs to a different clientele than they might be used to – partly due to Rondo La Cave’s standing as a wine bar. For both Rawson and Falco, this played into the menu offerings. “We welcomed more of the wine crowd,” says Rawson. “The organic wine offering was really outstanding, the guys did a great job on that, so we had a nice mix of people coming through the doors.”

For Falco, it meant that fans who were less familiar with natural wines could explore a different side of his passion for food and drink. “I mostly work with natural fermentation when it comes to my dough, because I consider Detroit pizza in the category of a focaccia,” he says. “The flour we are using is all organic, and so the fermentation of the dough matches the fermentation of the natural wine.” Four Corners will run until March, before launching at The Hoxton Barcelona later in the spring. How will the menu change at that point? “Spain has a diverse array of local products to choose from, so I’m looking forward to leveraging that and getting inspired by the local cuisine and culture,” hints Falco. Rawson, too, will look to incorporate regional influences when into his forthcoming international openings, saying: “I start by researching classic dishes or common ingredients that I can elevate into something more Peruvian, either by reinventing with Peruvian ingredients

“It’s super exciting for the chefs who get to learn multiple concepts throughout the year.”

ADAM RAWSON

Highlights on Cantina Valentina’s Peruvian menu included the el tequeño cheese wonton with green chilli paste

or using local ingredients to make a classic Peruvian dish.”

This regional sensitivity will be a common theme as Rondo La Cave creates more concepts. “We don’t want to just roll out a big chain of restaurants; we want to ensure that even if they are part of a group of restaurants there’s always 20% localisation because of the products that are available, and how each concept translates in the local market,” explains Pearson.

The incubator kitchen model, however, is not without its challenges. With chefs of different professional backgrounds adapting to the kitchen and the in-house team learning to create new menus every few months, the logistics can get tricky at times. “It’s a lot more work than a simple pop-up,” says Rawson. As always, the solution to these challenges lies in thorough advance preparation, and in putting the right in-house team in place; leading the contingent at Rondo La Cave is Adam Takac. “You have to factor in the fact that when the concept changes, you need to take a week or two to get everything in place – implementing the ordering systems, production, staff training, tastings, bulking the recipes,” says Rawson. “But I think it’s a good idea, and it’s super exciting for the chefs who get to learn multiple concepts throughout the year working with some top chefs.”

“For me, it has been great to work with the team,” says Falco. “We have Adam as the lead chef – he is super talented and detail-oriented. If a hotel is going to have an incubator kitchen, I think it’s crucial to have the right person in that role so that the rest of the team believes in their leadership.”

So far, the benefits have significantly outweighed the challenges. “The learnings have been invaluable,” says Pearson. “It enables us to get a head start before opening in one of our properties around the world.” Whatever Rondo La Cave does next, foodies and trendspotters alike will be watching keenly.