Hackney (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Douglas McMaster has announced the closure of Silo, his acclaimed zero-waste restaurant in Hackney, marking the end of a pioneering sustainable dining era.
The venture was founded in Brighton eleven years ago by Douglas McMaster and moved into The White Building in November 2019 following a £1 million Crowdfunder campaign.
Famously “the restaurant without a bin” it housed a fermentation factory making koji an ancient preparation behind the umami flavours found in miso and fish sauce – and a mill turning ancient grains of wheat into flour.
They also churned their own butter, rolled their own oats, and took delivery of items in returnable vessels such as crates, pails and urns.
McMaster wrote a book on his food philosophy, the Zero Waste Blue Print, launched his online Zero Waste Cookery School during the pandemic, and won a Michelin Guide Green Bib award for sustainability in 2021.
Announcing the closure on Instagram he wrote:
“Silo is not just a restaurant. It’s an idea, an artwork, a zero-waste blueprint.
For over 11 years, Silo has been a living system — proof that circular thinking can survive in the heart of capitalism, even if it’s like watching a fish trying to climb a tree. In a world divorced from nature, we’ve tried to rebuild that relationship — not with words, but with action.
But exhibitions don’t last forever. Silo was never meant to be static. It was meant to provoke, to inspire change. What happened on the plate was importantly – however it’s what happened off that plate that really mattered. The ideas, systems, and communities that refuse to disappear.”
He stated that the next phase of “shaping the future of food” would involve a Silo World Tour, which would take his ideas to new places through a number of partnerships and pop-ups, citing initiatives in Mexico and Bali.
In order to reduce food miles and processing, the Hackney restaurant is currently accepting reservations for its final weeks. It will continue to purchase produce from regenerative farms and create every dish using items in their entirety.
Flourish kale with citrus kosho and sinodun; scallops with blue moon and celeriac; woodcock pigeon with pine and buttermilk; and wild mushrooms with red and yellow mole are among the dishes on the tasting menu.
How will Douglas McMaster’s new projects impact sustainable dining?
Douglas McMaster’s recent endeavors are about to make a significant impact on sustainable dining, evolving the trailblazing zero-waste philosophy he formed at Silo.
Through launching a series of international collaborations, pop-ups and educational programs, McMaster is showing that sustainable gastronomy can also be inventive and broadly replicable.
McMaster’s vision reaches deeper than merely reducing waste at restaurants. The recent partnership with Chef Vanika Choudhary at Noon in Mumbai presents a model of fine dining where local foraged ingredients, combined with innovative by-product use, further expand the sustainability of fine dining restaurant concepts.
