Jeremy’s closed in 2021 after 24 years, when owners Jeremy and Vera Ashpool retired.
The building had originally been set to open under Chantelle Nicholson, but the Apricity chef is understood to have pulled out of the project.
Set within a new glasshouse overlooking a walled kitchen garden, Isca will draw on Borde Hill’s biodynamic garden for both inspiration and ingredients, with dishes shaped by produce grown and harvested across the estate.
A root-to-tip and nose-to-tail approach underpins the cooking, minimising waste ‘while celebrating the full breadth of each ingredient’.
Named after a rare magnolia tree in the garden, Isca will offer dishes including cured Chalk Stream trout, labneh and walled garden flowers; wild sea bass with crab bisque, Sichuan and Padrón pepper; and baked cheesecake with pickled magnolia and rhubarb.
Hazell was most recently head chef at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. His high-end cooking CV also includes Marcus Wareing‘s Tredwells and The Gilbert Scott (both now closed).
Isca’s head chef will be Philip McEnaney, whose CV includes London’s Trinity and Boath House near Inverness.
The drinks programme will major on low-intervention wines, organised not by country but by the environments in which they are produced – maritime, river, mountain and plateau – with a particular focus on neighbouring Sussex vineyards.
There will also be a range of house-made kombuchas, shrubs, teas and cocktails showcasing flowers and fruits from the garden, including signatures ranging from a Magnolia Margarita to a Pea Pod Martini.
Designed by Nicola Harding, the space will bring the garden indoors through natural materials such as wood, marble and stone, alongside soft lighting and abundant planting, including magnolia grandiflora trees in terracotta planters within the dining room.
Tables adorned with estate-grown foliage will create ‘a warm, immersive environment that evolves with the seasons’.
“Restaurant Isca is a truly unique space which brings the joy of the garden to the fore of seasonal dining. We are so excited to share the magic of Isca with our guests,” says Jay Goddard, managing director of Borde Hill.