Throughout January, London's Berber & Q Shawarma Bar is bringing back its much-loved guest chef collaboration series in celebration of its signature stuffed pita.
Culminating in a raucous bash on Sunday 2 February – the annual Pita Party – this year’s collaboration will see Harneet Baweja of homestyle Indian kitchen Gunpowder, Eran Tibi of Tel Aviv-inspired Bala Baya, pastrami kings Mark Ogus and Owen Barratt of Monty’s Deli and cult dessert favourites Happy Endings going head-to-head in a battle for pita superiority.
Josh Katz and Mattia Bianchi are welcoming four chefs to their Exmouth Market kitchen to create a pita that will run as a special on the Shawarma Bar menu for a week, before the one-off Pita Party. Kicking off the collaboration on Monday 6 January is Gunpowder founder Harneet with a ‘lamb raan’ pita.
Next up to the plate from Monday 13 January, Happy Endings will be dishing up the pita-off’s very first dessert pita: a twist on a childhood favourite with their banana split pita, with golden syrup soft serve, hazelnut crunch and sour cherry.
Eran Tibi’s Israeli-inspired ‘Laffa Couture’ pita made with Iraqi flatbread and stuffed with slow roasted lamb belly, date, smokey plum, radish and chervil joins the menu from Monday 20th January.
Last but not least, from Monday 27 January Owen Barratt and Mark Ogus’s guest pita draws on their Monty’s Deli expertise, filled with Chopped liver, Hot pastrami, Coleslaw and Fermented hot sauce.
The collaboration will culminate in the grand finale on Sunday 2nd February at the one-off Pita Party, when all of the chefs will come together to showcase their dish. Each ticket-holder will get to try a mini pita from all four guest chefs, and a special surprise pita from Shawarma Bar’s head chef Jack Harrison.
Josh Katz said, 'January is blue enough as it is, so we want to bring a little fun to the month. I look forward to our annual Pita Party every year, and 2020 is no exception – our friends from around London are joining us for what promises to be another great pita-off.”
Mattia Bianchi added, “We’ll be pouring some amazing wines and tucking into some incredible pitas – it’s a lot of fun.'