A MICHELIN star chef is set to close a world-first restaurant in the UK after 11 years.
The pioneering Silo in Hackney Wick, London, will pull down the shutters for good on December 20.
It’s been dubbed the world’s first zero-waste restaurant and was founded by Douglas McMaster in Brighton in 2014.
Five years later, Douglas moved Silo to the capital where it found its new home in The White Building in east London.
Silo dedicated itself to sustainability and refers to itself as the “restaurant without a bin”.
The eatery claims they “churn our own butter and roll our own oats” and it even hosts its own flour mill and femerntarium.
And all of their furniture follows an “up-cycling before recycling” philosophy.
Douglas announced the closure on Instagram, saying Silo was more than just a restaurant, “it’s an idea, an artwork, a zero waste blueprint”.
“But exhibitions don’t last forever. Silo was never meant to be static. It was meant to provoke, to inspire change.
“What happened on the plate was important – however it’s what happened off that plate that really mattered. The ideas, systems, and communities that refuse to disappear,” he continued.
Douglas went on to add Silo’s work would continue around the globe, citing projects in Mexico and Bali, saying they were the “next chapters in shaping the future of food”.
“And we’re not disappearing. By closing the doors of Silo London, we open the way for a Silo World Tour — a series of collaborations and pop-ups that will bring our zero-waste philosophy to new cities and communities around the world,” he said.
Silo’s website now reveals they’re now taking their final bookings ahead of their closure at the end of the year.
A decorated chef, Douglas has picked up a number of accolades since he burst onto the scene.
He won BBC Young Chef of the Year in 2014 as well as Britain’s Most Innovative Chef at the first Young British Foodie Awards.
He began his career at the two Michelin-starred Winteringham Fields in 2003 before going on to work at Fergus Henderson’s St. John.
After that, Douglas worked at some of the world’s best restaurants including Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and Noma in Copenhagen.
In 2011, he launched pop-up restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne where he began to explore his zero-waste concepts.
Douglas opened Silo when he was just 26 and the restaurant went on to win Britain’s Most Ethical Restaurant and Britain’s Most Innovated Restaurant at the Craft Guild of Chef’s Awards.
In 2019, it was shortlisted in the World Restaurant Awards for its innovation and ethical practice.
Douglas isn’t the only Michelin-starred chef to close a restaurant recently either.
Chef Mark Anderson, who worked with Gordon Ramsey, has closed his popular pub after 12 years in business.
