Somerset entrepreneur and founder of the iconic Mulberry brand Roger Saul is taking on the restaurant world this week, adding a unique movie set inspired ‘pop-up’ restaurant as the latest attraction to his Kilver Court designer village in Shepton Mallet.
Using quirky props and lighting to recreate the feel of a British film set, Stage 1 launches with a VIP reception tomorrow night and opens its doors to the public on Friday for five weeks in the run-up to Christmas.
It is the latest stage in the first phase of the £10m redevelopment of Kilver Court, a former mill nestling next to Shepton Mallet’s Mulberry factory shop.
Mr Saul’s ethos of restoration, regeneration and renewal has been the driving force behind the redevelopment, which opened 18 months to sell top-class brands from Myla lingerie to Aubin & Wills’ contemporary British clothing for men and women.
The pop-up restaurant harnesses the skills of up-cycling experts Lynn and Duncan McFarlane of Kilver Court-based Dres’d, which specialises in developing luxury interiors and furnishings from recycled and up-cycled materials. Stage 1, they say, will boast an air of “faded glamour and decadence”.
Mr Saul said: “Stage 1 fulfils a dream I’ve had for some time to open a restaurant here at Kilver Court. I love the fact that working with Dres’d means that film sets, usually doomed for the scrap heap, are being given a second chance for people to enjoy them in a much more intimate way. The fun – and satisfaction – will be to see the customers’ faces and watch their reactions to what we have created. As they say in the movies – lights, camera, action.”
The menu will focus strongly on locally-sourced produce and will showcase Mr Saul’s organic food farm Sharpham Park, including the famous white park cattle known for their flavour.
To add to the atmosphere, Bristol firm The Art of Fire, have been hard at work in the garden creating lighting effects which include flaming Victorian lampposts.
As an extra bonus for shoppers this weekend, Kilver Court is helping to launch the restaurant with additional designer pop-up stalls offering extra discounts, a greater range of other big designer items as big discounts, including Toast and Jack Wills.
