A new home and a revised formula, The Test Kitchen part deux showcases yet another side to the multi-dimensional Josh Boutwood. Here’s the 411 on the newest concept to hit the 1200 (Rockwell)
Last November 6, a select few were invited to a preview of The Test Kitchen, which, to the sheer excitement of a burgeoning Josh Boutwood fan base, is set to open on the 15th.
But what sets it apart from the first Test Kitchen?
“At the original, it was ‘tasting only,’” explains Boutwood, the corporate chef of The Bistro Group, referring to his firstborn of the same name in San Antonio Village, adding, “but it’s an à la carte menu for this one.”
For now, according to the concept’s architect, we can look forward to lunch and dinner service, plus brunch on the weekends, and an average too-good-to-be-true Php 1,500.00 spend per person.
The two-storey space, which previously belonged to the brunch and comfort food purveyor that is Apartment 1B, is now home to a re-imagined and transformed Test Kitchen, and Boutwood’s progressive answer to the Rockwell dining community’s calling (and everyone else outside the 1200 zip code).
At night, The Test Kitchen is darker than most fine-dining establishments in the city. One cannot help but feel decidedly more attractive under the sexy, dimmed mood lighting. Strategically placed spotlighting, however, beam down on each table, highlighting the presentation and plating of each good-looking creation. Studies have in fact suggested that dim lighting in restaurants makes you eat more, which, calorifically speaking, translates to pure ignorant bliss. Boutwood is definitely onto something here!
