Hi, I’m Mark and I’m a cook, sounds like the start of an AA meeting….
I’ve cooked for over 20 years, been on stages at festivals, telly, written some stuff for magazines and chatted all things food on the radio (if you want to know more, ask), now I am doing this and I would love it if you’d join me.
This website and the food you will get is a reflection of me, sometimes pushy and sometimes surprisingly refined. I like kitchen humour and pushing people out of their comfort zone, I say a lot of things you will think I shouldn’t (but will anyway) if you wear corduroy and cardigans (although I do love a chunky knit) you may be a bit shocked when you eat with us.
8 plates is not just another Pop-up, think of it more as a dinner with friends you haven’t met yet, great food, served by our chatty cooks telling some dubious stories from over 20 years in kitchens that we probably shouldn’t tell (but we will anyway, we love a rumour, stirring the pot, so to speak and definitely spilling the beans), you can even come hang out in the kitchen (no touching the cooks, they might like it) and ask questions, steal recipes and tips from our cooks, in exchange for a spell in the dishpit (why do I keep reading this as Dipshit?), helping carry food or a drink or two, but it will be worth it.
Nottingham,GB
The idea
2024
3 course dinners are a boring format.
We want you to have lots to eat and talk about.
We have stories and reasons for every dish, so we stupidly decided on 8 plates, its a lot more work, we hope you’re worth it, you lucky, lucky buggers!
I spent years travelling around the world in chefs whites with a knife roll under my arm, spending time in some incredible kitchens, some shit ones too, we can talk about that during dinner.
I am never happier than with a knife and fork in our hands, always ready to eat in the places we have all seen on TV plus some you’ll never see, begging, borrowing and quite frankly, like a magpie, stealing recipes from some of the best kitchens in the world.
Now we would be lying if we said we weren’t going to recreate some of them with a twist, afterall they’re so good, why wouldn’t we??
Hopefully they’ll never find out I’ve stolen them or I’ll be kicked from the chefs Christmas card list.
Alongside those quite frankly brilliant dishes we will weave in a fair few of my own favourites.
We post a teaser menu only, this will give you an idea of the flavour (get it?) of what we do.
You’ll have to actually buy a ticket and turn up to actually see what we have on. It’s not only a secret but sometimes we change our minds if we see something shiny and tasty we think we would like to play with.
Nottingham,GB
The food
2024
All our dishes have been created around getting the best from our chosen ingredients, we try to champion British produce in season where we can, but we have to be realistic, we would be fucked for lemons, olives, vanilla and chocolate, to be frank life is too short for that.
We offer a choice of 2 menus.
Omnivore (I’m not fussy, give me everything).
Herbivore (I don’t eat things with a face).
But don’t worry, we do show the same level of love to our great vegetable dishes. You can take it as a given we will use local/seasonal/responsible/sustainable/vegetables picked by moonlight, blah, blah, blah..it does cost more, but I’ve always cooked this way, it just tastes way better.
There will be meat from all animals that we deem tasty enough, some you may even have seen starring in a Disney movie or two. There will be a lot of butter, smoke, bones, fire, salt, melting fat, offal, game and all sorts of sea creatures, if you want chicken, or you’re squeamish/not adventurous, you’re definitely in the wrong place.
We only want to make incredible combinations of flavours coupled with the oxymoron of technically simple skills.
Happily, we don’t do faddy diets, dairy free, vegans or nut free, its just the way it is.
I like to cook with all ingredients and its my house, so its my rules. but we do list allergens, otherwise we get slapped on the wrist by the people in white coats with clipboards.
The 20 seat pop up is in an environment that handles allergens, most of which is beyond our control. Giving up carbs before Marbs can be your thing, just don’t make it ours. It’s far too much work.
If you have a genuine allergy, like nuts, or happen to be coeliac then give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do.
Nottingham, GB
A New Challenge
2024
Are you ready for a different kind of pop up?
Not one that’s being used as a “tester” for a brand before they commit to a brick and mortar building with all the bills that come with it, I have no interest in that, way too many bills and nowhere near enough fun.
This is not a PR event or some other boring networking get together that makes you want to end it all with a dry, overcooked, mass produced chicken skewer.
We want you all to get together, meet new people, tell stories, pass the salt and spend some time together while drinking good wine, with some dishes you probably won’t get anywhere else in the area.
So, turn up, relax, grab a glass, grab a seat, grab a fork and let’s begin.
