How the kitchen works
Hearth Kitchen opened in 2019 in a former tannery on Tanner Street. Mara and Tomas built the hearth themselves over one winter, and the kitchen has cooked on nothing else since.
The kitchen is open to the dining room. There are no gas burners and no electric ovens, only the hearth, the wood oven at its left end and a sink. If the fire is low, the food waits until it comes back up.
The fire through one day
The hearth is never the same temperature twice. We plan the menu around how it burns: bread when it is hottest, steaks on steady coals, vegetables in the embers at night.
- 09:00Tomas lights the hearth with oak.
- 10:30Full flame. The oven is hot enough for bread.
- 12:00Lunch. The flames have burned down to coals.
- 15:30Fresh logs for the evening.
- 17:30Dinner service on steady coals.
- 23:00Vegetables go into the embers for tomorrow.
- 01:00Warm ash. Potatoes cook until morning.
The wood
We burn about 400 kilograms of wood a week, almost all of it oak and beech offcuts from the sawmill at Arden.
The wood is seasoned for two years in a barn behind the sawmill, so it burns hot and clean without much smoke. In spring we add vine cuttings from the Calder and Rise vineyards, which burn fast and bright and are good for prawns and peppers.
The ash goes back to Fennick Market Garden for their soil.
Where our food comes from
Eight suppliers, all within 80 kilometres of the restaurant. Most of them deliver on Tuesday morning, which is why the dinner menu changes that day.
- 1
Fennick Market Garden
Leeks, beetroot, cabbage and salad. 12 km away.
- 2
Lowmoor Mill
Stone-milled flour for the bread. 28 km away.
- 3
Port Caro day boats
Mackerel, prawns and oysters, landed the same morning. 35 km away.
- 4
Halden Farm
Grass-fed beef, which we dry-age for 35 days. 45 km away.
- 5
Brook End Dairy
Butter, cream and curd. 52 km away.
- 6
Arden sawmill
Oak and beech offcuts, seasoned for two years. 60 km away.
- 7
Ostry Hill
Lamb and pork from one family farm. 70 km away.
- 8
Calder and Rise
Wine, and vine cuttings for the fire in spring. 80 km away.
Who works here
Seven of us run the kitchen, the bar and the room. We keep staff photos off the website, so come and say hello at the counter. The red line shows the time now, and who is usually in.
Ines
Bread and pastry
Bakes the bread in the wood oven while the hearth comes up to heat.
Usually 07:00 to 15:00Tomas
Fire cook
Lights the hearth, splits the wood and runs the grills at lunch.
Usually 08:30 to 17:30Lena
Events and private dining
Answers every event enquiry and plans each private menu with Mara.
Usually 10:00 to 18:00Mara
Head chef
Opened Hearth Kitchen in 2019 and writes the menu every Tuesday.
Usually 11:00 to 23:00Dev
Grill cook
Runs the coals at dinner and buries the vegetables at the end of the night.
Usually 15:00 to 23:30Kofi
Bar
Looks after the wine list, the cocktails and the bar seats.
Usually 15:30 to 00:30Sami
Front of house
Seats you, takes the table requests and knows where everything is.
Usually 16:00 to 00:00
The fire is lit from Tuesday to Sunday.