It’s 4pm on a Friday, and the staff at Home Kitchen, north London’s buzziest new restaurant, are prepping for another busy evening’s service. Front of house workers are scuttling around polishing silverware and, in the kitchens downstairs, ingredients are being sliced and diced for a busy night ahead. The air is thick with the scent of sizzling meat and punctuated by the clinking of cutlery and the chatter of reservations being taken over the phone.
Watching the glowing tableau, you’d assume Home Kitchen to be a fine dining establishment like any other. Once the home of long-standing institution Odette’s, the Primrose Hill eatery certainly has the plush interiors and expertly curated seasonal menu to compete with London’s best.
But there’s more to Home Kitchen than meets the eye – or tickles the taste buds. Not only is the restaurant run not-for-profit, but nearly all of the staff members have experienced homelessness: a first of its kind in the fine-dining industry. It’s the project of two-time Michelin-starred chef Adam Simmonds and Soup Kitchen London director Adam Brown. The pair partnered with homelessness charity Crisis and social enterprise Beam to fill eight kitchen and eight front of house roles, when they opened their restaurant in autumn 2024.
