Image: Darius Ravenwood
Do you hunger for a party? The Electrowerkz new bar and restaurant has been the closest thing during the pandemic providing a variety of table service party nights with alternative music, drink and food. This blog post is shedding light on the story behind the creation of the Electrowerkz restaurant and the chef at the heart of it.
About three years ago when I had been lighting 3 Goth bands in succession over several hours in the Electrowerkz Live Room, Mak taking pity on me as he often did, handed me a plate of food at my lighting desk and said “there ya go”. Mak went on to explain it was left over from the day's wedding event. One bite and I pushed up the faders to maximum saturation on the lighting desk blinding the poor Goth Bands, who’d asked me to keep their performance dark, in the sheer pleasure of what I’d just tasted, it was among the best plates of food I’d ever had. That night I realized that the Electrowerkz had more to offer than the late night burgers we had become so accustomed to. Little could I have imagined at the time, that being able to eat this well at my favourite nightclub would one day be the norm.
To find out how this all came together, I asked Nikki who has been the manager at Electrowerkz for several years now,
how did we get from Nightclub to the Electrowerkz Bar & Restaurant?
Back in September when the world started to open tentatively we knew that clubs and live gigs were still way off (Little did we know how far) and we knew we had to do something. Our kitchen staff have always been fantastic and the courtyard itself is a great space so we decided to just bite the bullet. We tried a few seated and socially distant Slimelights and Torture Gardens which were successful and this is when we decided to run with it fully. There are also too few alternative venues in the world as it is!
We couldn’t have done this without the generous support from the Slimelight crew, anyone who bought merch, all the DJs who have given their time to livestream for us, Allen’s vision, Dette’s relentless perseverance and green thumbs, the sound crew who ended up waiting tables and of course a little boost from the arts council. We managed to source most of the décor and tables/chairs from around the building – from the scrapyard to bits that Mak had brought back from his many travels to blind storage auctions (this is where our fancy outdoor furniture comes from actually!).
- Nikki
Image: Artwork from an exhibition at The Cake Room
Can you Explain a bit why the cake room* is called the cake room?
*The bit next to the courtyard with the new and improved red wallpaper for those who still aren’t sure.
The cake room has been called the cake room for longer than I have been here, I couldn’t give you an exact date on this but way back in the day during Slimelight this is where tea and cake would be sold at the club. Mak was a connoisseur of fine cakes like one would be fine wine. In fact we even bought some of our sound equipment with cake, would you believe! When we reopened we tried renaming this as the restaurant with little to no luck and so have now decided that so it shall remain – eternally as the cake room.
- Nikki
Image: Cake Room/Restaurant
Now that we can include The Courtyard and Cake Room as a restaurant in Electrowerkz’s arsenal of weaponised events, it was only natural that Head Chef Darius, the creative soul of the kitchen, who's blindingly brilliant food I had sampled three years earlier was implored to create the perfect menu where vegans, vegetarians and carnivores are not deprived of choices. He had to come up with something that would showcase his talents whilst also keeping the staple burgers and chips that the regular Electrowerkz clubbers know and love.
how did you get from managing a Metal pub in Lithuania to head Chef at Electrtowerkz?
 Image: Darius Ravenwood | Quick answer would be the financial crisis of 2008/10. Most of the small businesses were affected by financial consequences of that event, so I concluded that I need some changes in my life. I left Lithuania without a plan; I had few friends here who helped me at the beginning. Few days after arriving in London I got a kitchen porter job at a pub in Cannonbury where my food journey started. I worked my way up at the same company, where I was promoted a few times. Then, I decided to explore food scene in London and I changed my job for a higher level position. So initially I worked at some interesting cocktail clubs, gastro pubs and restaurants in the city. |
Also, soon after arriving in the UK I discovered Slimelight and I was going quite regularly. I met most of my London friends there, so the place was special from the beginning and its more than a job now. My friends George and Edis were working at the club at the time when Head Chef position become available. They recommended me to Dette, so we had a meeting which resulted in food tasting and me getting the job the same day.
Where did you learn to cook?
I think it is fair to say that I am still learning, cooking is not something you can finish learning; it is constant improvement of your palette, ingredients, spices, or techniques. However, as for most chefs my cooking experience started at home by helping my mom or grandmother even though I did not like it at the time. The real interest in cooking started when I got a job as Chef de Partie at a Public House in Islington. Here I met Head Chef Fedja Stanic who I consider my teacher in the craft. He helped me to understand how to think as a chef, also I learned a lot from him in terms of cooking and leading the pass in the kitchen during the service.
With a variety and assortment of new jaw dropping creations and delicate inventions, how did you set out to create the new menu?
Well, I guess it was a team effort to bring in some changes to the venue. So, we had a meeting, shared some thoughts, and looked into our previous wedding menus. Most of the menu had been used in the past, so I had to think what could work in a current set up of the kitchen. It’s not only the menu itself but the equipment, kitchen space, cooking times, allergen management and food safety and the actual team of course.
How different is it cooking for Electrowerkz Clubbers, rather than for wedding guests?
Talking about the clubbers, I always wanted to be able to offer restaurant quality food for less and for the crowd I like. The main goal while cooking is to produce tasty meals. Electrowerkz clubbers vary depending on the event, so I guess I learned to arrange the menu to suit different nights at the venue. I know quite few of our regular guests so cooking for them is always personal as is their honest feedback. Cooking for wedding guests is more challenging in terms of time and the number of plates we have to prepare. Quite often I am asked to cook something traditional from one or another country, it is not easy but extremely rewarding in the end.
What dish, or dishes have you re-invented just for Electrowerkz?
I think vegetarian butternut squash lasagne, sweet potato burger, beetroot and tofu Wellington, braised pig’s cheeks or vegan Russian salad could be named as some unique variations just for Electrowerkz.
What’s your favourite dish on the menu?
When I am hungry, I would have pig’s cheeks and mustard mash or beef burger. If I were having a beer with my friends, so something like mushroom arancini, beef croquettes or halloumi fries would be my choice of snack.
And finally, what food got you through lockdown?
Experimental.
The food, ambience and service are all fantastic. Where else in London can you get a Green Death Cocktail, so named by a DJ, or a Vegan Nut Roast brought to your table in the same venue you were clubbing the night before? Where else but Electrowerkz. But the best part is they have a live DJ to give you that feeling, “I’m in a nightclub, and yet I’m starving”, I mean lets all be honest here, who hasn't found that they were hungry during a night of clubbing.
You can walk in to get a table, but there is limited availability especially at weekends, so best book. Also, the purchase of food is no longer a condition of service, but track and trace will continue.
We will also monitor Government mixed messages and contradictions as they happen and rules and dates might be subject to change, so keep following our pages.
We will also monitor Government mixed messages and contradictions as they happen and rules and dates might be subject to change, so keep following our pages.
Exclusive interview From our series 'The Face of Electrowerkz'
By Electroholic Joon
