This February the Magpie Kitchen at Roots and Shoots marks 100 years of women's right to vote. Chef Phillip Costen has created a delicious three course menu, inspired by three establishments important to the suffragette cause: Alan's Tea Room in Oxford Street, Eustace Miles Vegetarian Restaurant in Chandos Street and Rosa Lewis's Cavendish Hotel in Jermyn Street.
22 and 23 February, 7.30pm. Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, London SE11 6DN
£20 (byob) for three courses, vegetarian option available.
Phillip’s been running the Magpie Kitchen for four years. It's a monthly pop up dining club where diners have the chance to taste extraordinary food at an extraordinary £20 for three courses, sitting alongside people who may live in the same street but have been strangers until now. Others come from further afield too and discover Roots and Shoots, a long established educational and environmental charity in a beautiful setting off the Kennington Road.
Each month has a different theme. Some Magpie Kitchens celebrate an anniversary or historical event. Others are broader and quirkier, such as this year’s edible cultural farewell to Europe.
22/23 March – celebrating Romania and Romany Marie’s Greenwich Village café
26/27 April – celebrating Spain and Cervantes with 16th and 17th century food
24/25 May – celebrating Portugal and poet Francisco Rodrigues Lobo
The menus are painstakingly researched by Phillip, who studied art history at the Courtauld. He draws from records and menus of the time and the venue is dressed with pictures and historical documents and music. The atmosphere is bohemian, with some diners dressing in character. Cooking over, Phillip joins guests to bring his subjects to life with anecdotes and gossipy titbits.
@TheMagpieKitchen To book: [email protected] or 020 7587 1131
ABOUT PHILLIP COSTEN: Nothing Phillip cooks is ever simply a plate of food. It's not just that it's delicious, fresh and skilfully cooked, or that the surroundings at Roots and Shoots are beautiful, or that it is quite remarkable value for money. Rather that this is food created by a wizard. He magics up fabulous food with its own fascinating story which delights and surprises. He is passionate about food and shares his passion, knowledge and skill generously. He is a champion of exciting and delicious food from different places, times and cultures.
For more than 12 years he's been cooking adventurous and tasty international menus for the many charities which use Roots and Shoots' hall and other spaces for meetings and events. Letting these brings vital revenue for Roots and Shoots and Phillip's delicious and fair priced food is a big attraction to other charities on tight budgets.
The ingredients are bought at the local Kennington supermarket and brought back by Christiania bike. Phillip also uses fresh produce such as salad leaves, vegetables, herbs and apples grown by Roots and Shoots horticulture students.
ABOUT ROOTS AND SHOOTS: For more than 35 years London charity Roots and Shoots has been providing education and vocational training to young people from the inner city with particular needs, giving them the skills and self-confidence to equip them for ork. Alongside the vocational training in horticulture, retail, floristry and hospitality and life skills, Roots and Shoots provides environmental education to local schools and the wider community based on its acclaimed half acre wild garden, an important green space for urban biodiversity, which specialises in bee species and local conservation. Director Linda Phillips MBE, who founded the charity in 1982, is an RBG Kew trained horticulturist. www.rootsandshoots.org.uk