Former Great British Menu winner Matt Gillan, who left Michelin-starred, The Pass at South Lodge Hotel earlier this year, has announced plans via his social media to revamp Brighton coffee house, Red Roaster.
Matt, who has hosted a series of pop ups in Brighton since his departure from the Michelin-starred, The Pass at South Lodge earlier this year will transform the local coffee house with help from his business partner and team.
Matt Gillan
While the Red Roaster coffee house will continue to serve hot beverages during the day it will transform into Pike and Pine for the evening with a firm focus on food.
Taking to social media to announce the news Matt said: “Our aim is to retain the passion, enthusiasm and knowledge of our coffee, but in addition, add an unbelievable world class food offer alongside it and transform Red Roaster into our modern day interpretation of a Coffee shop."
The cafe will open at 7am for breakfast through until 4pm, with the menu delivering the comforts of home but in a style and at a quality that can’t necessarily be achieved at home.
The food will offer great value for money but also give a slight hint of what can be expected in the evening.
Matt said: “Mike calls it ‘Michelin Star for a tenner’, but I prefer that we were known for food that you would be comfortable eating more than once a week, and which you would want to bring your friends back to share.”
In the evening the cafe will transform into Pike & Pine which will have a distinct difference to the daytime menu offering two dining options. The first dining room will feature a small plate a la carte menu alongside 6 and 8 course tasting menus. The second option will be to dine at the counter. Ten guests can be accommodated along an eight metre marble counter where Matt and his team showcase 10 or more dishes in his signature style.
Coffee will remain at the heart of the business as Matt explains “at the outset we set ourselves the goal of creating the best café in the World, and that principle has guided us ever since.
“For us, that starts with the quality of the coffee, and pretty much ends there as well."
Australian designer, Hana Hakim, who was last year’s recipient of the World Interiors award for restaurant design, has been at the helm of redesigning the cafe. The refurbishment will retain Red Roaster's core values of community but offering a more luxurious feel where customers can come and relax. Natural textures, marble and plants are said to feature heavily in the redesign.
Matt Gillan joined the 2 AA Rosette Camellia restaurant at South Lodge in 2006 and was given the opportunity to launch The Pass in 2008. During Matt’s tenure, The Pass had won and retained a Michelin star for five years along with 4 Rosettes in the AA Restaurant Guide. In 2013 he appeared on BBC2's Great British Menu.
The Red Roaster was founded in 2000 as a hand roasted coffee house based in Kemptown, Brighton where it was considered to be one of the UKs pioneering coffee houses.
The new £1m investment is said to create 30 new jobs.
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