Osip by Merlin Labron-Johnson at Number One Bruton, Somerset (credit: Maureen M Evans)
Merlin Labron-Johnson’s new farm-to-table restaurant Osip in Bruton, Somerset has launched, alongside boutique hotel Number One Bruton.
Having grown up in Devon, Merlin has spent the last years travelling around the world and living in London and has returned to the West Country to open his own self-funded restaurant. The name Osip is taken from his own middle name inspired by the Russian poet, Osip Mandelstam.
Osip offers set and a la carte menus that pay homage to the fantastic produce of Somerset, with a focus on organic and biodynamic vegetables over red meat. Simplicity, lack of pretension and imagination define the menu, as well as total dedication to extremely low food mileage. Fruit and vegetables are grown on eight acres of land near Bruton and on an allotment five-minutes-walk from the restaurant. Inspired by nature’s seasons, Merlin’s style is informal and abundant, committed to minimising waste and reintegrating fruit and herb trimmings, animal fats, offal and bones. He grew up in Devon and Osip is the result of a long-held wish to open a rustic restaurant closely tied to his West Country roots.
Other collaborators include the charity and farm The Husbandry School in Devon, the traditional Somerset cheesemakers Westcombe Dairy and local organic growers such as Charles Dowding and Bengrove Market Garden along with local fine ciders from the likes of Fine & Foster and Pilton. West country cider plays a starring role in Osip’s drinks offering and the initial wine selection will be co-sculpted by talented sommeliers Honey Spencer (formerly of Noma Mexico) and Ania Smelskaya (of Silo). Merlin has also chosen to work with New Ground Coffee who are a social enterprise roasting high quality coffee who use the business as a vehicle to train and create employment for ex-offenders.
A number of collaborations are visible throughout the restaurant including fashion designer Studio Nicholson creating bespoke uniforms for the front of house and Bill Amberg Studio on upholstery of the tables along with the work from craftspeople such as Kana Ceramics and Owen Wall .
Joining Osip from The Conduit in London, Merlin Labron-Johnson has an impressive list of accolades to his name and earned a Michelin-star at the age of 24, nine months after he opened the kitchen at Portland Restaurant. Young and philanthropic, Merlin is inspired by cooking at Refettorio Felix homeless shelter and providing quality cooking for refugee camps in Europe through Help Refugees.