As revealed by Restaurant last month, Garvey has secured a site on Great Portland Street for his new project, which will be called Materia Prima and which will serve the best possible ingredients, served at their best, according to Garvey.
The chef, whose restaurant at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel closed suddenly in July after less than six months, is looking to raise £130,000 on Kickstarter to help open the 24-cover restaurant which will also have a private dining space with its own outdoor area, and a ‘fully fledged’ cocktail bar.
Half the capital to build Materia Prima is coming from Garvey’s Rock On Hospitality business with the crowdfund created to pay for elements such as the restaurants’ mechanical and electrical infrastructure, kitchen equipment and specialist tools, and furniture, fittings, and the final finish.
The money will also help provide capital to the restaurant for its first few months.
Garvey, who is also chef-patron at Soho Michelin-starred restaurant SOLA, describes Materia Prima as ‘the definitive ingredient-led restaurant’ that will use the best produce available, minimally intervened with.
In a video on the restaurant’s crowdfunding page, he says that the project was an idea that had been brewing for around two years.
“It is incredibly novel in that it is solely ingredient oriented,” he says. “Our job is ensuing that every single product on your plate is the best product available.
“We’re going to be bringing in the best seafood, the best meat, the best vegetables from around the world.”
Describing Materia Prima as ‘no gimmicks, no dogma, no boundaries - just a relentless pursuit of the top of the top’ Garvey says sourcing could include spiny lobster from Brittany, uni from the Faroe Islands, or ‘the finest vegetables grown anywhere on earth’.
Investors are being offered a range of rewards including lunch and dinner experiences, private events and whole restaurant takeovers.
“This is more than a restaurant,” says Garvey. “It’s a new way of thinking about food.”