Jamie Oliver set to open restaurants at Gatwick Airport
Union Jacks is a throwback to the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, lit with neon signs, cinema-style menu boards, antique diner furniture, and cheeky vintage plates that, in character with Oliver’s own irreverent and plucky TV persona, read, “stop looking at my bottom” when turned over.
The restaurant was designed by London-based agency Blacksheep.
The menu was developed in partnership with Chris Bianco, described as the US “pizza master” from Phoenix, Arizona, and whose 42-seat eatery Pizzeria Bianco has gained a cult following after being rated the best pizza in the US by publications such as Bon Appétit, the New York Times and Vogue.
Flabreads at Union Jacks include the Old Spot, topped with roast shoulder of pig, quince and Bramley sauce, Stilton and crackling, and Fish Pie, made with smoked pollock, potatoes and leeks.
After opening in London in December to a four-star review by Time Out magazine, Union Jacks will be arriving at Gatwick airport this summer alongside a bakery and Oliver’s other international restaurant venture Jamie’s Italian, reports industry publication BigHospitality.com.
The trio of Oliver’s outposts will occupy 6,000 square feet in the airport’s North Terminal in June, just in time for the London 2012 Olympics, when thousands of international visitors are expected to descend on the city in July.
According to BigHospitality, Jamie’s Italian will offer breakfast in addition to its regular menu, while the airport version of the Union Jacks Bar will be a scaled down variant that also serves beers and wines produced in the UK.
Oliver will also open his first bakery at the airport and offer pizzas, salads and cakes as takeaway and in-flight meal options.
Gordon Ramsay, another British culinary heavyweight, also has an airport eatery called Gordon Ramsay Plane Food in Terminal 5. — Relaxnews
