Let me introduce you to Ryan Walker, the 23-year-old Head of Fermentation and R&D - one of the masterminds behind Silo's sustainable insurgence. Ryan is both crazily creative but also approaches cooking from a scientific standpoint so he's a chef and an alchemist. Hard to imagine anyone more perfect to achieve a spot on the 30 under 30 Code Hospitality Awards 2023.
There were only two things I knew about Silo before visiting for Ryan's podcast. First and foremost, it is located above a popular stomping ground for Gortex-trainer-wearing, Puresport-runner loving, "I heart craft beer" finance bros who wish that they were creative but they can simply just buy it at Craft Brewery in Hackney Wick instead. All jokes aside, the beer is banging.
And secondly, Silo is the first-ever zero-waste restaurant in the whole world. If you've ever worked in hospitality you may be thinking - now seriously mate, how the fuck does that work? The answer is it takes a lot of time and effort to truly make your restaurant sustainable. You've got to think about the little stuff like getting washable metal milk pails straight from the dairy farm rather than plastic bottles, repairing your tableware if it breaks rather than throwing it away and thinking about how to use your waste veg trimmings in a digestible and tasty way. Now that is Ryan's forte.
As Silo states, 'waste is a failure of the imagination'. Hit the play button to be immersed in the undeniably nerdy but charming brain of Silo's fermentation king.
Mentions:
-Silo, Hackney Wick, London
- Douglas McMasters, owner of Silo
https://www.douglasmcmaster.com/
- MAD Academy, Copenhagen
- Kolae, Borough Market, London
- On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012
