This September, Outcrop, the restaurant, bar and arts space at 180 The Strand, and Marshmallow Laser Feast will host a series of collaboration dinners in partnership with John Chantarasak (AngloThai) and Brad Carter (Carters of Moseley), Chantelle Nicholson (Apricity) and Skye Gyngell (Spring). Coined the ‘Lost Giants’ series, each dinner will pay homage to one of the UK’s ancient trees. The project was inspired by leading UK based art-collective Marshmallow Laser Feast’s ‘Sanctuary of the Unseen Forest’, a nine-meter video installation of a giant Ceiba Pentandra tree from the Columbian Amazon, currently planted at Outcrop.
The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world and there’s no sign of this reversing. The Lost Giants project aims to spotlight this issue, exploring the relationship between the food that we eat and the regeneration of the UK’s ecosystems more broadly. The creators of the installation, plus a line-up of expert guest speakers, will be elaborating on this topic through a series of talks preceding each dinner.
Nicholson, Gyngell, Chantarasak and Carter, who are known for championing conversations about sustainable food chains, have each designed a menu inspired by an ancient British tree with personal or historical significance. Menus will be available for one night only, and will spotlight produce from suppliers local to each tree, as well as making use of ingredients foraged from the surrounding areas.
Preceding each dinner, the creators of the installation, alongside experts in regenerative food systems, will explore the relationship between food and ecology, with ‘Sanctuary of the Unseen Forest’ bringing the themes to life as a backdrop. Speakers will include George Lamb, Co-Founder of Wildfarmed and Founder of Grow, and Skye Gyngell, Executive Chef and owner of Spring, with more to be announced soon. Each dinner will be accompanied by an immersive music and sound programme, broadcast through Outcrop’s audiophile sound system, featuring three pairs of vintage tannoy Lancasters. More information on each dinner can be found below.
Sunday 10th September: AngloThai x Brad Carter | Ankerwycke Yew, Berkshire
AngloThai’s John Chantarasak has partnered with longtime collaborator and friend, Brad Carter (Carters of Moseley) to curate a menu inspired by the Ankerwycke Yew, an ancient yew in Berkshire said to have borne witness to the sealing of the Magna Carta. Ingredients will be sourced from Oakley Court, a local Berkshire estate growing a range of high-quality seasonal produce. The set menu will consist of three-courses, including snacks and a welcome drink. The wine list for the evening will be curated by Holly Carter (Carters of Moseley) and Desiree Chantarasak (AngloThai), highlighting and championing growers focused on low intervention wine making methods and sustainability. The event will start at 5.30pm.
Monday 11th September: Chantelle Nicholson | The Great Yew, Kingley Vale
Chantelle Nicholson has designed a menu inspired by The Great Yew of Kingley Vale on the South Downs, Sussex. Kingley Vale is home to one of Western Europe's most impressive yew forests, and contains a grove of ancient trees which are estimated to be amongst the oldest living things in Britain. According to local folklore, the Druid’s worshipped there before the Romans came to Britain, and the archers of Agincourt were said to have used the pliant wood for their bows. Over the last thousand years, the majority of Europe's yew forests have been felled, making the yews of Kingley Vale some of the finest remaining examples of these lost giants. Produce will be sourced and foraged from Sussex. The event will start at 6.30pm.
Sunday 17th September: Skye Gyngell | Escley Oak, Hertfordshire
Skye Gyngell has curated a menu inspired by the Escley Oak, a gargantuan, ancient oak tree located next to Fern Varrow, the biodynamic farm from which Skye’s restaurant, Spring, sources the majority of its produce. One of the largest and oldest trees registered on the Woodland Trust’s ‘Ancient Tree Inventory’, the Escley Oak stands alone in a Hertfordshire meadow, close to the historical boundary of Britain’s lost rainforest zone - a narrow band along the UK’s west coast which once had vast swathes of temperate rainforest. Hero ingredients will be foraged from the area surrounding the tree, whilst additional produce will be supplied by Fern Verrow. The set menu will consist of three-courses, as well as snacks and a welcome drink. The event will start at 5.30pm.
The ‘Lost Giants’ series will run at Outcrop from 10th - 17th September. Tickets will be priced at £85 per person, including both the dinner and talk. Tickets will be available to book from 25th August, via outcrop.social. There will be a secondary release of tickets on 1st September.
