The owner of a Keswick restaurant —yet to welcome any customers through its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic — has decided to join the dine at home trend instead as the third national lockdown continues.
Joe Gregory bought premises on Main Street in September and undertook a major refurbishment.
He wanted to open Main Street Kitchen, in the heart of the town, in October or November, offering high quality French and British cuisine
The lockdown put paid to those plans.
He said: “It’s been really tricky getting staff and stock during the pandemic but we are ready to open our doors as soon as we are able. In the meantime we’ll be offering a dine at home menu.”
Popular with Michelin-starred chefs like South Cumbria’s Simon Rogan, the dine at home experience has become an essential part of lockdown life for foodies.
Main Street Kitchen will offer a menu featuring steaks, stews, and tarts. It is available for collection or delivery within 20 miles of Keswick.
Joe said: “We’ve tweaked our menu for at-home dining.
“It’s minimal fuss and each delivery comes with detailed instructions on how to prepare the dish.
“There are not many places in the north west Lakes that offer high quality food delivered to your door, so the whole idea is to provide an authentic dining experience at home.”
Joe said he was optimistic about the future.
He added: “Once the vaccines have been rolled out fully then I think people will definitely want to dine out.
“Everyone has really missed being able to go out and socialise so I really hope locals and tourists alike flock back to fine dining.”
The kitchen’s motto is ‘for the love of food’ and head chef Adam Baker has over 20 years’ experience in the UK and Australia.
Joe added: “We’re super positive about food and doing it right.
“We want to focus on authentic quality cooking, specialising in classical French and modern British cuisine.
“A lot of contemporary cooking focuses on deconstructing food or giving it a new spin and I think a lot of the original recipes have been forgotten.
“We’re taking things right back to basics by providing wholesome flavourful food with a touch of nostalgia.”
“Most of Keswick is geared for tourists, but we want to put locals first.
“We’ve spoken to people and they really want to see variety.
“So rather than a set menu, we will have a changing menu that focuses on local seasonal produce.”
Joe said he was hopeful that the delivery area would increase as business picks up.
