Photo: @CharlieMcKay
In collaboration with Tom Dixon, chef and restaurateur Stevie Parle will launch JOY on Portobello Docks next week (Friday 31st July). On the former Dock Kitchen site, the project will also include input from Arthur Parkinson – a young gardener who has transformed the Victorian setting – and The Goods Shed, a Canterbury-based farm-to-fork supplier.
Offering guests the ability to shop, drink and dine with minimal contact, impeccable hygiene systems and total transparency in sourcing, JOY will be home to shops, a stand-alone bar, and Flora – a summer pop-up restaurant, specifically designed to make the most of the late summer and seasonal British produce.
For the JOY retail arm, Stevie Parle has installed a number of hives from his home and North Greenwich-based Craft, which will serve fresh honey to take-away. A farm shop from The Goods Shed will also be on hand, plus a wine shop from Uncharted and a beer shop from BierCraft.
At Flora, Parle’s menu is designed to be short and seasonal, served amongst a floral display of dahlias, planted and chosen by Arthur Parkinson and his collaborator Caroline Neville. Parkinson was set to make his festival debut with the RHS Cut Flower Garden at this summer’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. When the show was cancelled, Parle contacted Parkinson in hope of saving some of the plants, to be reimagined for the dock setting.
Displayed on a blackboard, the restaurant menu will change daily, with dishes set to include the likes of clams with butter and fresh peas; red prawns with burned lemon and marjoram; Fosse Meadows chicken cooked over wood and stuffed with ricotta and ‘nduja; and sides showcasing The Goods Shed produce.
Moreover, JOY is also working with a number of local charities to help deliver fresh, raw ingredients to locals in need. Guests will also be given the option to “pay it forward” by adding a vegetable box to their bill for JOY to donate on their behalf. At a time when thousands of hospitality workers are out of work JOY will provide well-paid work and training to the industry, keeping as many people engaged and employed in the sector as possible.
On the launch of JOY, Stevie Parle said: “The last few months have been incredibly difficult for lots of people, not least the hospitality industry. I wanted to create something special for London for the summer to try and make up for some of the things that haven’t happened this year. We have pulled this project together in record time but it feels like a special moment. It’s great for me to be able to keep some more hospitality jobs going and it feels like a real treat to be cooking with the amazing produce from The Goods Shed amongst the beautiful garden Arthur has created.
“This part of London is close to my heart, one of the last things we did before we closed Dock Kitchen was hold a big fundraising dinner for a nursery at the bottom of Grenfell Tower, just a couple of days after the fire, allowing them to reopen almost instantly. I’m keen that JOY works closely with the community to see how we can help get good food to more people and I would love as many people as possible to come and feel the joy of the garden, whether for a spritz, a coffee, or a long rosé fuelled lunch they will be surrounded by flowers, bees and butterflies”.
JOY will be open Wednesday – Sunday, serving weekend brunches from 10am, and an all-day menu from 12 – 10pm. Menus will respond daily to The Goods Shed and best produce available from their Kent farming community. JOY and FLORA will open on the 31st July, and run until at least the end of September. Booking lines are open now (£10 deposit per person). Further information can be found here.
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