Art15 takes place from 20-23 May 2015 hosting 150 galleries representing 40 countries and 500 artists. In this its third year, the fair will welcome over 30,000 collectors and art aficionados to Olympia over the four days.
Why are we telling you this you ask?
Well, Food 4 Art, the pop-up restaurant at Art15, has been curated by the Evening Standard’s Fay Maschler & visitors to the Fair can choose from specially designed menus developed by four of London’s most in demand restaurants of the moment; Barrafina, Gymkhana, The Clove Club and The Colony Grill Room.
The participants were invited by Fay Maschler herself, who comments, “there is particular pleasure in pushing at open doors and in my experience ace chefs and restaurateurs are always keen to be allied to art and also engage with an international audience alive to all the senses”.
At the preview night on Wednesday guests will experience some of what has made Sam & Eddie Hart’s Spanish tapas temple Barrafina – first in Soho and then in Covent Garden – the fount of perpetual queues. Nieves Barragan Mohacho, executive chef and partner said, “I’m so happy to have been asked by Fay to create a menu for Art15. We very rarely take Barrafina’s cooking outside the restaurants, so this is a special and unique occasion. I am looking forward to seeing the show’s visitors eating my food in that environment”.
Thursday is Gymkhana day. Opened in Mayfair by Karam Sethi less than two years ago with a visual nod to nostalgia combined with a modern understanding of how authentic Indian cooking techniques benefit from top class seasonal British ingredients, Gymkhana lost no time in attracting a Michelin star and being named ‘UK’s Best Restaurant’ in the National Restaurant Awards 2014.
The Clove Club take over on Friday. Opening in Shoreditch Town Hall just over two years ago, The Clove Club have since been awarded a Michelin star and voted No.2 (just after Gymkhana) in the National Restaurant Awards 2014.
Chef Isaac says, “When Fay approached us to be part of Art15 this year, we agreed immediately. It’s not something we’ve done before but we’re excited to introduce our food to a new and engaged audience whilst surrounded by fantastic art”.
The Colony Grill Room rounds off eating at the fair on Saturday. Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, unsurpassed at comprehending fulfilling all-day dining as proved at their venues The Wolseley and The Delaunay, this time looked to the grill rooms of patrician America for inspiration ably brought into being by head chef Lee Ward. King commented, “Ever since the early days at Le Caprice, we have always enjoyed a close relationship with the art world and a hotel – The Beaumont – was a natural progression of this, as exemplified by the Antony Gormley Suite. We are thrilled to be able to bring The Beaumont’s restaurant, The Colony Grill Room to Art15.”
Reservations at Food 4 Art are available to Art15 VIPs and ticket holders. To book a table, please call Absolute Taste on + 44 (0) 208 870 5151 or, email art15restaurant@absolutetaste.com
All images from Art14
