When Gus Armstrong took over Ainslie’s Pulp Kitchen restaurant a year ago he always wanted to be able to let the youngsters loose in the kitchen.
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“Pulp was always meant to be about teaching the juniors how to manage a venue,” he said.
“It was never about winning awards, even though we did [Pulp was awarded a chef’s hat in the 2018 Good Food Guide], it was about having all that technique, all the teaching, in a simple little restaurant in the ’burbs.”
And now Pulp is set to close its doors on August 6, with three of those talented youngsters, Ross McQuinn, Dash Rumble and chef Malcolm Hanslow rebranding the venue as Pilot soon after.
McQuinn was there from the start at Pulp Kitchen, working as venue manager when Armstrong opened the doors in May 2017, before spending some time as a distiller for Underground Spirits. His partner Rumble has worked as a manager at Eightysix, and is currently at Momofuku in Sydney.
They’ve poached Hanslow from Sydney to work as head chef. He was recently named as a finalist in the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year.
McQuinn says while they’re changing the name and the fitout, he and Rumble want Pilot to be “an evolution of Pulp Kitchen”.
“It’s always been such a great restaurant and we’ll just put our touch on it, a simpler treatment of food, good produce presented well but not overcomplicated.”
They’ve been talking to Hanslow for more than a year about a venture, says Rumble.
“We’re all good mates and we’ve had this planned for awhile, it’s good timing for us, the deal and Mal getting shortlisted.”
Armstrong said the deal just kind of happened, he wasn’t looking to sell.
“Ross stopped in one morning on his way to the gym at 6am, I was making coffee, we had a chat and I joked with him about selling.
“I know he and Dash had been looking for venues for a while. I didn’t really want to sell it but they’re good kids, they’ve been looking and he made a good offer.”
Pulp Kitchen head chef Josh Lundy will return to Eightysix with Armstrong in a creative role as venue manager.
Armstrong has enjoyed running the two venues but is looking forward to spending more time in the kitchen at Eightysix in Braddon.
“Today’s actually my first shift back and I’ve missed it,” he said on Tuesday.
He’ll miss Ainslie, saying the locals were one of the best things about the move.
“We’ve made some really good relationships there,” he says.
“It’s a tight knit little community and we took their little restaurant and changed it a bit. It took awhile for us to break through, but we enjoyed the challenge.”
He’s thinking about taking their successful weekend brunch into Eightysix.
“It’s been so well received and everyone seems to love it so we might take it into Braddon.
“Whether the tight little covenant of the people’s republic of Ainslie will venture down to town, that’s a different story.”
