In terms of pop up dinners, this one is a brush with greatness: Anthony Demeter is holding a one-night-only banquet in Greenwich’s Painted Hall.
Just to unpack that a little, Anthony Demeter is an absolutely legendary chef who has achieved pretty much everything one could wish for behind a stove – he’s won three Michelin Stars at three different restaurants (Wild Honey is his current stomping ground) and helped change the London dining scene with his approach to local & sustainable food. Here, he’ll be creating a three-course meal paired with sustainable fine wines, and followed by an informal ‘in conversation’-style chat.
One of the dishes at Anthony Demetre’s Wild Honey
And as for the space he’ll be cooking in? That would be Greenwich’s magnificent and ancient Painted Hall. Sitting in a building designed by Sir Christopher Wren, it’s frequently called “Britain’s answer to the Sistine Chapel” – because its 40,000 sq ft interior is completely covered in meticulous & extraordinary murals of mythical, allegorical and historical figures, which all took artist Sir James Thornhill a full 19 years to plan and paint.
And that’s just the backdrop for the new, more modern piece that’s currently dominating the space. Called Coalescence, it’s a gigantic, glittering fragmented sphere made from over 2,500 pieces of coal (which, we’re told, is the amount consumed by a single 200W light bulb in a year). It’s all designed to provoke a little thought about the fragility of our environment, and why we remain so dependent on fossil fuels. You know, the real burning questions.
So, in summary, that’s one of the best chefs in the nation (check) cooking up a banquet in one of the most stunning spaces in Europe (check) while feasting your eyes on a cutting-edge piece of thought-provoking modern art (check).”
Not one to brush off.
NOTE: The Coalescence Closing Fine Dining Soiree with Anthony Demetre will take place on February 3rd. Tickets cost £150pp. You can find out more, and make a booking right here.
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