Scott Hallsworth launches crowdfund to open a permanent Freak Scene restaurant
The former Nobu head chef began the project in July after the sale of his Kurobuta restaurant group earlier this year.
Freak Scene was initially only intended as a three-month residency in Farringdon, but has extended its run until 30 December.
Hallsworth is now looking to raise £22,000 on Kickstarter to fund the move to a permanent restaurant, which he hopes will be the first of ‘several Freak Scene diners around the globe’.
The chef has found a site a short walk from the pop-up location, which he says will allow Freak Scene to double its capacity to around 60 covers.
Kurobuta began life as a pop-up in 2013 and expanded to two permanent London locations, a summer residency at the Mandarin Oriental in Turkey, and a pop-up in Harvey Nichols. The group's two sites remain open, though Hallsworth is no longer involved in the business.
“I don’t know if it was the maniac in me or the optimist, but the end of Kurobuta spelled ‘opportunity’,” says Hallsworth in a video on the crowdfunding page.
“I was sad to walk away but it’s exciting to be doing it again with Freak Scene.
“This is my opportunity to play around with other oriental cuisines such as Thai, Singaporean and Malay, which I’ve always loved but never really been able to do at Kurobuta.”
Prior to launching Kurobuta Hallsworth worked at Nobu for six years until 2007 and helped launch the high-end Japanese group in Melbourne.
He was also behind London's Joe's Oriental Diner concept and was a partner in South Kensington membership club Ramusake before 'parting ways' with the project prior to its launch.
For more information on the crowdfunding campaign click here.
