Patra Panas: “I fight hard to make people see restaurants as a real profession”

This is a site you know rather well

It certainly is. I spent 14 years here and worked my way up from a part-time receptionist to restaurant manager. I was with Nigel (Platts-Martin, the high-profile restaurateur that until last year owned The Glasshouse) for 22 years. He knew I was looking to do my own thing and very kindly called me to let me know he was closing the restaurant and that – if I wanted it – he would leave everything inside and put me forward to the landlord.

What a lovely call to receive. Does that mean your new restaurant Hawthorn is held on a new lease?

Yes. I needed a partner and a chef friend of mine put me in touch with Josh (Hunter, Hawthorn’s chef). He went and had a look at the site and within about five minutes of him seeing it I had a phone call saying he wanted to go into business with me​​. It was all rather straightforward. We don't have backers, it's just Josh and myself.

Have you had to do much to the site?

We initially thought we could open in a matter of days, if we wanted to, but we have had a few surprises. It is an old building, after all. We’ve given the place a fresh coat of paint but the look and feel is much the same as it was before. We will eventually invest more to make a few changes. It's all coming together - we're hoping to do softs from 1 February ahead of an official launch on 7 February. 

And when are you planning to burn down the restaurant with everyone in it?

Ha! We came up with the name Hawthorn before the movie (The Menu​)​​ came out. I haven’t actually seen ​it yet. The name is a reference to Kew Gardens, which is just down the road. We went back and forth on what to call it. When Josh came up with Hawthorn it just felt right.  

Was there an option to keep the site's original name?

Nigel and I discussed it and we both agreed that it would be better to have a fresh start. But comparisons to The Glasshouse are inevitable, especially as I worked there for such a long time. The big positive is that we know a lot of people in the area – there has been a lot of excitement about the launch. I think we'll be busy from the off.

Tell us a bit about the menu

It will be pitched at a similar level to The Glasshouse but the cooking style will be different. One of the things that attracted me to Josh as a chef was his focus on where food comes from. There will be an emphasis on game, which is a good fit for the area as we’re near Richmond Park. We will be a la carte only, offering three courses for £65 in the evening and for £45 on lunchtimes (£50 on Saturdays). The menus will be similar, but the lunchtime one will at times makes use of less prime cuts.

How have you found staffing?

People were my biggest worry. A lot of friends and industry people told us that we would not be able to find anyone to work here. But we have been very lucky. A lot of the key roles have been filled by people that I have worked with before. Our restaurant manager is Nicola Mognol (The Glasshouse, Gavroche and Mere); our head sommelier is Stefano Barbarino (La Trompette, Chez Bruce and Galvin at Windows); our sous chef is Abbie Hendren (The Glasshouse and La Trompette; and our junior sous is Max Wilson (The Glasshouse and La Trompette).

Tell us about your background

I started out in hotel F&B and did a management traineeship with Pacific Hotels back home in Australia. I worked there for about five years before coming to the UK on a backbacking holiday and ended up applying for a job at The Glasshouse. Following that I was transferred to La Trompette (Platts-Martin’s Chiswick restaurant). I left a few years ago for a director of food and beverage role at The Athenaeum Club (a private members club in Pall Mall). It wasn’t for me – I missed fine dining.

What was it like working for Nigel Platts-Martin all those years?

Nigel and Bruce (Poole, his business partner) looked after me very well.I have very fond memories of my time with them. A Michelin inspector once said to me ‘you know when you walk into a Nigel Platts-Martin restaurant that everything’s going to be perfect’. They are very good at what they do. It bothers me that our industry is sometimes viewed as not being a proper profession. I’m big on training; a lot of people that came to me unable to speak English are now running dining rooms at top London restaurants. It’s nice to see. I fight hard to make people see restaurants as a real profession.