A new restaurant relying entirely on Scottish ingredients and British wines opens next week in Edinburgh from chef Henry Dobson and his Japanese wife Akiko.
Moss, in Stockbridge, marks a debut for Henry, a former sound engineer who trained as a chef at Ballymaloe House in Cork and Noma in Copenhagen. He built much of the furniture of the restaurant’s furniture with his own hands while Akiko, a ceramicist, created the tableware from clay dug on the Dobson family organic farm near Dundee, which provides up to 90 different products for the kitchen.
The restaurant takes a minimalist culinary approach, with influences from both Scandinavian and Japanese cuisine, and liberal use of preserved and fermented ingredients.
Henry says: “Moss is the culmination of two years of solid research and development and I can’t wait to open our doors and share our perspective on what we think is possible with Scotland’s diverse palette of ingredients. My team and I are excited to amalgamate the best of Scotland’s local makers and producers and find our niche amongst the incredible scene of restaurants in Edinburgh.
“This project has already been such a personal journey for my family and I. From our six-month research and development trip to Japan, to Akiko and I digging clay out of ditches for the tableware, to sieving ash for the paint, to bucking, milling and joining the table tops all the way to foraging our vast library of preserved ingredients from my family farm.”
Moss, at 112 St Stephen Street, has 26 covers and will open Wednesday–Saturday for a set lunch and à la carte dinner.
