Adam Handling to open zero waste restaurant Ugly Butterfly in Chelsea’s King’s Road

Adam Handling is to open sustainable casual restaurant and Champagne bar Ugly Butterfly in London next month showcasing how zero-waste can be luxurious.

Ugly Butterfly will offer a menu of snacks and small plates made using ingredients usually discarded as waste, many of which will come from Adam Handling Chelsea, the chef’s restaurant at the Belmond Cadogan hotel.

Dishes will include deboned crispy fried chicken feet with caviar; Handling’s signature cheese doughnuts made with left-overs from the cheeseboard; banana bread and chicken butter; lobster shell soup; broccoli stalk Caesar salad and retired dairy cow tartare.

Handling said: “This is such an exciting collaboration. Across my restaurants and bars we have a strong commitment to achieving zero waste and in setting up Ugly Butterfly, we can help to move the sustainability agenda forward even further by bringing together the pioneers in sustainable food and drink, fashion, business, furnishings, technology, arts and crafts and giving them a home for some really interesting discussions. We want everyone to be able to drop in for some really tasty food, and delicious Champagne, and to contribute to building awareness of how we can live our lives, every day, on a more sustainable basis.”

The space, which will open from lunch to late evening Wednesday to Sunday, has been designed using up-cycled and re-utilised materials throughout and it is hoped it will become a hub for businesses and community sustainability initiatives.

Ugly Butterfly will host free weekly sessions on Wednesdays and Sundays with speakers to include Mike Robinson, founder of the Woodsman, co-owner of the Harwood Arms and a wild food specialist, and Steve Bannatyne of the Wood Store, sellers of recycled and reclaimed wood and creators of most of the up-cycled handmade furniture at the restaurant.

Due to open on 13 November, the restaurant is a collaboration between the chef, the Cadogan estate and the Felix Project charity, which distributes surplus food from the industry to vulnerable people. The charity will receive 2.5% of profits to support its initiatives.

Hugh Seaborn, chief executive, Cadogan added: “Adam was a breath of fresh air when he opened his destination restaurant on Sloane Street earlier this year – we are delighted to champion his brave zero-waste ethos further at this exciting new venture and use it to stimulate conversation around sustainability more widely, as well as raising funds for the impressive Felix Project.

"Ugly Butterfly resonates strongly with our ongoing commitment to long-term stewardship and reducing environmental impact; we hope that it is a creative way to inspire the community, both residents and businesses, to think differently for the future.”