Great news for fans of Chef Brian Lewis’s acclaimed Westport restaurants OKO and The Cottage: There are more delicious eats to come. We sat down with Brian for an exclusive chat about the latest news from his restaurant group, Full House Hospitality Group.
A New Pop-Up Dining Concept
BANA, a seasonal pop-up dining experience (named for the moniker Brian’s twin sons gave their stuffed monkeys) will debut on July 20 at Wakeman Town Farm. “For this first one, I want to explore and celebrate the fishermen and fisherwoman farmers and ingredients of coastal New England, but with Japanese technique and influence,” says Brian. After the inaugural event, a new BANA will pop up quarterly in locations around Fairfield and Westchester counties. “The intention is, every quarter, to explore an exciting new [cuisine],” he says “For the following one, I could be doing anything from the foods of Peru to…anywhere on the globe.” The heart of BANA will be celebrating community— from the farms and cultures the foods derive from to the diners themselves (each pop-up will be between 40-70 people). “When I worked with Richard Gere, we used to say: what if we put people in a room and simply see what happens? I’m allowing myself to be totally creative.”
A Way to Give Back
Earlier this year, the restaurants in Brian’s portfolio— The Cottage in Westport and Greenwich, and OKO in Westport and Rye– formally banded together under the umbrella of the Full House Hospitality Group. “I’m the Chef of the company, but it’s more like Chef Executive Officer,” Brian says. “This is a hundred-plus employee company— we have sous chefs, chefs de cuisine, sushi chefs, managers— and I want to make sure that the chefs all feel they have a platform where they can find and display their voice and style.” Launching the restaurant group, he explains, allows for that while tying the restaurants together and bringing BANA into the fold. With that power behind his eateries, he’s been able to officially launch the Family Meal Foundation, a project that had its informal beginnings in the pandemic. Back then, he set up a meal train for nearly 70 employees to come by the restaurants and pick up food to bring home to their families. Seeing the impact was inspiring. “I realized, I have an opportunity to create something where I'm actually affecting change,” he says. The new iteration of the Family Meal Foundation (“family meal” is a restaurant-industry term for a meal provided to staff before a shift begins) is as a nonprofit that will deliver chef-crafted meals to folks struggling with health crises, bereavement, and financial difficulties. “My goal is for it to become an easy way to support people,” he says, and adds that he strives to work with future partners like local hospitals. (And twenty-five percent of ticket proceeds from BANA will go directly to the Family Meal Foundation.) As anyone who’s been through a hard time knows, sometimes a meal is the most incredible gift. And to have it be a Chef Brian Lewis meal? As they say, *chef's kiss*.
“When I worked with Richard Gere, we used to say: what if we put people in a room and simply see what happens? I’m allowing myself to be totally creative.”