The first, called PAM, will open on Charterhouse Street in Farringdon in October, followed by live-fire Northern Thai restaurant AREE in Notting Hill early next year.
In preparation of the openings, Knowles is running the KARLA Pop-Up Series that she says will give her and her team are a chance to ‘cook, collaborate, experiment and share the food that’s inspiring us before we open our doors’. The limited-run series began on 23 July with a collaboration alongside the social dining app Appetite and chef-turned-content creator Romany Henry (@dudu_eats), which is to be followed by an art, sake and snacks event with Cluster and Dream Sake on 30 July.
A fire-led Thai-inspired dinner with Sera will take place on 13 August before the programme concludes with ‘Karla and Friends’, a collaborative closing celebration, on 15 August.
Both restaurants will be part of hospitality group Maisons Vivantes, a house of chef-led restaurants in London founded by Romain Bourrillon that also includes Jusu Brothers and Casa Felicia. Bourrillon opened Cocotte in Notting Hill in 2016, and it now operates five locations across London.
PAM is opening in partnership with Eddy Bourrillon, formerly area manager at Cocotte, while AREE will be co-founded by Knowles, Eddy and Romain Bourrillon, with Knowles leading the kitchen.
Knowles has built her career over almost a decade in kitchens, including Tramshed and Petersham Nurseries, before becoming head chef at Soho Thai restaurant Kiln, where she developed a reputation for bold, ingredient-led cooking.
The summer events and the forthcoming restaurants will draw heavily on inspiration from Knowles’ recent travels through Thailand, where she explored regional cuisines in Bangkok and northern Thailand, alongside the influences she has developed throughout her career in London’s restaurant scene.