Luke Dale-Roberts responds to Day Zero with pop-up: The Drought Kitchen

Images: The Test Kitchen

Have your cake and eat the plate too! Luke Dale-Roberts and The Test Kitchen’s head chef Ryan Cole have conceptualised a pop-up restaurant inside one of the world’s best. While many restaurants have to consider temporary closure as Day Zero approaches, some chefs are exploring water wise menus looking for alternative options to keep their doors open.  

It’s no surprise that Luke Dale-Roberts and team are leading the restaurant industry with their conceptual ‘drought kitchen’. In an effort to conserve as much water possible and ensure that staff are kept on during this inevitable crisis, The Test Kitchen team is surpassing the usual standards of water conservation (recycling grey water, installing diffusers on taps, asking patrons to reduce their use during their dining experience) and taking it a step further.  

‘We have felt the effects of the drought already and we have all but closed down our laundry (due to using paper and eliminating tablecloths). Our laundry ladies, Bibo and Sarah have now learnt to prep vegetables and are helping The Pot Luck Club team.

We have covered all the standard ways of saving water like recycling grey water for floor cleaning, installing diffusers on taps etc but we wanted to take it a step further.

Restaurants are reliant on water for not only their laundry but also they consume a great deal of water on dishwashing,’  says Luke Dale-Roberts explaining the difficulties of running a restaurant without water.

With unusual, Charlie and the Chocolate factory-esk, edible plates and clever surprises the menu is set to be an alternative culinary experience. For those who want to keep fine dining on their radar, visitors to the Mother City, and eco-friendly consumers, eating with a conscious is the only way forward.

The Drought Kitchen at The Test Kitchen will be open from 1 April through to 30 June 2018 (closed on Mondays and Sundays as well as public holidays).

Follow Food24 on social media as we’ll be giving you a glimpse into The Drought Kitchen this Friday 23rd February!

Help save water by checking out our water wise guide to eating out, 20 waterless recipes and how to make your kitchen drought-conscious.