Former Man Behind The Curtain head chef, Kray Treadwell, goes solo with pop-up in Birmingham
Kray Treadwell has announced a series of pop-up events in his home town of Birmingham after leaving Michael O’Hare’s Michelin-starred, Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds.
The Great British Menu contestant’s first event will be on September 13th at Craft Dining Rooms, he said: “I’ve been at Man Behind The Curtain for four years so it felt like it was time to leave and do something for myself.
“I’ve been a chef for a long time, I’ve always wanted a restaurant and I’ve always known the sort of dishes I would put on my menu, the style of food and the vibe of the restaurant.”
His first pop-up is sold out and he’s confident he’ll have a permanent site by Spring next year. He says it’s nice to come home to open his first solo venture and he wants to stand out and be different.
“I want to do food that no one else does in Birmingham. I’m not looking to do a vegetable, with a piece of meat and a sauce – I want my food and the menu to be fun.”
He added: “None of my friends who I grew up with in Birmingham, have ever eaten in a fine dining restaurant. They are scared because they think it’s pretentious, they think it’s white table clothes, you have to have a wine pairing and wear a suit jacket. I want to change that, I want people to be able to come in and eat a tasting menu for £60, listen to music they are familiar with and make it like they are having a night out. Basically, I don’t want a fine dining restaurant, but I want the food to be of that standard.”
Kray will inevitably face criticism that he is replicating Michael O’Hare but he says, ‘it’s hard to not plate the same when you’ve done it for so long’.
“Let’s be honest Mike’s food always looks good doesn’t it? So, there will be little bits I’ve taken from Michael but not intentionally.
“I think that happens with most chefs who have worked at a restaurant a long time and then leave, Tom Brown was never going to open a meat restaurant was he? You choose to work at certain restaurants because that’s the food you aspire to do, and that you get excited about.”
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